mixed, fossils

[Bob Saunders]

This is a chunk of Michigan clay with sand and probably calcium. I do not know yet if I can do much with it other than perhaps cut down the size to have the fossils. Don't know if a hack saw would help much. all are like micro size and one looks like an Crinoid Archimedes screw 0.7 cm x 0.3 cm. I would like to know what is the tire track like tract line? 5/8th inch, or 0.1 x 1.59 cm or 15.8750 mm. Is this an actual fossil or impression left by a life form. Two are with my phone zoomed in about 1.7.   

[Kane]

The "tire track" is likely an impression of a branching bryozoan. 

 

There is no crinoid Archimedes "screw" in any of these pieces (Archimedes is a genus of bryozoan, not crinoid, and would not appear in Devonian-aged rocks given that their range is from about the Carboniferous to Permian). There are, however, several crinoid segment impressions throughout the third pictured piece. 

[Peat Burns]

This is Mississippian material (probably Coldwater Shale).  I can't tell from my phone if the narrow thing below the crinoid mould in photo 1 is an Archimedes bryozoan (too blurry).

 

The oval crinoid columnal in the last photo is Platycrinites. 

[Fossildude19]

[Kane]

9 minutes ago, Peat Burns said:

This is Mississippian material (probably Coldwater Shale). 

I stand corrected. Good eye! 

[Peat Burns]

3 minutes ago, Kane said:

I stand corrected. Good eye! 

Oh, I did not mean to appear to correct you. . Nothing you said was inaccurate. 

[Kane]

2 minutes ago, Peat Burns said:

Oh, I did not mean to appear to correct you. . Nothing you said was inaccurate. 

I implied that it was Devonian material.  -- Occupational hazard of being around so much of it that one sometimes forgets to take off the Devonian-tinted spectacles.  

[Bob Saunders]

Thanks too all. I wrote it was clay as we have so much here. This is more of a ball not flat gray layers, and came from a farm pond dig.  But I am fairly new at this. In another thread a member wrote about cutting away unwanted with a right angle grinder. I do not think it would be good to try to dissolve away  the  unwanted or non exposed material?

[Bob Saunders]

should have said from South West Michigan. About 5 miles from the lake shore. about 6 1/2 inches wide x 4 inch high. 

[grandpa]

The object in the last photo is a bryozoan, I believe.  On a note of personal preference, I would not worry about trimming it down.  The admixture of the various fossils is what is attractive to me.  Matter of personal preference, though.