Echinocaris sp. phyllocarid from the Moscow formation

It is fitting that I end this run of fossils that I've found at the Deep Springs Rd., NY locality with the rarest fossil I've found from the location.

An odd Arthropod that can be found in the Devonian shales of the Moscow formation are Phyllocarids. They were free swimming animals with the tail of a shrimp and the body of a pelecyopd. That is, their bodies were protected by a bivalved carapace with an armored tail that had long spikes at the end. It's more complex than that so let me post the Facebook link below to a 3-d model that an artist created:

There, now you have a good idea what a live specimen should look like. From that we turn to a fossilized specimen that I found which is not quite as visually stunning. It's a positive and negative of the body shell from a species called Echinocaris punctata that is crushed and partially obscured by rock.

A closer view of the positive shows the left valve's pustulose shell surface.

When I turn it 90 degrees some more detail emerges. Note the linear feature about 1/4 of the way up from the bottom margin of the shell. That particular location and shape are what tells me this is an E. punctata. You will also notice some oval shapes just above the linear feature which are also characteristic of this species. Both valves are present with the right valve splayed out above the left. However, some of the positive of the right valve is missing where the rock broke.

Here is the negative of the fossil. I rotated the photo the specimen would be oriented similar to the above positive side.

This is the only specimen I have found of this odd Arthropod family but their fossils are not uncommon in the Windom shale at Deep Springs Rd.  Friends of mine have found better specimens at the same locality. It's all dependent on the rock splitting right and you finding the right layer.

This specimen was found at a borrow pit on Deep Springs Road in Madison County, NY which exposes the Windom shale member of the Moscow formation (middle Devonian in age, Givetian stage.) 

Grammysioidea arcuata pelecypod from the Moscow formation

An easy pelecypod to ID from the mid Devonian is Grammysioidea arcuata. It is very oval shaped and has strong concentric ridges that decorate the shell. The umbo is also very pronounced. There is little other decoration to on the shell and this plain look is how you tell it apart from the contemporaneous Grammysia bisulcata. It doesn't help that their names are similar.

I've found this same species in the Mahantango formation of Pennsylvania as well.

This specimen was found at a borrow pit on Deep Springs Road in Madison County, NY which exposes the Windom shale member of the Moscow formation (middle Devonian in age, Givetian stage.)

Palaeozygopleura hamiltoniae gastropod from the Moscow formation

Another common gastropod from the middle Devonian is Palezygopleura hamiltoniae. Below are a couple of examples from the Deep Springs Rd. locality in New York. The species is easily recognized by the long conispiral shell that is typically 1-3cm in length. There are prominent growth lines all along the shell that looked like an arc facing away from the shell aperture. This gastropod was extremely common and old shells were often used as hard substrate for colonial organisms like coral and bryozoans the nucleate on. Just such an example of this can be seen under the base of a colony of Pleurodictyum americanum coral.

Specimen #1

Specimen #2

Other examples of this genus that I've posted before from the Penn Dixie locality, the Mahantango formation, the Needmore shale mbr. of the Onondoga formation, and just for good measure, here is a cousin from Germany.

These specimens were found at a borrow pit on Deep Springs Road in Madison County, NY which exposes the Windom shale member of the Moscow formation (middle Devonian in age, Givetian stage.) 

Craniops hamiltoniae brachiopod from the Moscow formation

I have a couple of tiny, oval shaped fossils from Deep Springs Rd. that confused me until I looked at them a little closer and then referred to Karl Wilson's book "Field Guide to the Devonian Fossils of New York" (pg. 120-121). These minute fossils are the inarticulate brachiopod Craniops hamiltoniae. More specifically they are the dorsal valve from that species as the ventral valve would have been attached to a hard substrate. How do I know they are the ventral valve? A close look at the fossils shows the muscle scars which are only found on the interior of the shell, and they are not connected to anything obvious that could be considered a hard substrate (shell, hardground, coral, etc.).

Specimen #1 - The specimen is in the lower right corner of this piece which also has a Paleozygopleura hamiltoniae on it.

Specimen #2 - This specimen is a little darker that the prior example

These specimens were found at a borrow pit on Deep Springs Road in Madison County, NY which exposes the Windom shale member of the Moscow formation (middle Devonian in age, Givetian stage.)

Lingula delia brachiopod from the Moscow formation

As I'm sure I've mentioned before in the many, many, many, many, many, many, posts I've written about Lingula specimens that it is a common fossil and known from the Cambrian thru to the modern day.  Well, here is another one. It's Lingula delia from the Windom Shale mbr. of the Moscow formation at Deep Springs Rd.  Considering these all look the same to me whenever I find them, I half wonder if there are multiple species or it's all just one long line of primitive brachiopods.


Specimen #1

Specimen #2

Specimen #3 - This is a more unusual specimen in that it is preserved, presumably, in life position. they typically lived buried in the sediment in a vertical orientation. they would used their fleshy muscle to raise and lower their shell so they could feed. It's not much more than a thin phosphatic coating so it's hard to see.

These specimens were found at a borrow pit on Deep Springs Road in Madison County, NY which exposes the Windom shale member of the Moscow formation (middle Devonian in age, Givetian stage.)

Spinocyrtia granulosa brachiopod from the Moscow formation

When I think of the brachiopod species Spinocyrtia granulosa the key features are the swept back and slightly recurved pedicle valve and the numerous small bumps or "spines" that can be found on the surface of the shell. This latter feature gives it a granular surface texture that gives the fossil it's specific name. 

Otherwise the shell looks similar to cousins Mediospirifer auducalus, and Mucrosprifier mucronautus with a rectangular wing shaped shell, slightly raised fold on the brachial valve and gentle "u" shaped sulcus on the pedicle valve. The specimens below come from the Windom Shale mbr. of the Moscow formation at Deep Springs Rd., NY.


Specimen #1 - A partial specimen that is missing the "wings" on each side of the central body. Brachial valve

Pedicle valve

Left profile

Posterior

Specimen #2 - A more intact specimen but it still has some damage. Some might argue that this might be a M. auducalus because of the rounded shell shape but I am calling it S. granulosa.

Anterior

Pedicle valve

Posterior

Another angle of the posterior

Right profile

Left profile

Specimen #3 - An isolated pedicle valve that has a nice bit of shell preserved with the granular surface.

 Compare these specimens to examples from the Mahantango formation, Hungry Hollow mbr. of the Widder formation, Morocco, Germany, and Spain.
 
These specimens were found at a borrow pit on Deep Springs Road in Madison County, NY which exposes the Windom shale member of the Moscow formation (middle Devonian in age, Givetian stage.)

Grammysioidea alveata pelecypod from the Moscow formation

One of the more common pelecypod fossils that can be found at the Deep Springs Rd. site is Grammysioidea alveata.  It's a subtriangular shell with well rounded posterior and anterior ends. The umbo is large and protruding. the surface of both valves have fine concentric growth lines but also widely spaced and prominent ridges.  This species is similar to Grammysioidea arcuata but is not as long.

Specimen #1 - Right valve

Left valve

Posterior profile - This fossil has been compressed nearly flat.

Specimen #2 - Right valve

Left valve

Anterior profile - Another specimen that has been crushed but this is not quite as bad as the prior specimen.

Specimen #3- Right valve. This specimen is less distorted than the prior two but still shows some compression along the dorsal to ventral axis

Left valve

Anterior profile

Ventral margin

I've found this species in the Mahantango formation of Pennsylvania as well.

This specimen was found at a borrow pit on Deep Springs Road in Madison County, NY which exposes the Windom shale member of the Moscow formation (middle Devonian in age, Givetian stage.)

Mediospirifer audaculus brachiopod from the Moscow formation

Mediospirifer audaculus is a very common brachiopod from the middle Devonian and I've found it at the Penn Dixie site, in the Silica shale formation, the Centerfield mbr. of the Ludlowville formation, the Hungry Hollow mbr. of the Widder formation, and the Mahantango formation. Below are a couple of specimens that come from the Windom shale mbr. of the Moscow formation at Deep Springs Rd., NY.

Specimen #1 - has a flattened (crushed) brachial valve

Anterior

Pedicle valve

Posterior

Left profile - Here you can see that the pedicle valve is in good condition but the brachial valve has been crushed. Normally the brachial valve in a M. audaculus should be flat to slightly convex.

This is a chunk of rock from the Deep Springs Rd. site that has multiple impression and valves of M. audaculus. I have to wonder if this is the remains of a small colony that was swept up in a storm or just a grouping of shells that were winnowed by currents.

This specimen was found at a borrow pit on Deep Springs Road in Madison County, NY which exposes the Windom shale member of the Moscow formation (middle Devonian in age, Givetian stage.)