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Fossil found in stream in Eureka, MO, USA. About 3 inch long; 1 inch thick.

Hello everyone! My name is Patrick, I am new to these forums, and have next to no knowledge about fossils. I just found an interesting item today on my farm in Wayne County, Ohio, and was wondering if you could please help me. If it is not a fossil, please forgive me, I would like to learn more about the subject, and figured this would be a good way to start. Anyways, I was walking the bed of my creek, and I noticed what I thought to be a large bee hive stuck in the clay embankment. Upon further inspection, I noticed that it was solidified and made of rock, and the “combs” were more cylindrical than hexagonal or octagonal. I wondered if this is a fossil, and whether or not it might be coral? Any help would be greatly appreciated! I did my best to follow the photo guidelines, and the bottom of my tape measurer is in cm, for those of you whom may be outside of the U.S.

Hi everyone this is matthew again in the creek today I was fossil hunting and found a very nice bryozoan fossil here is a photo

Ok- so I was 13 when I found this one in south St. Louis county, and I thought it was an annelid, then an insect (thought there was a leg -there was no difference between 12 and 13 ? ). This is very similar to the last post i just had, thanks again! Bone

.also had this one since i was a kid-at that time I thought it was a tree branch (heh I was only 12 ) but now I would call it a "coral stem"?. the other coral septae/tabulae I have seen/found are always stacked together. Another south St. Louis county find. Any insight appreciated! Bone

I picked these up on my last fossil hunt. They were found in west Michigan too. I’ve never found something like those before and thought they might be some kind of coral but I don’t what from. I can’t find anything that looks like it either so any help would be great!

Here's another I worked on when I was a kid- found in St. Louis county- I shellacked it and kept it in my "kids museum for the past 47 years. I believe it came from the "ocean" as there is a shell adjacent to it. Thoughts? age? Thanks! Bone

Hello all. This is my first post. Today I was fossil hunting on a small beach area off the side of a road, where there are a TON of rocks. I found quite a few great finds, and this one was my largest. I'm not an expert by any means, and at first I thought this was some kind of horn coral. I posted a photo on Reddit, and one person thought it may have been a trilobite. I didn't think this was very likely, but now that it's been brought up I can kind of see it. The other suggestion was a woolly mammoth tooth (Mammuthus primigenius). This fossil was found on a small beach in western Michigan. I included a photo of the back of the rock since it was suggested to get it from all angles, though there was nothing special on the back so that's why one of the photos just looks like a normal old rock. If anyone can confirm any of my three answers, or give another option entirely, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Everyone, Can someone identify this coral-type fossil? It's completely empty inside like a clam and has gills like a mushroom. I've looked through lots of photos in the Forum gallery to no avail. Nothing is even close. The 'top' isn't flat; it's a dome like the tip of your thumb, with holes on the tip. In the 'mudstone' matrix there's also a typical rugose coral. This was a loose rock in the area of the Kenogami Formation of limestone in Northern Ontario. Puzzled, Lauren16

Hey there! This is my first post on The Fossil Forum. I don't have a lot of knowledge about fossils, but I sure do know how to find them. Hopefully these aren't too obvious and boring, but I'm incredibly curious anyway. I found these near Sheep Bridge north of Phoenix, Arizona. Here the Verde river has cut through deep layers of ancient lava, sandstone, mudstone, etc. I was exploring for crystals up on a steep hill along the river's canyon walls when I came across a whole lot of these things. They are very fragile and I didn't want to break apart some of the 2-3 foot wide boulders of them so as to preserve them for others to find. Anyway, my understanding is that this area was once a sea floor, so I'm assuming they are some type of coral, anemone or something similar. The fossils are composed mostly of the same sediment which encases them, so I suppose they must be trace fossils, but please correct me if I am wrong. Other not-so-filled-in ones even had crystals and other minerals lining the cavity. As well, I looked at a geological map of Arizona and the area I was exploring is composed of the following... Late to Middle Miocene Basaltic Rocks (8-16 Ma): Mostly dark, mesa-forming basalt deposited as lava flows. Pliocene to Middle Miocene Deposits (2-16 Ma): Moderately to strongly consolidated conglomerate and sandstone deposited in basins during and after late Tertiary faulting. Includes lesser amounts of mudstone, siltstone, limestone, and gypsum. There are a couple photos of some ball shaped objects which were very easy to knock apart from the surrounding stone. I have no idea what those could be. The rest of the photos are of the coral looking objects. Some of them, if still intact, were nearly 24 inches long, but I left those behind and only took smaller samples. Please note how the "head" of the corals appears to flare out and is larger than the rest of the stem. Finally, some of them appear to have a little node sticking out of the "head," but I suspect that may be due to weathering as these are very fragile fossils. Thank you all so much for your interest and help and I look forward to learning more!

Hello all! Just looking to get some opinions on what I have found. This piece was found in southern New Jersey, almost as far south as you can go, in the Cape May County Area. It was uncovered in some dirt after digging for a new septic system. It’s about an inch and half long and very thin. Any chance that what I found could be a fossil of some sort?

Hello, I have been finding all sorts of neat rocks and marine fossils in the desert outside of Yuma, Arizona where the Colorado river had once flowed into a large ocean. Are these fossilized coral or sponges? I would appreciate an ID on the specimens, or speculations as to what they are? Thank you.

Hello, I was trying to find the identity of some marine fossils I found, and found this great forum! I am from Montana, but have been wintering in Yuma, Arizona. I have been finding all sorts of neat rocks and marine fossils in the desert outside of Yuma where the Colorado river had once flowed into a large ocean. I have found several roundish rocks that seem to have fossilized marine life in them? I was told by a Coprolite collector that is a characteristic of Coprolite found in this area? I would appreciate an ID on the specimens, or speculations as to what they are? Below is one specimen, different angles, notice the square holes!? Thanks!

I found this in a gravelly area where I usually find a lot of crinoids and shells and coral. I also find many goniatites in this area as well. It’s in West Michigan near Holland. I’ve never seen anything like it before though and I’m having trouble figuring out what it’s even from.

NOhlMunneck Reconstructing time and diagenesis of limestone-marl alternations from the selective compaction of colonies of the tabulate coral Halysites Theresa Nohl & Axel Munnecke Bulletin of Geosciences 94(3), 279–298 size:about 21 MB recommended

All Would anyone have a PDF of the following? Ann F Budd, James D. Woodell, Danwei Huang, James S Klaus. January 2019. Evolution of the Caribbean subfamily Mussinae (Anthozoa: Scleractinia: Faviidae): transitions between solitary and colonial forms. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 17(1866):1-36 DOI: 10.1080/14772019.2018.1541932 Thank you kindly in advance! Mike

During this fine pandemic, I thought I'd post some of my sweet fossils for your enjoyment! Besides basic corals, arrowhead (NICE), petosky stone before ocean tumbling and one after, chain coral, hexagon coral, weird exploded "rock", shells and crinnoidy things, I don't know their names (and I'm okay with that!). If you want to tell me, cool, if not, tell me if you like them! Beside being sick, raking, having the kids at home, I'm going cuckoo. I've always loved pretty sparkly rocks and nature, and the naturally occurring structures of nature. Plus, they're cool.

last summer I went to Gotland, Sweden, which is famous for Silurian sea life: there are some cliff by the west side of Gotland, and i found a lot of coral fossil there first one i found seems to be Planalveolites fougti and then stromatoporoids then Heliolites also Favosites also some Tetracoralla: and pieces of Crinoidea: and some other stuff: When I look at these fossil, I actually felt went back to Silurian, quite amazing (the picture has watermark because i posted it on another forum first)

Here’s my crystallized fossils, enjoy!! All of them so far Ammolite from Alberta Ammonites from Madagascar

I went to Key West and throughout Florida Keys, almost every shoreline, I saw coral and shells in matrix. Are they fossil coral and shells or are they modern? Here are some pictures.

I took a much needed break this morning and went fossil hunting for a couple of hours. I decided that I wanted to go back to the same water eroded hill that I made a quick stop at the other day. It rained last night, so the place was a muddy mess, but I had a good time and it took my mind off of things. It's supposed to rain here for the next 2-3 days. Can't wait to see what else is revealed afterwards. I'll stop in again. Preferably after it dries out for a couple of days. Here are pictures of the hillside that I have been working. The red clay is littered with rocks and fossils that have been weathered and washed out of the hill by runoff. Fragments of the rugose coral Acrocyathus floriformis litter the ground. Thanks to @Jeffrey P for help with the ID! Unless you look 5 feet one way or the other... The next picture was taken 5 feet away from the spot in the above pic. It seems that the fossils were very localized. I made multiple stops at different hills like this in the same area. I found 1 other that had a good amount of fossils in a small section. Most were fossil barren, or had very few. Still, there was plenty to keep me entertained. When I took a gander past the coral fragments, I was able to find a few more gastropods. The biggest thing I had to watch out for was my own pareidolia. The geology of the area can really trick you if you are not careful. There are also more modern evidence of creatures, and some areas where fill rock has been brought in; presumably to help with erosion. Below are a few things I had to look out for... Here are a bunch of eroded limestone fragments mixed in with coral fragments. They can definitely trick the eyes at first glance. Coral/Bryozoan fragments, or water eroded and shaped limestone? Unfortunately, limestone. At first glance I thought I was seeing the internal structure of a coral colony. Maybe a tabulate coral? Nope. Another look alike. A modern gastropod. Once I got home I cleaned the mud off with water and a soft brush. Not a bad haul for a few hours. I took quite a few pieces of coral. Some I will give to my son, some will go in my collection, and maybe, just maybe, some will end up in an auction lot to support the forum (once all this virus stuff blows over). I'm actually sorting through my collection and will hopefully have more to add to the auction pile, but that's a discussion for a different thread. Towards the end of the hunt I was on the lookout for anything branching, or that resembled a coral colony. I was hoping to find a relatively complete coral head, but alas luck was not with me. I was still able to find some nice pieces though. Here are some of the better ones with multiple coralites. A few gastropod steinkerns. This one I really liked. It's a little over a centimeter in height, and still stuck in the matrix. And last, but not least... I always pick up a few geological pieces that catch my eye. My twin is more of a rock hound so I always let him take a look. If he doesn't want them. The "cool rocks" go to my son. If all that fails, I have a "cool rock shelf" that gets the left overs. That's it for now. I had an enjoyable time today that gave me a much needed break from all the happenings in the world. It was nice to dig in the mud and forget my troubles for a few hours.

Hi everyone. I found this piece of Missouri chert in a creek bed, but I am not sure if it is coral or just erosion. I have seen other pictures of coral that look similar to this, but I do not see any biological pattern or clues that this was once alive like you can see in something like a crinoid. Any help or tips would be appreciated

Hi I’m wondering if these are Tube Corals? I have a lot and found them in rocks and sand around my resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, not to far from where I found my fossilized crab claw.

Hello, I'm down in Guadeloupe in the French Antilles. How can you tell the difference between coral, and fossil? Is it the amount of rock? Is it weight? I hope everyone is doing well. Pictures when I can

This horn coral is most likely from the fossil area of Alpena, Michigan per the man that gave it to me. It was covered with very hard dirt. After much cleaning and trips to the ultra sonic machine I am not sure what I'm seeing? The top instead of the usual straight cut like lines has lumps. like the tentacles. And instead of the usual looks of a broken off tail it has the gray as pictured. Is it the normal looks of a well preserved horn coral or another life form attached to it. I understand that they secrete calcium carbonate around them for protection, and that is what we normally find. all images with my cell phone, unedited. Thanks, Bob