Friday, April 10, 2020

Tornoceras uniangulare goniatite from the Moscow formation

Goniatites are primitive Cephalopods that had coiled shells and lived prior to the more well known Ammonites during the Paleozoic. They had chambered shells and can be identified by the suture pattern, as in Ammonites, however the patterns are far simpler than their younger cousins.

Below is a decently sized example of the goniatite Tornoceras uniangulare from the Moscow formation of New York. It is a partial example with a large section of the living chamber missing. I believe it has also been compressed at a slight angle. I'm not sure if it is pareidolia or not but it seems like you can see some of the sutures along the leading edge of the largest chamber (upper left side of the fossil) just before it cuts off.

Specimen #1



A couple of smaller specimens

Specimen #2


Specimen #3


 Sometimes you only find partial sections...

Other times the fossil is warped due to how it was laying in the sediment prior to compression.




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.)

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