Pleurodictyum amazonicum coral from Bolivia

Pleurodictyum is a favorite coral of mine and now I have specimens from the Devonian of Bolivia in my collection. Below are three examples of Pleurodictyum amazonicum corals from the Belen formation. All three are casts of the original fossils found in nodules. The original calcium carbonate skeletons have long since dissolved away and only the mud filled voids are preserved. Despite this the fossils are still identifiable due to the somewhat unique growth pattern of the genus.

Specimen #1

Specimen #2

Specimen #3 - This one is nicely preserved and you can see some of the interconnecting mural pores.

These fossils have a very similar preservation to those that I find in my local Mahantango Formation here in Pennsylvania. I have also found Pleurodictyum in the Wanakah Shale, Kashong Shale and Jeffersonville Limestone.

All three specimens shown above come from then Belen formation (Devonian, Emsian stage) south of the capitol of Boliva, La Paz.

Platyceras bistrami gastropod from Bolivia

This is a gastropod fossil called Platyceras bistrami from the Belen formation (Devonian, Emsian stage) of Bolivia. It seems to be distinguished from other species by the undulating surface of it's shell. This is just a cast of the shell but the ripples are preserved well. Also, P. bistrami (when I write it that way it makes me think of Pastrami) has a tighter coil to it's shell than other species.

This specimen was found south of La Paz, Bolivia and I purchased it off of E-bay.

Metacryphaeus sp. trilobite from Bolivia

I posted in an earlier blog entry about some Trilobite fossils I had from Bolivia. At the time I could not tell what the genera was of them because there were no labels. Well I found the specimen below in a box with some older E-bay purchases and it has a label calling it Metacryphaeus sp. (which makes my job that much eaiser!). It is preserved in a neat pose that looks like it was buried in the mud, with just it's head exposed, while it awaited prey.

This specimens come from the Belen formation (Devonian, Eifelian stage) south of the capitol of Bolivia, La Paz.

Conularia from Bolivia

These are some Conulariids from Bolivia that I received as part of "grab bags" of fossils I purchased on E-bay. Nothing was labelled but based on pictures from this seller on E-bay, I have tentatively assigned ID's. All come from the Belen formation (Devonian, Emsian stage) and were found in an area south of La Paz.

Specimen #1 - Conularia brevis?

Specimen #2 - Conularia quichua? this is a 3-D specimen.

Specimen #3 - Paraconularia ulrichana (I found the label for these next two specimens)

Specimen #4

Eldredgeia/Metacryphaeus Trilobites from Bolivia

In the last few years there have been some interesting Devonian aged fossils coming out of Bolivia. I have mostly been purchasing mine from this seller on E-bay. They are found in small, round concretions so you often get a mold and cast of the fossil. Among the fossils I have acquired are some fairly nice trilobites with the most common specimens labelled Eldredgeia venustus; although some specimens could be another closely related genera, Metacryphaeus. The only way to tell them apart is to count the number of lens facets that are in the eyes and by measuring the ratios of the glabellar furrows and lobes (the rounded parts on the head between the eyes).

Here is a specimen contorted into a "U" shape

This is the mold of the fossil

Another specimen is curled up a little differently

These next two photos are of the fossil's mold....

... that fits perfectly on top of the lower half.

These specimens come from the Belen formation (Devonian, Eifelian stage) south of the capitol of Bolivia, La Paz.

Unknown crinoid species #2 from Bolivia

In the last few years there have been some interesting Devonian aged fossils coming out of Bolivia. I have mostly been purchasing mine from this seller on E-bay. Among the fossils I have acquired are some unnamed crinoids.

This is the third (and possibly fourth?) species that I have in my collection from Bolivia.

This species has long arms covered in hair like pinnules that act like cilia to catch passing particles of food. Not much of the calyx has been preserved on this specimen so I don't have much else to go on.

The arms really lay out in three dimensions within the rock.

One of the arm tips even curls around a little

This is another crinoid mold that is on one side of the fossil and looks like an example of the crinoids I posted about yesterday.

This is the final specimen that I have. It features two crinoids (possibly the same species?). One is sprawled out on the face of the rock while the second is laying sideways giving more of a profile view.

Were it not for the pinnules attached to the arms I would almost say this fossil looks like the first set of crinoids I blogged about here.

These specimens come from the Belen formation (Devonian, Emsian stage) south of the capitol of Boliva, La Paz.