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Hi! Yep, this is the ten thousandth request to identify an "egg". I am pretty sure it's a fossilized egg and not a concretion, but I don't expect it to be from a dinosaur - maybe an ancient turtle or prosauropod or something, or possibly an Archosaur like Aetosaurus (which has been found in the same area). I have read the basic and advanced topics on egg identification on the forums, and I hope I can provide enough information for a clear identification. I found this "egg" a few days ago along the south shore of the Merimere Reservoir in Connecticut. This reservoir is located in a glacier-cut valley about 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Dinosaur State Park. It is in the town of Meriden, where remains of the small Hypsognathus were discovered. Here's a bit about the geological history of the area (which is an 1800 acre preserve called Hubbard Park) from the official website: "These areas, known as the Hanging Hills of Meriden on the west and Lamentation Mountain on the east, were formed by volcanoes 200 million years ago when dinosaurs still roamed the earth. Two of three major lava flows covered the red sandstone valley in Meriden. Each one cooled and hardened into trap rock known as step (basalt) and was gradually covered by sand and mud eroded from the surrounding hills. Through time, these sediments were buried by new sediment and cemented into brownstone by the slow trickle of groundwater. One exposure of the contact between the sandstone and basalt is in the cliff Northeast of Mirror Lake, 0.15 mile south of the Southern tip of Merimere Reservoir. A two foot thick layer of sandstone covers light-brown to light-red-banded silt stone and lays on top of two (2) inches of red clay with overlying basalt. Once the volcanic activity stopped, the whole region was fractured and tilted to the West. Since then, hundreds of feet of the softer sandstone bedrock have eroded from the valley leaving the dense, hard volcanic trap rock ridge layers standing out far above the surrounding landscape." What remains of the "egg" is about 11 cm (4") long and 5 cm (2") thick. It could have been round but I think more likely elongated (elongato/dictyo) and appears to have been squished a bit before fossilization, as you might expect from either being stepped on or crushed by earth or mud. It appears to have had a thick, leathery hide-like "shell" around it, in which tiny evidences of porosity can be seen, along with irregular cracks from the compression. There is a noticeably flatter side (the "bottom") which has a pattern of cracks that would be consistent with something like a crushed soft-shelled turtle egg. Unfortunately, it has been damaged and parts have broken off. The interior appears to be darker than the "shell" and the center of that core darker yet. I created a Google Photos shareable folder for the pictures since the total would be more than 4MB. You can access it HERE (I hope!). Photo comments (starting from the top, left to right): This pic mainly to show thickness of and striations in the "shell". Note the cracking pattern and the porosity of the "shell". This is what I am calling the bottom; it's very flat and also cracked. Close-up of the bottom cracks and holes. Another, closer shot of the "shell" for thickness and pattern. Side view more clearly showing the core of the "egg". Bottom again from another angle. Top view for measurement (cm). Side angled view for measurement (cm). Thank you in advance for your help. I'm happy to take any additional photos required (and maybe with better lighting!). Chris
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- connecticut
- egg
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In person this is a truly lovely fossil that I found at Cherry Grove, SC 4/5/20. I took 30 pictures and these were the best. My guess is that it is a soft shell turtle double/triple vertebra. Does anyone have a better guess?
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- soft shell
- turtle
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Please help, I've always questioned if this was a fossilized egg
HotShot-WittaRock posted a topic in Fossil ID
I find this interesting and am excited to be enlightened.i am from an area know for dino fossils and also ocean life, I have a couple of little fossils but this specimen has always been my favorite since I found it back in 2011- 2 replies
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- soft shell
- southern utah
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