Palaeacis cuneiformis Milne-Edwards & Haime
Coral

Mississippian
Meramecian Series
Salem Formation
St. Louis County, Missouri

  
Palaeacis cuneiformis Milne-Edwards & Haime

Originally described as a Sponge:
Sphenopoterium cuneatum, M. and W. Oct. 1860
Geological Survey of Illinois Volume II Paleontology 1866
page 262 plate 19

They are corals, not sponges. Granted, they are problematical
corals, but the current consensus is they are not sponges.
Alan Goldstein

Special thanks to:
Alan Goldstein for properly identifying this specimen.

This specimen, the Horn Coral, and the Deltodus tooth
were all found less that 24 inches from each
other. These specimens were found in what I refer
to as a rare "soft pocket" in the Salem Formation. It
was never compressed. It was like finding a very
small Salem shale pocket. I am sure it wasn't shale.
However, I use that term to give the reader a mental
image of the appearance.

The pocket was only about 24 inches square. Like
so many other fossiliferous localities, it has fallen
prey to progress. In this case, a shopping center.

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Salem Formation

Mississippian Fossils of Missouri