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Sea stars / starfish?


Sjfriend

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Years ago bought some rock boxes from an estate sale in California. Included were some fossils I just don't know anything about. Most had vague or no IDs.

 

The larger of these Sea Stars is approximately 6.5mm across.

 

Gonna post a few here just to see if anything interesting although these have no connection to my collection. 

20191225_140647~2.jpg

20191225_140716~2.jpg

20191225_141437~2.jpg

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Please keep any talk of trades or sale to their designated forums or the PM system. 

Thanks.  :)

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    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

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I wouldn't be surprised if they came form near Kemmerer WY. The material looks almost identical to what we collected there. 

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34 minutes ago, Rockwood said:

I wouldn't be surprised if they came form near Kemmerer WY. The material looks almost identical to what we collected there. 

It is a very hard matrix if that helps

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1 hour ago, Sjfriend said:

It is a very hard matrix if that helps

Yes quite hard with an oolitic nature in many places.

Here is an old photo from my collection.

IMG_1537.JPG

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On 12/26/2019 at 5:12 AM, Rockwood said:

Yes quite hard with an oolitic nature in many places.

Here is an old photo from my collection.

IMG_1537.JPG

That looks just like it :) Thanks.

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Here's the stage they preform on.

There was a storm coming in and our guide George advised it was time to bug out.

DSCN0030.JPG

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Interesting... I was not aware that there were marine critters in Kemmerer area, though I guess if there are rays and such, there would have to be. Or are these from older strata separate from the Eocene stuff?

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1 hour ago, Wrangellian said:

from older strata separate from the Eocene stuff?

Jurassic. Wyoming is one of those states. ;)

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1 hour ago, Wrangellian said:

though I guess if there are rays and such, there would have to be.

No. I'm pretty sure the Eocene lakes were fresh water.

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OK, that makes sense - except, how do you account for stingrays from the Eocene layers there? Did they venture into fresh water?

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1 hour ago, Wrangellian said:

OK, that makes sense - except, how do you account for stingrays from the Eocene layers there? Did they venture into fresh water?

I think the must have.

Salmon and eels are two examples found in both waters today. I think they claim our landlocked salmon are essentially identical to Atlantic salmon. 

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2 hours ago, Wrangellian said:

how do you account for stingrays from the Eocene layers there

They are/were indeed freshwater stingrays.  See:

FRESHWATER STINGRAYS OF THE GREEN RIVER FORMATION OF WYOMING ...

by MARCELO R. DE CARVALHO

 

I also recall reading that the GRF was fresh water for the 1st  2/3rds of its existence and hyper-saline during the last 1/3.

 

BTW there are extant freshwater rays as well.  See:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_freshwater_stingray

And:

https://discusguy.com/freshwater-stingrays/

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43 minutes ago, grandpa said:

They are/were indeed freshwater stingrays.  See:

FRESHWATER STINGRAYS OF THE GREEN RIVER FORMATION OF WYOMING ...

by MARCELO R. DE CARVALHO

 

I also recall reading that the GRF was fresh water for the 1st  2/3rds of its existence and hyper-saline during the last 1/3.

 

BTW there are extant freshwater rays as well.  See:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_freshwater_stingray

And:

https://discusguy.com/freshwater-stingrays/

Just to expand upon this...

A lot of organisms that are commonly believed to only be found in salt water or only freshwater can actually be found in both and some are able to go between the two.

 

Some examples beyond the freshwater stingray are below...

 

There are some species of dolphin that only live in freshwater. The Amazon River Dolphin comes to mind.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iniidae

 

Sharks of the genus Glyphis are known as River sharks for good reason, and bull sharks are known to be found in both fresh and salt water. 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_shark


Many species complete their life cycles by migrating between salt and fresh water. One of the most famous fish to do this is the salmon. Certain species of eel do this as well.
Organisms that can live in different salinities are known as euryhaline.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euryhaline

 

My apologies for the over usage of Wikipedia, but they were quickly accessible while I drink my coffee :coffee:. They also have reference to known published works in the articles. ;) 

 

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The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.  -Neil deGrasse Tyson

 

Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. -Bill Nye (The Science Guy)

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Aha.

I'm familiar with the compulsion to refer to Wikipedia, but this time I didn't even do that! :shakehead: Have had other things on my plate today.

I am familiar with things like salmon that migrate between fresh and saltwater (and the Amazon dolphins I assumed did the same), but a completely freshwater shark is new to me! The Green River area must not have been completely landlocked, at least not for long after the closing of the Interior Seaway.

I understand there are freshwater hydrozoans too. Apparently the only major phylum that is completely marine is Echinoderms, like the Isocrinids above.

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