Titusvillia
sp.
Hexactinellid sponge
and root tufts
Mississippian
Warsaw Formation (Shale)
Meramecian Series
St. Louis County, Missouri
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Special thanks to Dr. J. Keith Rigby
for the identification
What you have is a sponge, probably a form like Titusvillia,
if not a
Titusvillia. That genus has been described from the Mississippian of
Pennsylvania by Caster in 1939. Other members of the Titusvillidae,
such as Armstrongia Clarke, 1920, and Protoarmstrongia Caster,
1941,
are also branched, but they do not have as sharp of points along the
flattened sponge margin.
Dr. J. Keith Rigby
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Titusvillia? root tufts
Pyritized root tufts in shale with appearance of brass needles
I believe the root tufts belong
to the sponge Titusvillia sp.
based only on the association of these fossils found at the locality.
The two most common fossils found at this locality was this
sponge and these root tufts. Both were extremely common.
All the sponges and root tufts found at this locality
appeared to be identical. It is possible that the root tufts
do not belong to this sponge, so the present identification
must be Titusvillia? root tufts.
These specimens were collected at the same locality
as the
Conularia Paraconularia missouriensis
(listed on the menu)
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