Geobulletin alpha

Fieldwork: the 'All powerful' strategy 

The new ELI today is another in our fieldwork series. The 'All powerful' strategy; discussing geological histories in imaginative ways'. This activity uses a ‘deep questioning’ approach to a plenary fieldwork activity, by asking what series of events would be necessary for the view before the pupils to be recreated. The activity can be used at a range of scales from a small quarry to

Longispina mucronata brachiopod from the Ludlowville formation 

I picked up this slab of chonetid type brachiopods while visiting a small quarry off Geer Rd. in Madison County, NY. The rock found there is a portion of the Upper Ludlowville formation (Devonian, Givetian stage) which has these zones of shell "pavement". Most of the shells I can't really identify beyond "Chonetid type" because to distinguish between the genra you'd need to see if they had spines growing off the hinge line. As the spines are delicate they often get broken off before the shell [...]

Leiorhynchus multicostus brachiopods from the Levanna Shale 

I came upon this plate of shale in a small quarry near the town of Fayette in New York. It comes from the Levanna Shale of the Skaneateles Formation and is covered with brachiopod fossils called Leiorhynchus multicostus (aka Eumetabolatoechia multicostatum). Leiorhynchonellid type brachiopods are often common in black shales which indicate that they were tolerant of conditions with lower oxygen content. In this case there must have been a period or time where the conditions were right and the [...]

Eosyringothyris sp. brachiopod from Fayette, NY 

This is one of the more unusual brachiopods that I've found in New York. It came from a small quarry near Fayette, NY that exposes a portion of the Centerfield member of the Ludlowville Formation. The fossil looks like a very large Cyrtina type brachiopod as it has a deep pedicle valve and a large interarea.Brachial valveAnteriorPedicle valvePosterior - Note the large delthyrium (upside down triangle shape) in the middle of the interareaProfileVia a posting on the Fossil Forum I was able to get [...]