Mesodouvillina varistriata brachiopod from the Kalkberg formation of New York

I recognized today's fossil very quickly due to it's similarity to specimens I have collected from the Givetian stage of the Devonian. This is Mesodouvillina varistriata from the Kalkberg formation of New York. It is a Strophomenid type brachiopod which means that the pedicle valve is convex while the brachial valve is concave. The most identifying feature is the decoration of the shell surface with fine striae which have even finer intermediate striae between them. Otherwise the shell is roughly rectangular in shape with a straight hinge line that is wider than the shell is long.

Pedicle valve

Anterior

Posterior

Profile

The Kalkberg formation is lower Devonian in age (Lockhovian to Pragian stage). I collected this specimen from a roadcut near Shoharie, NY.

Discina sp. inarticulate brachiopod from the Kalkberg formation of New York

The specimen below is the only one of any kind of inarticulate brachiopod that I found in the Kalkberg formation of New York. It is fused to the shell of an articulate brachiopod (an orthid of some type perhaps) and is somewhat weathered. From what I can see it is round to oval shaped along the margins with the dorsal valve broadly conical and having a central apex. The specimen has been weathered enough to remove most of the surface ornamentation which would help to identify it down to species level but I do see some very fine concentric growth lines. There also appears to be some mimicking of the shell structure upon which is has cemented itself along one edge. Hall does not list many inarticulate brachiopods as coming from the lower Devonian rocks of New York, however he does list several species under a genus called Discina in "Paleontology of New York", Vol III part 1, page 159-162. Hall also mentions that other workers has ascribed similar looking specimens to Orbiculoidea which is in the same family as Discina. For now I am calling this specimen Discina sp. until I can clean it to find more detail or otherwise determine it to be a different genus.

The Kalkberg formation is lower Devonian in age (Lockhovian to Pragian stage). I collected this specimen from a roadcut near Shoharie, NY.

Howella cycloptera brachiopod from the Kalkberg formation of New York.

I found several specimens of Howella cycloptera from the Kalkberg formation of New York for my collection. The shell has a flat hinge line with a semicircular shape along the margin. Both valves are inflated with the pedicle valve equal to or deeper than the brachial valve. A simple ridge and sulcus is present on the brachial and pedicle valve respectively. There are about seven round plications on either side of the ridge/sulcus on the surface of both valves with some some fine concentric growth lines present as well. Were there to be more plications then this could be Concinnispirifer concinnus but none of the specimens I collected have that many.

 Brachial valve

Anterior

Pedicle valve

Posterior

Profile

The Kalkberg formation is lower Devonian in age (Lockhovian to Pragian stage). I collected this specimen from a roadcut near Shoharie, NY.

Uncinulus sphaeroidalis brachiopod from the Kalkberg formation of New York

This little, round, marble like brachiopod is Uncinulus sphaeroidalis from the Kalkberg formation. It can be distinguished from similar Uncinulus species by the roundness of the shell when viewed in profile or from the front or back. Both valves are convex and have coarse plications with a slight ridge/sulcus but they only have a subtle effect on the shape of the shell. The sulcus and ridge are most expressed along the anterior margin as it angles up over and then back down at a near 90 degree angle.

Specimen #1 - Brachial valve

Anterior

Pedicle valve

Posterior

Profile

Specimen #2 - Brachial valve

Anterior

Pedicle valve

Posterior

Profile

Both specimens were collected from the Kalkberg formation of New York, which is lower Devonian in age (Lockhovian to Pragian stage), near the town of Shoharie.

Hindia sphaeroidalis sponge from the Kalkberg formation of New York

Sponges are not something I typically look for while collecting but some of the specimens of Hindia sphaeroidalis that I found in the Kalkberg formation of New York were nearly the size of a ping pong ball! I know that Hindia is a somewhat common sponge from the Ordovician up through the Devonian but these are the first specimens I have found. H. sphaeroidalis forms a round sphere or ball shape with no one particular surface being an obvious "top" or "bottom". I suspect this is because it rolled with the waves or currents on the sea floor rather than secure itself to a single spot. Other than the round shape, the only other way you can recognize this fossil is the granular surface which is in contrast to the typically fine, smooth limestones of the Kalkberg.

Specimen #1

Specimen #2 - with some matrix still attached.

Specimen #3 - This is an odd one in that it is somewhat flattened but it does not appear to be the result of compression.

Here are the three above specimens in a side by side shot to show the variation in size.

Specimen #4 - This is the only specimen I found with any sort of mark or area that broke the round surface. The dimple shape on this specimen is unusual and might be the result of the specimen growing next to another of it's species. I do not think it is a different species or genera as there are no other indicative markings to be found and the rest of the specimen conforms to the generally spherical shape know for H. sphaeroidalis.

The Kalkberg formation is lower Devonian in age (Lockhovian to Pragian stage). I collected this specimen from a roadcut near Shoharie, NY.