Dianulites sp. bryozoan from St. Petersburg, Russia

When I first looked at this specimen the name Prasopora immediately leapt to mind. The ID would be correct except that this specimen comes from the quarries near St. Petersburg, Russia. Like Prasopora this specimen is Ordovician in age (Dapingian to Darriwillian stages) but I think is more correctly identified as Dianulites sp.

I chose this ID based on some comparisons to similar fossils that can be seen on the Baltoscandian Fossils website.

Clitombonites squamatis brachiopods from St. Petersburg, Russia

This is the strophomenid brachiopod Clitambonites squamatus, from the Aseri stage of the middle Ordovician (Darriwillian stage of the ICS) rocks near St. Petersburg, Russia. It comes from the Koporie quarry.

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I am basing some of my information from this record on the Baltoscandian fossils website.

Asaphus lepidurus trilobite from St. Petersburg, Russia

The Ordovician rocks found in the St. Petersburg region of Russia have long been a source for excellent trilobites. There are a great many quarries, pits and excavations, both active and overgrown, that are exploited by local collectors for the well preserved fossils within. One of the most commonly available species is Asaphus lepidurus and I have a couple of specimens in my collection.

Specimen #1 is a partially prone example of the species. Part of the thorax and the pygidium are folded at a 90 degree angle. I have to wonder if this position is one of a predatory nature or is it just a molt that stayed in that position? As I don't have any information as to what the original bedding plane was prior to this fossil being prepped I doubt I will ever know.

Specimen #2 is an older specimen that I bought years ago. It's not the best quality and shows evidence of repair but it's a nice example.

A face only a mother could love.

You can see that the fossil was preserved on a fractured piece of rock. The person who prepared this specimen did a good job keeping the matrix together and repairing the fossil.

Specimen #3 is an enrolled example of the species.

All three specimens are from the Voybokalo quarry near St. Petersburg which quarries rocks that are part of the Kunda stage (Darriwillian stage of the ICS) of the Ordovician.

Lycophoria sp. brachiopod from St. Petersburg, Russia

Here are a couple of specimens of the brachiopod Lycophoria from the St. Petersburg region of Russia.

Specimen #1 is Lycophoria globosa from the Aseri stage (Darriwillian stage of the ICS) and was found in the Koporie Quarry.

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Specimen #2 is Lycophoria nucella from the Kunda stage (Darriwillian stage of the ICS) and was found in the Voybokalo quarry.

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I can't tell the difference between the two species myself so I am relying on the original sources from which I procured the specimens. From my research I found that the Kunda stage underlies the Aseri stage but I don't have any formation info.

The eocrinoid Bolboporites from St. Petersburg, Russia

I received a very cool fossil a few months ago from a seller on E-bay who specializes in the trilobites from the St. Petersburg region of Russia. I'd asked them if they had any other fossils besides trilobites and they came back with a small lot of mixed invertebrates. Among that lot was this echinoderm that is called Bolboporites sp. It is classified as an eocrinoid but looks more like a Hershey's Kiss. It was attached to the sea floor at the narrow tip (or possibly partially buried) and had just one arm that was attached to the flattened top (see the last pic). It is still something of a mysterious fossil as not much else is preserved of them.

This is a view of the top surface. Presumably the arm was attached near the depression in the lower right.

This fossil came from the Volbokalo quarry near St. Petersburg Russia which mines rocks that are part of the Kunda Horizon, Asaphus expansus Zone of the Lower Ordovician.

I found a paper on Bolboporites here. An it was featured on Wooster Geologists blog as a Fossil on the Week.