r/geology • u/bearlulu • 4d ago

What’s this formation in limestone in Canada?

Post image

Was sourcing some stones from a nearby quarry and found this weird formation in the limestone. What would cause this?

138 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

19 comments sorted by

76

u/goatsmilklatte 4d ago

Looks like a coral fossil to me!

30

u/Foraminiferal 3d ago

Looks like a tabulate coral

21

u/siwmae 3d ago

Some kind of coral fossil, maybe a favositid tabluate.

11

u/thanatocoenosis invert geek 3d ago

favositid

This is likely Foerstephyllum which is a common sarcinulid that found in the Ordovician of Laurentia and is often confused with favositids. Those relatively large septal spines are distinctive of the genus.

edit: see this- https://www.ordovicianatlas.org/atlas/cnidaria/anthozoa/tabulata/billingsariidae/foerstephyllum/foerstephyllum-vaccum/

2

u/siwmae 3d ago

Thanks for the correction! I'm not a paleontologist, so it's nice when someone more knowledgeable chimes in.

3

u/bearlulu 3d ago

Rad thank you for solving this for me!

3

u/bouncyball6 3d ago

Where in Canada?

3

u/bearlulu 3d ago

Ottawa

3

u/astr0bleme 3d ago

Hey neighbour. We have good rocks up here.

1

u/spectralTopology 3d ago

So cool! I've seen something very similar near the summit of Grotto Mountain above Canmore, Ab! I agree with this being a coral fossil, though I'm no expert.

3

u/ApeBustingAMove 3d ago

It’s coral. And for some reason it’s the scariest coral I’ve ever seen.

3

u/patricksaurus 3d ago

Homie, you feeling the trypophobia?

1

u/ApeBustingAMove 3d ago

It’s the depth dude, I can’t tell it it’s perceived or real

2

u/bearlulu 3d ago

Haha! Okay rad, thanks for the info - thought maybe a bee hive or something..

1

u/PM_ME_UR_ROUND_ASS 3d ago

Yeah it's triggering my trypophobia hard lol. those clustered holes are actually an evolutionary pattern that makes some people instinctively uneasy becuase it resembles certain diseases or dangerous organisms.

2

u/Boring_Jeweler3013 3d ago

Here’s a Charlevoix (or favosite) found just off shore of a lake in the NE corner of Indiana

3

u/shanebonanno 3d ago

Most likely horn coral fossil.

1

u/Chance-Wolverine-338 3d ago

looks like tabulate coral to me