Eunema speciosum Gastropod Fossil

While collecting in Alpena Michigan USA earlier this month, I found something that I could not immediately identify. It was gastropod fossil found in the Potters Farm Formation of the Traverse Group. The fossil dates to the middle Devonian Period (Givetian Stage). After consulting with Paleo Joe he told me it was a Longstaffia speciosa (Whiteaves, 1892) snail fossil as identified in Devonian Strata of Alpena and Presque Isle Counties, Michigan by G. M. Ehlers and R. V. Kesling (1970) [LINK]. For some reason the species name was altered in this document from its original name which ended in the letters "um" which were replaced with the letter "a". In Latin, words that end in "um" are genitive plural and plural words end in "a".

This species was named by Joseph Frederick Whiteaves (1835-1909) as Eunema speciosum in 1892's The Fossils of the Devonian Rocks of the Islands, Shores or Immediate Vicinity of Lakes Manitoba and Winnipegosis [LINK]. The genus Eunema was named by Salter in 1859 and then renamed in 1908 by Cossmann to Longstaffia.

According to Fossilworks the new name for this fossil is Kitikamispira speciosum (Wagner, 2020).

Huntonia huntonensis Trilobite Fossil

On a recent trip to Alpena, Michigan USA with several amateur paleontologists from Louisville and one from Chicago, we visited a local paleontologist Paleo Joe (aka  Joseph Kchodl). This picture is of one of his trilobite fossils from Oklahoma. This fossil is known as Huntonia huntonensis (Ulrich & Delo, 1940). It was found in the Haragan Formation and existed in the Devonian Period.

 Learn more about this trilobite in the Oklahoma Geological Survey Bulletin 123 Trilobites of the Haragan, Bois D'Arc and Frisco Formations (Early Devonian) Arbuckle Mountains Region, Oklahoma by K. S. W. Campbell (1977). Paper can be found at this LINK.

Favosites mammillatus Coral Fossil

Last week I visited Alpena, Michigan USA with several amateur paleontologists from Louisville and one from Chicago. We were luck to have a local paleontologist Paleo Joe (aka  Joseph Kchodl) as our guide. This picture is of one of his finds from Alpena. A common coral known as Favosites mammillatus (Stumm & Tyler, 1964). It was found in the Potter Farm Formation and lived in the middle Devonian Period.