Sunday, May 1, 2011

Microcyclus thedfordensis

While you find bunches of corals at Arkona, one of the harder to find is Microcyclus thedfordensis. These are a small solitary coral that are found as small "buttons" eroding out of the Arkona formation.





One has to spend a lot of time crawling on the ground to try and find a few specimens of this species. I've only found two so far, one each trip.

4 comments:

  1. Microcyclus is a very odd little coral! I've had the good fortune of receiving two in a trade with Peter (pleecan) from the Fossil Forum. Hopefully you'll find some more of these little gems on your next trip.

    Dan

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  2. Dan, I was sorting through a box of small bits that I found at Arkona and came across 6 others that I'd forgotten about. I have a bunch more pieces to photograph and ID now too! :)

    Dave

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  3. Find the right area at Hungry Hollow, and you'll easily pick up a dozen or two... 90 in one day is my record, 5-20mm. There's a whole book on these, tough to pin down the species.

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  4. Found 38 in half an hour the other day. A little spot that nobody ever looks over, where they weather out all winter long, ready for me to pick them up in the spring! Noticed 6 sitting in one area the size of my palm; a nice pair and perfect sun made for a great in situ photo.

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