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Hey all, it’s been quite some time since I’ve posted to this site. I’ve been stumped with a family find from Sossusvlei, Namibia. I don’t identify minerals as readily as fossils, and I figured it was time to differ to the expertise of those on the site. It is a surprisingly heavy stone, and the most striking part of the piece are the deep grooves along the surface that I assume were done by sand over the course of a long period of time. Top Down view:

Wow! Excellent preservation in pyrite allows detailed anatomical study of Ediacaran fossil from Namibia and clues to relationships to various Cambrian Fauna https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/7/1/eabf2933

Looking for a possible Id of possible fossils on a rock as big as a man's fist. Found it on a solo hike through the desert in Namibia at Terrace bay.

Multiple episodes of rapid evolutionary change may have been linked to climate and oxygen changes from 571 mya on. https://m.phys.org/news/2019-03-ancient-prompt-rethink-animal-evolution.html

Princeton geologists solve fossil mystery by creating 3-D ‘virtual tour’ through rock, Prnceton University https://www.princeton.edu/news/2018/02/27/princeton-geologists-solve-fossil-mystery-creating-3-d-virtual-tour-through-rock Princeton geologists solve fossil mystery by creating 3-D ‘virtual tour’ through rock, Brinkware, March 1, 2018 http://en.brinkwire.com/179755/princeton-geologists-solve-fossil-mystery-by-creating-3-d-virtual-tour-through-rock/ The paper is: Mehra, A., and Maloof, A., 2018, Multiscale approach reveals that Cloudina aggregates are detritus and not in situ reef constructions. PNAS 2018; published ahead of print February 26, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1719911115 http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2018/02/21/1719911115 Yours, Paul H.

Wendel, J. (2017), Hunting rare fossils of the Ediacaran, Eos, 98, https://doi.org/10.1029/2017EO086601. Published on 13 November 2017. https://eos.org/features/hunting-rare-fossils-of-the-ediacaran https://eos.org/current-issues “The search for fossil imprints and casts of squishy organisms takes time, perseverance, and sometimes a sprinkle of luck.” Smith, E.F., Nelson, L.L., Tweedt, S.M., Zeng, H. and Workman, J.B., 2017, July. A cosmopolitan late Ediacaran biotic assemblage: new fossils from Nevada and Namibia support a global biostratigraphic link. In Proceedings of the Royal Society B (Vol. 284, No. 1858, p. 20170934). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318379716_A_cosmopolitan_late_Ediacaran_biotic_assemblage_new_fossils_from_Nevada_and_Namibia_support_a_global_biostratigraphic_link https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Emily_Smith52 http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/284/1858/20170934 A related paper is: E.F. Smith L.L. Nelson M.A. Strange A.E. Eyster S.M. Rowland D.P. Schrag F.A. Macdonald, 2016, The end of the Ediacaran: Two new exceptionally preserved body fossil assemblages from Mount Dunfee, Nevada, USA Geology 44 (11):911-914. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1130/G38157.1 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53cedb86e4b0710434ee1ff4/t/57fee4eef5e231fadeb000ee/1476322543557/Smith_2016_Geology_Dunfee.pdf https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geology/article/44/11/911/195087/the-end-of-the-ediacaran-two-new-exceptionally Yours, Paul H.

Greetings and Salutations from Oranjemund , Namibia. Situated along the barren Namibian Coast in the Sperrgebiedt Diamond controlled area of Namibia. I am by no means into fossil collecting, but have reigstered on the forum to ask a question on one of the boards. In fact in all honesty, I would'nt know where to start. I do know that I live in an area that is apparently rich in fossils..... rock are etc..... Cheers Mike