mikeymig Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 This spring I found a hidden gully that no one has ever collected in before here in western NY. I found no less then 10 complete and large Favosites corals in it and would like to know if you have a larger or nicer one in your collection. I think they are very cool and Im not putting them in the garden, they are way to nice for that. I tried to google it first but not much came up. I have found out after 30 years of collecting that I love corals and this is the largest most complete colony I have ever found. ITS A KEEPER! I cant wait to see what you have so please post your photos to this thread. Thanks, Mikey Many times I've wondered how much there is to know. led zeppelin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 Mikeymig, is that a crinoid anchor on the bottom-center photo? "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeymig Posted June 2, 2012 Author Share Posted June 2, 2012 Mikeymig, is that a crinoid anchor on the bottom-center photo? Yes, there are about 16 of them clustered on the right half of the colony as well as a bryozoan colony on the underside. In some of the photos I wet the coral with water to bring out the detail. When I found it I had a small backpack with me and had to carry it out of the gully then a half mile back to my truck. There was no way I was going to leave it there and Im glad I didnt! Many times I've wondered how much there is to know. led zeppelin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 Yes, there are about 16 of them clustered on the right half of the colony as well as a bryozoan colony on the underside... That's just 2 kul 4 words! Neat fossil! "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Russell Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 I exposed a piece of favosites about 20" x 24" x 6" thick about a month ago. It had to of weighed 70 lbs. And it's still laying right where I found it. It's about a mile hike from my parking spot. Perhaps some day I'll drag it home. Finding my way through life; one fossil at a time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 The one on the right is about the same size as yours. Discovered on the bank of the river near Hungry Hollow. Needless to say, they were a bit too large to stuff into my suitcase, so I left them there. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glacialerratic Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 I picked up a similar sized one, complete, also at Hungry Hollow, south bluff. It is about 17.5 inches in diameter. Can't locate my pictures at the moment.... But I agree, mikeymig, corals are totally cool! That gully... you lucky dog! Thanks for starting the topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolmt Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 I have seen extremely large ones as well at Arkona,, Hungry Hollow I would estimate 50 plus pounds. Ones about 1 pound are quite common there. The largest I ever bothered stuffing into my sachel was probably about 2 pounds. I tend to like small fossils that are easy to display. That is the biggest complaint I have about the Eurypterids that I have been finding. They are in general too big. I have a cluster of three right now that I am working on that is in about 75 pounds of matrix. I could display 30 trilobites in the same shelf space. But I guess that is a good problem to have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeymig Posted June 3, 2012 Author Share Posted June 3, 2012 Thanks for the replies so far coral enthusiast. The topic is largest Favosites but I thought you might want to see this specimen I also found in the hidden gully. When I first saw it covered in mud I didnt think it would be that nice until I found a little coral colony next to it. After I got it home and cleaned them up, I found out that they go together. Now its one of my favorite in my coral collection. Pretty cool huh! mikey Many times I've wondered how much there is to know. led zeppelin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thanatocoenosis Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 From the Jeffersonville Lm.(Early Dev.). Jefferson Co. Ky. Not Favosites, but a big ol' head of Tetradium-- some now question the inclusion of Tetradium as Cnidaria; the argument has been made that it was a weird porifera-- Millersburg Mb, Lexington Limestone (late Mid. Ord.). 2012 NCAA Collegiate Round Ball Champs; and in '98, '96, '78, 58, '51, '49, and '48, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herb Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 (edited) I found one about the size of a wash tub (3 feet) needless to say, it's still there. Edited August 14, 2013 by Herb "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"_ Carl Sagen No trees were killed in this posting......however, many innocent electrons were diverted from where they originally intended to go. " I think, therefore I collect fossils." _ Me "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."__S. Holmes "can't we all just get along?" Jack Nicholson from Mars Attacks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thanatocoenosis Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 I found one about the size of a wash tub (3") needless to say, it's still there. Yeah, if it is over 10 of 15 kgs, it stays in the field. 2012 NCAA Collegiate Round Ball Champs; and in '98, '96, '78, 58, '51, '49, and '48, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamalama Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 (edited) I saw one about the size of a coffee table at Crinus' house that he found at Arkona. Apparently years ago when they were rebuilding the road and bridge that cross the Ausable river this behemoth was exposed. Crinus somehow got it into his truck and carted it home to Michigan. Amazed me and was a nice piece of landscaping. I've found pieces that when reassembled would have been 36" across but only about 3" thick in a quarry here in PA. Silurian/Devonian Keyser formation. I've hauled 10lb chunks home from Arkona and upstate NY because I like 'em so much. Edited June 15, 2012 by Shamalama -Dave __________________________________________________ Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPheeIf I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPheeCheck out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ameenah Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 (edited) Well I haven't collected it yet but I will as soon as I find room for it but this one I found last month I really don't know what kind it is, do you???? Edited June 16, 2012 by Ameenah Explore -> Dream -> Discover ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briman Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 I have an exolith/gastrolith from the early cretaceous that is made from a favosites fossil. Regional unconformities preclude local origin; it likely swam here in the belly of a large marine reptile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xonenine Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 here are a few of my favorite favosites... - like many have said, there are those that must stay in the field, either because they are just too large to carry, or they are filled with a natural petroleum... "Your serpent of Egypt is bred now of your mud by the operation of your sun; so is your crocodile." Lepidus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xonenine Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 (edited) one more... the trilos are on the outside/reverse of the favosites this is what got me interested in fossils, the variety of these favosites.Then, when I read there were over 95 Favosites, I was sorry I got interested, it was too overwhelming. later, every large favosites I found had caps of eridophyllum, or these enormous trilobites, they are almost always to be found on the outer surface of the favosites, and make the process of removing these from the limestone blocks they are encased in even more exciting and challenging... this favosites is also filled with "druze" on top, something that never comes across well in photos Edited June 16, 2012 by xonenine "Your serpent of Egypt is bred now of your mud by the operation of your sun; so is your crocodile." Lepidus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeymig Posted June 19, 2012 Author Share Posted June 19, 2012 I have an exolith/gastrolith from the early cretaceous that is made from a favosites fossil. Regional unconformities preclude local origin; it likely swam here in the belly of a large marine reptile. Thats so cool!!!!!!!!!! Many times I've wondered how much there is to know. led zeppelin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeymig Posted June 19, 2012 Author Share Posted June 19, 2012 Well I haven't collected it yet but I will as soon as I find room for it but this one I found last month I really don't know what kind it is, do you???? Its a coral colony but Im not sure what kind. Where was it collected? maybe someone else here could help ya with the ID. Many times I've wondered how much there is to know. led zeppelin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosmoceras Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 I found a large one in the shed. Forgot it was in there. This one is from Gotland, Sweden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDAWG Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 From the Jeffersonville Lm.(Early Dev.). Jefferson Co. Ky. Not Favosites, but a big ol' head of Tetradium-- some now question the inclusion of Tetradium as Cnidaria; the argument has been made that it was a weird porifera-- Millersburg Mb, Lexington Limestone (late Mid. Ord.). Miriam Steele-Petrovich, in two papers published in the journal Lethania, has showed pretty conclusively (or so it seems to me) that "Tetradium" is a rhodophyte (a Red Algae). Unfortunately the name Tetradium was already used for a tree in the citrus family when the fossil Tetradium was named, so the fossil had to be renamed. The proper name for the fossil is now Prismostylus.Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briman Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 I have an exolith/gastrolith from the early cretaceous that is made from a favosites fossil. Regional unconformities preclude local origin; it likely swam here in the belly of a large marine reptile. Here it is; from the uppermost portion of the Hensell formation in Mason county, Texas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thanatocoenosis Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 (edited) Miriam Steele-Petrovich, in two papers published in the journal Lethania, has showed pretty conclusively (or so it seems to me) that "Tetradium" is a rhodophyte (a Red Algae). Unfortunately the name Tetradium was already used for a tree in the citrus family when the fossil Tetradium was named, so the fossil had to be renamed. The proper name for the fossil is now Prismostylus. Don I am unfamiliar with the papers you referenced, but the inclusion of tabulates as cnidarians is an area of contention. Copper's paper describing soft tissue preservation of Favosites tends to support the cnidarian proponents. Can you provide links to the Petrovich papers? EDIT: I found one of them: axial quadripartite division into four subequal parts is unknown. In contrast, both of these characteristics are common in algae. There are many examples of convergent evolution that would beg to differ... I would pay a king's ransom to see the letters to that journal. Edited June 21, 2012 by thanatocoenosis 2012 NCAA Collegiate Round Ball Champs; and in '98, '96, '78, 58, '51, '49, and '48, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDAWG Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Actually, there are many significant differences between Tetradium and undisputed tabulates such as Favosites, and the inclusion of Tetradium as a tabulate has always been more-or-less controversial. Several of the leading experts on lower Paleozoic corals, such as Rousseau Flower, Dorothy Hill, and Solokov were up front about their belief that Tetradium was NOT a coral, but they didn't know where to put it so they treated it as a coral solely because that's where it was traditionally put. Algae can take a variety of forms, and the calcarious structures they form can be surprisingly elaborate. Think of the recepticulitids, where the common name was "sunflower coral", then later it was thought to maybe be a sponge. It still seems weird to me to think of it as an algae. Also, other supposed corals from the Ordovician have recently been re-assigned. Eofletcheria was thought to be a colonial coral with a growth form of masses of round long individual tubes like Syringopora, but without septa or other internal structures. Study of the wall structure definitively showed that it is in fact a colonial polychaete. I think Steele-Petrovich has shown that Tetradium shares several synapomorphies with floridiophyte algae, and the resemblance to tabulates is entirely based on simple characters that would be expected of any colonial organism. Tabulates as a group are sometimes difficult, because the number of useful characters are so limited, and many of them can vary with age, position in the colony, and environmental conditions. Overall, though, on a superficial level there is more similarity between tabulates and bryozoans (hexagonal packing of individuals, presence of tabulae) than there is between tabulates and Tetradium, which just illustrates the problem with basing phylogenies on superficial characters. As a group, tabulates are characterized by hexagonal packing of individuals in the cerioid (massive) colony form, and the presence of tabulae, septa (often both primary and secondary) arranged in a radial or hexagonal pattern, pores in the corallite walls providing connection between individuals, wall structure (only visible in thin sections of very well preserved specimens), and usually an epitheca surrounding the coral base. As far as wall structure is concerned, in simple tabulates such as Favosites each corallite secretes its own wall with a thin epitheca, so in section you can see a fibrous wall, a thin dark epitheca, then the fibrous wall of the adjacent corallite; corallites on the margin of the colony don't have a neighboring corallite on their "outside" side so they produce a thicker epithecal layer that protects the whole colony. Tetradium lacks every one of these characters. Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herb Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 I just don't see Tetradium as an algae, I have Ordovician Red Algae and it has no resemblance to Tetradium at all. "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"_ Carl Sagen No trees were killed in this posting......however, many innocent electrons were diverted from where they originally intended to go. " I think, therefore I collect fossils." _ Me "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."__S. Holmes "can't we all just get along?" Jack Nicholson from Mars Attacks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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