Described by James Hall in 1876 as "elongate-tubular, obconical or trumpet-shaped bodies, rapidly enlarging toward the aperture, which is campanulate with the margins always imperfect." The Cornulites propius worm tube fossil is found in the Waldron Shale of Bartholomew County, Indiana. These creatures lived in the Silurian Period.
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| Cornulites propius illustration from Indiana Department of Geology and Natural History 11th Annual Report 1881; Plate 32 Figure 4 |
Hi Mike - I always think of "Cornulites propius" as the small riders that attach to Waldon gastropods. I have many examples of these, but also have three or so that are 1.5 to 3.0 inches long - these seem to have a slightly different shape and folks that sold them called them "Cornulites sp.". Could you comment on size - do you feel these are different species? I also wondered why i've never seen any "Cornulites" between 0.5 to 1.5 inches"? I was also wondering how many different Cornulites you have seen coming out of Rochester Shale? regards - Jack
ReplyDeleteHi Jack,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments. I believe the smaller variety seen on the snail fossils were a younger form of what would mature into a larger creature. From what I have read, they are the same species.
You might contact the people at Primitive Worlds web site who quarry the Rochester Shale about Cornulites they find.