Parmorthis waldronensis brachiopod from the Waldron Shale

Another brachiopod from the diverse Waldron Shale (Silurian, Wenlock epoch) is Parmorthis waldronensis. It reminds me a little bit of Pseudoatrypa reticularis of the Devonian (because of one valve being convex and the other nearly flat) and Dalmanella multisecta of the Ordovician (because of the shape of the interarea). It also has a strong resemblance to Resserella elegantula specimens that I've found in the Irondequoit limestone near Lockport, NY.

Brachial valve

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It turns out that a little research on the Fossilworks.org website (formerly Paleodb.org) shows that Parmorthis is a synonym of Resserella. So the resemblance is because they are one in the same. I will have to update the label to indicate Resserella waldronensis.

Schuchertella subplana from the Waldron Shale of Indiana

Schuchertella subplana is a relatively flat brachiopod but it is not a Strophomenid because both of it's valves are convex (rather than one being convex and the other concave). The specimen below comes from the Waldron Shale (Wenlock Epoch) in Bartholomew Co., IN.

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Meristina maria brachiopod from the Waldron Shale

Since I mentioned the brachiopod genus Meristina in my last blog post I figured I should at least post an example of one. This is Meristina maria from the Waldron Shale of Shelby County, IN. It has a very deep sulcus and the pedicle valve is not as long as the brachial valve.

Brachial valve

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Pedicle valve

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Right profile

I purchased this fossil from a dealer along with a number of other fossils from the Waldron shale. The Waldron shale is Silurian aged and dated to the Wenlock epoch.

Anastrophia internascens brachiopod from the Waldron Formation

When I see a brachiopod name with "strophia" in it I tend to think of shells with a convex dorsal valve like Strophodonta or Strophomena. Anastrophia, however, is a Pentemerid type brachiopod from the Silurian aged Waldron Formation near Pegram, TN (Silurian, Wenlock epoch, Sheinwoodian to Homerian stage).

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I'm glad I bought this specimen from  reputable dealer who had a good ID on it. Trying to figure out Rhynconellid ID's can be very tough.

Homoeospira evax brachiopod from the Waldron Shale

Homoeospira evax is a brachiopod that I mistook for Atrypa until I really got down to look at it. This specimen, from the Waldron Shale of Clark County, Indiana (Silurian, Wenlock epoch, Sheinwoodian to Homerian stage), is typical of the species. While it does have the radiating ribs that you see on Atrypa it also has a prominent beak and narrower hinge line. Additionally H. evax does not have concentric growth lines on the surface of it's shell like Atrypa does.

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Dictyonella reticulata brachiopod from the Waldron Shale

Specimens of Dictyonella reticulata are easy to pick out of a lineup. They have a very distinctive exterior that looks like hatch marks or it is covered with a bryozoan. In actuality the pattern is related to a defensive mechanism whereby the each diamond shaped pit had a small tube extending into the shell. Through that tube the brachiopod could ooze a noxious chemical to keep predators from eating it and opportunistic larvae from settling on it. Think of them as the prototype to having actual spines.

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Brachial valve

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The above specimen came from the Waldron shale in Indiana which is Silurian (Sheinwoodian to Homerian stage) in age.

There are some who would ID this fossil as an Eichwaldia reticulata which is an older name.
A review of the "Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology - Part H - Brachiopoda V1" edited by Moore (1965) has the following description of the two genera (which are in the same family) on page 360:

Eichwaldia BILLINGS, 1858, p. 190 [*E. subtrigonalis; OD].
External ornament only of fine concentric growth lines. Interior of brachial valve
with prominent median septum extending nearly to anterior margin, small boss at posterior end of septum possibly functioning as cardinal process;
musculature unknown. M.Ord., Can. FIG. 229,

Dictyonella HALL, 1868, p. 274 [* Atrypa coralifera HALL, 1852, p. 281; OD] [=Dyctionella OEHLERT, 1887, p. 1267 (nom. null.)].
Very similar to Eichwaldia, differing in its ornament of rather coarse pits defined by intersecting, narrow, elevated lines. Sil., N.Am.~Eu.·Asia. FIG. 229,2.

Volume 8, part 2 of "the Paleontology of New York" by James Hall describes Eichwaldia on page 307 and illustrates it on plate LXXXIII (88 for those unfamiliar with roman numerals).

Also, Mike over at Louisville Fossils points out that the genera Dictyonella was renamed Eodictyonella in 1994 by Anthony D. Wright in his paper titled "Eodictyonella, a new name for Dictyonella Hall, 1868, not Dictyonella Schmidt, 1868" in the Journal of Paleontology, July 1994, v. 68, p. 908-909

Here is a Dictyonella corallifera from the Irondequoit limestone of New York which is roughly the same age as the Waldron shale.

Nucelospria pisiformis (?) brachiopod from the Waldron Shale

The small brachiopod below was purchased labelled as a Nucelospria pisiformis from the Waldron shale. I am not entirely familiar with the fauna of the Waldron shale, but this looks very similar to shells I see identified as Whitfieldella nitida. A quick review of the "Index Fossils of North America" by Shimer and Shrock (pg 331, pl. 126, 127)  does indeed lend creedence to my suspicions.

Pedicle valve

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The specimen above came from the Waldron shale in Indiana which is Silurian (Sheinwoodian to Homerian stage) in age.

Cornulites proprius worm tube from the Waldron Shale

Cornulites worm tubes are something I've found before attached to brachiopod shells. Generally they are small, under a cm in length, and have widely (for the scale) spaced growth lines. The specimen below I purchased from a dealer and is much, much larger than any I have seen before.

The overall length of the specimen is about 2.5 inches or 6 cm.

The growth lines are much more closely spaced than other specimens I have seen.  This could just be related to the species of worm or possibly the diameter of the tube (about 1/2in or 1cm).

Opposite side

A view of the top of the specimen.

The specimen came from the Waldron shale in Indiana which is Silurian (Sheinwoodian to Homerian stage) in age.

Two Sponges from the Waldron Shale

I've not had much opportunity to collect in the Waldron shale so I was pleased to be able to purchase some fossils from a dealer at very reasonable prices. Below are two fossil sponges which look very different from each other.

Receptaculites subturbinatus has a diamond like pattern on it's surface and kind of looks like a pine cone.

Mike over at Louisville fossils has a nice pyritized example.

Astylospongia premorsa, on the other hand, is more of a rounded mound with a small amount of detail to help distinguish it from the surrounding rock.

Again, Mike at Louisville fossils has another great example of this species.

Both specimens came from the Waldron shale in Indiana which is Silurian (Sheinwoodian to Homerian stage) in age.

Eucalyptocrinus elrodi crinoid from the Waldron shale

A few months back I bought a pair of Eucalyptocrinus crinoid calyx from a seller on E-bay. The one that interested me the most is the Eucalyptocrinus elrodi pictured below.

Note the small bumps on the surface of the calyx plates. This is the diagnostic feature that separates this species from the others.

The fossil is missing it's arms which is a very typical mode of preservation. Apparently the calyx was somewhat solidly built and held together longer than the arms did once the animal died.

The most commonly found species of Eucalyptocrinus in the Waldron shale is E. crassus which I have on a mixed plate of fossils that you can see here. There was also a calyx of that species in the lot I purchased from E-bay, except it has no arms and is extremely wide.

Notice how shallow the cup is which must be related to how wide the calyx is. Perhaps this was a long lived specimen or maybe just a variant form.

I noticed that at some point (likely after it had died and fallen to the sea floor) a small Byrozoan colony grew on one side.

This epibont activity is studied and documented in a paper by W. David Liddell and Carlton Brett.

Both of the above specimens came from the Waldron Shale which is Silurian in age (Wenlock epoch, Sheinwoodian to Homerian stage).