Coral?

[Ruger9a]

Having found this in my unidentified drawer and without the documentation as to the species.  Help? 

[Ruger9a]

one more

[Mark Kmiecik]

Concept sculpture for the newest Star Trek alien creature.  No Clue. I'm not even going to guess.

[Ruger9a]

I thought I saw stuff like this growing on the walls inside that spaceship.

[FossilNerd]

5 hours ago, Mark Kmiecik said:

Concept sculpture for the newest Star Trek alien creature.  No Clue. I'm not even going to guess.

I’m with Mark on this one. I haven’t got a clue. Sorry I can’t be of much help.

 

I do think it is one of the coolest looking things I’ve seen all day. Love the pattern and form of the lines. 

[Pippa]

8 minutes ago, FossilNerd said:

 

I do think it is one of the coolest looking things I’ve seen all day. Love the pattern and form of the lines. 

Not to mention the SIZE of this thing!

I'm ecstatic when I find a bryozoan stem that's longer than two measly centimeters... 

[Ruger9a]

Thanks Pippa and Fossilnerd, the beauty of it obviously caught my eye as well.  I am still hoping someone has seen one of these somewhere.  I really would like to display it with a name.  Thanks again.

[Tidgy's Dad]

I agree that it is weird and beautiful. 

And I can say with certainty that it's a coral. 

Or a bryozoan. 

Or a sponge. 

Or something else. 

One of the above, i'm positive. 

 

[Ruger9a]

LOL, that really narrows it down.  This one seems to be a "toughie", so I don't feel bad asking for identification now:-)

[FossilNerd]

1 hour ago, Ruger9a said:

Thanks Pippa and Fossilnerd, the beauty of it obviously caught my eye as well.  I am still hoping someone has seen one of these somewhere.  I really would like to display it with a name.  Thanks again.

I hope someone can put a name to it as well. I am exceedingly curious about it. I’ve been searching through my documents and the internet, but unfortunately I can’t come up with anything solid. 

[Pippa]

Dendrophyllia? Stone cup coral?

Alas, nobody answered the following thread...

 

 

Or check out this site:

http://www.regmurcia.com/servlet/s.Sl?sit=c,365,m,108&r=ReP-30573-DETALLE_REPORTAJESABUELO

[Ruger9a]

7 hours ago, Pippa said:

Dendrophyllia? Stone cup coral?

Alas, nobody answered the following thread...

 

 

Or check out this site:

http://www.regmurcia.com/servlet/s.Sl?sit=c,365,m,108&r=ReP-30573-DETALLE_REPORTAJESABUELO

Thank you Pippa!  You may have solved this puzzle.  The specimen on that site looks just like mine.  I additional research and found a few more of them.  One is in the Oxford University Museum of Natural History in the Lyell Collection.  It is listed as "Oligocene fossil coral, Dendrophyllia elegans, from the Lyell Collection".  Thank you!  Here's the link

 

[Ruger9a]

Very little on Wiki except a list of name and this - "Members of this genus are found at depths down to about 900 metres (3,000 ft)".  Really...…?

[Al Dente]

I think it is a gorgonian. Look at this thread-http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/17990-campanian-marine-mystery/

[HansTheLoser]

Al Dente is right. It is an octocorallia, probably Isis that have calcified and horny parts (internodes and nodes). The lower part of the colony is often overgrown with calcite for stabilization. Probably extant or not yet fossil.

[Ruger9a]

1 hour ago, HansTheLoser said:

Al Dente is right. It is an octocorallia, probably Isis that have calcified and horny parts (internodes and nodes). The lower part of the colony is often overgrown with calcite for stabilization. Probably extant or not yet fossil.

I am puzzled now as Wiki reflects the following in reference to octocorallia (also known Alcyonaria):  Alcyonacea, or soft corals, (formerly known as gorgonians) are  "an order of corals that do not produce calcium carbonate skeletons". 

[Ruger9a]

I believe we have identified this coral as Dendrophyllia elegans, you be the judge.  The photos below are my specimen and the link below them contains a justifiably potential candidate.  Many thanks to the TFF members who participated in this ID quest - especially Pippa!  I cannot get the link process correct, so the last photo is from the Oxford University Museum of Natural History in the Lyell Collection.  It is listed as "Oligocene fossil coral, Dendrophyllia elegans, from the Lyell Collection". 

 

 

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Looks a good match to me. 

Nice specimen and good shout @Pippa

[Pippa]

10 hours ago, Ruger9a said:

Very little on Wiki except a list of name and this - "Members of this genus are found at depths down to about 900 metres (3,000 ft)".  Really...…?

Well, it seems that very little is known about Dendrophyllia except that even current members of that family live at much greater depth than typical corals do.

I found this abstract on "Dendrophyllia ramea" on ResearchGate that states the following: 

 

"Occurrence and abundance of deep-water corals in the Levantine Mediterranean Sea is still largely unknown. This is the first attempt to quantitatively describe a Dendrophyllia ramea population discovered in June 2015 during the CYCLAMEN expedition on board the Research Vessel Aegaeo. This population is the deepest ever described until now in the Mediterranean and was found on the outer insular shelf off eastern Cyprus (Protaras, 35º02′N; 34º05′E). Video transects conducted by means of a remotely operated vehicle revealed a well-developed population of D. ramea located on a sandy seabed at 125–170 m depth. The highest density was 6 colonies m−2 and on average 1.6 ± 1.4 (SD) colonies m−2. The population consists of isolated or piled up branches of various sizes and large colonies, some ∼50 cm max width. The corals thrive on soft bottoms, representing a rather novel aspect of the research on D. ramea, since the species is still considered to be mostly associated with rocky substrates. The occurrence of the species in sedimentary grounds makes it especially vulnerable to bottom contact fishing gears as bottom trawling. Spatial distribution of the coral population, as well as a first attempt to characterize its habitat, are explored as an approach to describe the habitat's suitability and the vulnerability for the species in the area."

 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332365933_Occurrence_and_distribution_of_the_coral_Dendrophyllia_ramea_in_Cyprus_insular_shelf_Environmental_setting_and_anthropogenic_impacts

 

Here is an image of this currently growing type of Dendrophyllia that looks remarkably similar to your specimen.

(You're sure what you have has been fossilized? :-)

[Ruger9a]

Fairly sure.  It rings when tapped with a spoon and sounds like china/glass when tapped on a granite counter top.  I've only had it for about 10-12 years but it hasn't changed it's appearance in any way, including color.  My specimen is not an orange color though, it's more of a cream color.  Suggestions?

[Pippa]

12 minutes ago, Ruger9a said:

Fairly sure.  It rings when tapped with a spoon and sounds like china/glass when tapped on a granite counter top.  I've only had it for about 10-12 years but it hasn't changed it's appearance in any way, including color.  My specimen is not an orange color though, it's more of a cream color.  Suggestions?

I was just kidding. I should have typed this  ;-)  smiley face after my tongue in cheek question.

[Ruger9a]

LOL, got ya or should I say you got me!  Thanks for all your help and levity.. :-)   Please keep it up.

[Pippa]

You're very welcome!

Just a heads-up:  Please know, I'm really a newbie at fossilling. While I've collected interesting and sometimes beautiful rocks for a long time, I've only started to collect fossils more seriously last summer. So I am definitely no expert.

For my ID suggestion I just googled images of corals, coral branches, etc. and clicking on some possibles and eventually came upon images of branched stems.  Most of those were disappointing, as they showed pores along the stems (so they were out) and eventually, one or two showed the "ribbed structure". So I clicked on those and found myself at the unanswered ID help request back here on TFF. 

From there I had a name to google. Very helpful, BUT, of course I might have led you up the garden path, so to speak, as there might quite possibly be plenty more stony tree corals that look similar to your piece and might be contenders. 

 

 

[Al Dente]

Dendrophyllia is a scleractinian coral and identification of scleractinians is based on septal patterns of corallites. Your specimen lacks corallites. I would explore the octocorallia identification that was also provided.

[Ruger9a]

22 minutes ago, Al Dente said:

Dendrophyllia is a scleractinian coral and identification of scleractinians is based on septal patterns of corallites. Your specimen lacks corallites. I would explore the octocorallia identification that was also provided.

Al Dente, Thanks.  I did research all recommendations/suggestions provided.  This was what I found in reference to octocorallia (also known Alcyonaria):  Alcyonacea, or soft corals, (formerly known as gorgonians) are "an order of corals that do not produce calcium carbonate skeletons".  I looked at what information was available to me in Wiki, Google, Bing and others and found little.  So, I looked at the next recommendation.  Everything I found on Dendrophyllia (including photos) seemed to match.  Most of the ends of this fossil have been broken off, but I believe there are still two (or partial) corallites(?) remaining.   I am not disagreeing, I may just need a nudge in the right direction.  Also, I did contact the Oxford University Museum of Natural History for comment.  I don't want to post incorrect information in the TFF or mislabel my fossils so I "tried" to cover all the bases.