Winkie’s Pillar Coral Fossil

Pillar Coral (Dendrogyra, cylindricus)
Source: en.wikipedia.org

Pillar Coral is one of the most spectacular stony corals found in the western Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea.  It derives its name for obvious reasons with its finger like branches. They can reach a height of nearly 3 meters.

Pillar Coral Fossil (Dendrogyra, cylindricus)

This pillar coral fossil is another sample given to me by my late mother-in-law, Winifred (Winkie). She gathered her coral fossil collection along Florida coasts during an era when it was okay to do so.  Colonies were once more common along the Florida reef, but commercial collections has greatly reduced its occurrence. Otherwise, pillar coral (Dendrogyra, cylindricus) is found commonly along coasts of Jamaica and Bahamas.

Pillar Coral Fossil (Dendrogyra, cylindricus)

Reverse view of  pillar coral from above sample.

Dendrogyra, cylindricus is unusual in that the polyps with their tentacles are expanded in the daytime unlike most other stony coral.  The tentacles sway with the current and if one portion of the colony is disturbed by touching so that the polyps contract, a wave of contractions of the other polyps can be seen to pass over the entire colony in a period of a few seconds.

Pillar Coral (Dendrogyra, cylindricus)
Source: en.wikipedia.org

     

    

Classification of Pillar Coral

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Cnidardia (large marine

group characterized with stinging

cells, tentacles and no skeletons

or organs)

Class: Anthozoa (Flower Animal)

Order: Scleratinia (Stony Coral)

Suborder: Faviidae (General Spherical Shape)

Family: Meandrinidae (Meandering

valleys between corallites)

Genus: Dendrogyra

Species: Cylindricus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you enjoyed this display of pillar corals and learned something along the way.  I feel privileged to have inherited this sample as part of a collection from my beautiful mother-in-law Winkie.

1983 Ft. Lauderdale Florida
Winkie and Joe

Winifred (Winkie)

Brain Coral

Diploria, strigosa

Fossil Brain Coral Diploria

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE FOR FULL EFFECT AND DEFINED DETAILS

I was very lucky to inherit a lovely collection of Florida coral fossils from my mother- in-law, Winifred (Winkie) Mirto. She collected them many years ago during winter retreats from Michigan when it was okay to do so. Today, it’s not legal to pick up coral along Florida beaches and collect them for personal use.

Brain Coral – Diploria

Fossil Brain Coral Diploria

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The coral genus groups Diploria, Meandrina and Colpophyllia belong to the family of Faviidae and earn the common term “brain coral” due to their convoluted surfaces and general spherical shapes.  They are mostly slow growing colony forms which may be colossal in scale reaching a few meters in length and living for 100′s of years.

They belong to the order of Scleractinia of which all are living corals and consist of stony skeletons.  They have a light, porous skeleton consisting of  external sheathing that forms a cup. Scleractinians were fairly rare in North America until the Cretaceous, about 100 million years ago, when they first built reefs in Texas and Mexico. It wasn’t until the Pleistocene Period, about 2.6 mya, that reefs flourished where they do today.

Fossil Brain Coral Meandrina

Brain Coral Meandrina

Meandrina Brain Coral Fossil

The coral polyps, the living breathing jelly-like part of the animal, are found in single file in the valley of the convolutions. They are normally contracted during daylight, but expand at night to catch microbits of food drifting by.

Fossil Brain Coral Colpophyllia

Brain Coral Colpophyllia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRAIN CORAL CLASSIFICATION

• Kingdom  -  Animalia
• Phylum  -    Cnidaria (means stinging cells)
• Class  -     Anthozoa (means flower animal)
• Order  -  Scleratinia (stony skeleton)
• Family  -  Faviidae (spherical group with grooved surfaces)
• Genus  -  Diploria, Colpophyllia, Meandrina

Fossillized Algae

Oval Beach, Saugatuck, MI, USA Where I Find Many Fossils (This is a bluff west of the shoreline)

Did you know algae are the oldest fossils to be found on Earth that can be seen with the naked eye?

I may be guessing, but I believe I picked up a fossil sample of algae from Lake Michigan’s Oval Beach shown below.  Algae come in a variety of shapes and forms. They range from single cell organisms such as microscopic phytoplankton to multi-cellular such as in the case of giant kelp that can grow as tall as 65 meters.

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Algae fossil found on Oval Beach, Saugauck, MI, USA

So why is algae important to you and me?

The answer is:  Algae are the most important photosynthesizing organisms on Earth!  A by-product of photosynthesis is oxygen.  Algae produces more oxygen from the sun’s energy than all other plants combined.

They also form a beneficial partnership with other organisms such as with reef-building coral which over time constructs limestone.

Fossilized algae has dated as far back as 1.7 billion years ago.

Flip side of algae fossil with unidentified patterns

I have a sample of Petrified Algae from which I purchased years ago which has been tumbled and polished smooth. This algae once flourished in warm seas over what is now Minnesota, USA. It is estimated to have lived some two billion years ago. The algae has been petrified or replaced with jasper. The redish pattern in the stone is where the algae used to be. Jasper is a type of quartz that is dense, finely grained, with up to 20% foreign materials that determines its color.

Petrified Algae replaced with Jasper

The Plight of the Horseshoe Crab

The horseshoe crab holds a special place in many peoples heart who live in the Atlantic Coast area of the United States, particularly the Delaware Bay.  Every Spring when they show up by the thousands to spawn, it’s a sight to behold. Although, I do not live in that region, the famed yearly event has reached the attention and interest of my eyes and ears.

source: smithsonianmag.com

source: bioexpedition.com

Because they date back to the Paleozoic Era over 400 million years ago, I chose to include the horseshoe crab for one of my story characters in the book I completely recently called “Under the Sea Time Forgot”. Her name is Breeva and she is a close cousin to another character in the story since both are arthropods with segmented bodies, jointed limbs and an external skeleton called an exoskeleton.

source: fossilmuseum .net

source: factzoo.com

Through my research, the horseshoe crab became close to my heart too and I found myself  feeling very sympathetic to their modern day plight. Man is going to blow it, if he doesn’t wise up. An animal such as the horseshoe crab having survived millions of years through multiple mass extinctions deserves our respect. Because of over harvesting, abuse, habitat disappearance, pollution and their use as bait, the horsehoe crab is close to being on the threatened list. That would be a crime!

source: pbs.org

Help to Humans:

The horseshoe crab blood contains copper which gives

it the blue color, but more important, their blood contains

an ingredient used to test pharmaceutics for impurities.

It’s claimed this does not harm the animal, but some sources

debate that.

Interesting Facts

Horseshoe crabs are simple primitive creatures which haven’t changed much in over 400 million years.

* Science believes they have survived the eons for several reasons:

1) the size and shape of their exoskeleton shield

2) they can go a year without food

3) they adapt to high salt environments and extreme temperatures

4) their unique blood protects them from infection

* They are gentle animals, non-threatening to humans

* They can breathe in and out of water due to bi-functional book gills that resemble pages of a book

* Their thousands of eggs are vital to the survival of migratory birds and other sea animals

     

       CLASSIFICATION OF HORSESHOE CRAB

• Kingdom:        Animalia
• Phylum:          Arthopoda     (Animal having an external skeleton, segmented body and jointed legs)
• Subphylum:  Chelicerata     (Small appendages to form pincers used to feed)
• Class:               Merostomato (Separates the Horseshoe crab from Eurypterids (extinct sea scorpions)
• Order:              Xiphosura       (Includes extinct and modern Chelicerates)
• Family:            Limulidae        (Modern  horseshoe crab)
• Genera             Limulus            (Atlantic horseshoe crab)
• Species            Polyphemus   (Atlantic horseshoe crab)

Mystery Coral Fossils Found in Wintertime

Winter 2010

Most years, Lake Michigan wave action piles ice and snow into mounds twenty feet high shown above. In order to see the lake you have to stand on the bluff behind the photo above or climb up the mounds without falling in. Danger lurks around the edges where people can and have fallen through.

It’s now January 2013 and this is the second consecutive season that the sand is left bare from winter’s layers of frost. Normally, looking beyond the  horizon view of Lake Michigan is a frozen tundra of stillness. Not this year. Compare the photo above taken in winter 2010 from the two photos below taken winter 2013.

Lake Michigan Unfrozen January 2013

Imprints in the Sand

Below are several interesting samples of coral fossils I found on the Oval Beach, Saugatuck, MI (USA) a few weeks ago exposed from the winter 2013 whirling gusts. Very unusual to find that many at one time. I’ve written more extensively about coral fossils in the “classification” categories in the box to the right. Please feel free to make suggestions identifying these coral fossils further.

Coral Fossil with crystals inside crevices

Coral Fossil with embedded crinoids

Fossil Coral

Fossil Coral (reverse side from above coral)

Side View of Coral or Sponge Fossil

Coral or Sponge Fossil

Mystery Fossils Found at Oval Beach

Natural Harbor Area adjacent to Oval Beach, Saugatuck, MI

Mystery Fossil 1

Above is a photo of the area I found four out of five of the mystery fossils shown above and below. The grass growing on the dune is called Marram Grass or American Beach Grass. This grass actually stabilizes the Michigan dunes along Lake Michigan which build up from the dominate westerly winds pushing the sand. The winds also reveal so many of the fossils I find to share with you.

I decided to post these photos of interesting mystery fossils, if that is indeed what they are. Some simply intrigued me, for example, number 2 is a perfect circle inside the stone and number 4 is something I have found before in similar shape.  Hopefully, someone will glance upon these and help identify them. Maybe even you! Please make any suggestions that could provide possible some answers!

Mystery Fossil 2

Mystery Fossil 3

Mystery Fossil 4

Mystery Fossil 5

Favosite Corals Named after two Michigan Cities

During the month of December, the ground is usually  covered with layers of snow here in Michigan (USA). Fossil exploring is put on hold till Spring, but 2012/13, so far, has shown a mild winter. As a result, the sand along the shores of Lake Michigan is more exposed to strong winds which has actually assisted fossil finding ventures. The moving sands reveal hidden treasures one must partake while it lasts.

Snow fences at Oval Beach contain the sand and create interesting patterns

Below, are two recent discoveries of favosite corals found on Oval Beach in SW Michigan. Favosite is an extinct genus of “tabulate” coral characterized by a honeycomb  pattern of cells which housed the jelly-like coral polyp creatures. The “tabulae” refers to the horizontal internal partitions visible from the side view of a good specimen. The partitions are abandon cells which reveal the growth patterns of the coral.

The Petosky Stone sample “Hexagonaria, percarinata”  is about the size of a fist. It’s rather smoothed out from water and sand action, yet it’s a nice large specimen that reveals the entire coral. From the side view, you can clearly see how it was attached to the seafloor by its stem.

Petoskey Stone
Hexagonaria, percarinata

Side View of Petosky Stone

The other favosite coral I found is often referred to as a Charlevoix Stone. It’s smaller in total size, as well as its polygon patterns. It clearly also belongs to the Hexagonaria genera, meaning six sided for its polygon shaped chambers. Both these coral stones are nicknamed after quaint shoreline Michigan cities located near each other in the NW region of the lower peninsula. Yet, both favosite cousins can be found from the  far northern to the far southern shores of the Great Lake along the Michigan coast.

Charlevoix Stone

Side view of Charlevoix Stone