Lophophyllum

I'd like to introduce my newest "favorite" rugose coral: Lophophyllum.



This is a cool Rugose (or Horn) coral that differs from it's cousins in that it has a "pseudo-columnella" in the center of the calice (or cup).




You can see that the pseudo-columnella is not round as one might expect being that the coral itself is round along the edges. Instead it is laterally compressed and very nearly flat with a wrinkled surface. Presumably the coral used it for further suppport for it's body and studies(1) have shown that, while not connected to all the septa, it erupts from one of the septal blades early within the calice. Here is a specimen that is missing most of the calice and shows the pseudo-columnella more clearly.




The genera is present for only a short time during the Carboniferous (Tournaisian to Kasimovian) so the pseudo-columnella must not have given it any particularly notable advantage.


The specimens photographed for this post are Lophophyllum proliferum and came from the Finis Shale member of the Graham Formation. Both were found in North Texas and only recently came to my attention when a friend from The Fossil Forum, "Roz", posted a picture of them on the forum and asked what they were. They came into my possesion when she sent a few specimens to me along with some other fossils from the formation. Another specimen came from another acquaintance from the Forum, "Tommy Walnuts" via a trade. Thanks to both of them for giving me some new specimens to think about.


1.) "The Stratigraphy of the Pennsylvania series in Missouri", Henry Hinds, Frank Cook Greene, David White. U.S. Geological Survey. 1915 pgs. 317-320

Gastropods from the Texas Carboniferous

I purchased a lot of specimens from a member of the Fossil Forum recently that were from the Cretaceous and upper Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) of Texas. All the fossils had been personally collected by Dan Woehr and you can read about his trips at his "Meanderings of a Texas Fossil Hunter" website. You've seen some of the Brachiopod specimens from the Finis Shale that I have acquired from Estate sales but today I wanted to illustrate some of the common Gastropods that Dan sent me.

Glabrocingulum grayvillense







Worthenia tabulata








Straparollus sp. Note that one side of the shell is flat while the other is raised. This indicates to me that the snail dragged the shell across the bottom rather than having it hoisted above it's body as most snails do.






Euphemites nodocarinatus








Pharkodonotus percarinatus








There are those who say that you should never buy a fossil that you could collect yourself. While this has some merit, my prime motivation for purchasing these fossils from Dan is two fold. First, these make good study fossils for me to compare to those I might find in other areas (including here in Pennsylvania). Second, who knows when I will be able to get down to Texas to do my own collecting and if I would have the opportunity to collect all of the above species during a trip. If I purchase fossils I like to do so from the same people who found and collected the specimens. This way I have a knowledgeable local person whom I can ask questions about the fossils and I know they are taking the time and effort to make sure the specimens are correctly labeled and carefully packed. Support your local fossil collectors!