MrBones Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 While searching for fossils on Jebel Hafeet (a mountain in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, UAE) my mother saw this little fossil sticking out of the rock face. I immediately thought it looked like a crinoid, which was odd since I have never seen one before in this country... I carefully excavated it and brought it home. I think that the fossil is about miocene age, but I am not completely sure, the round things surrounding the fossil are nummulites. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBones Posted March 15, 2020 Author Share Posted March 15, 2020 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBones Posted March 15, 2020 Author Share Posted March 15, 2020 Cropped and brightened for viewing pleasure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhiggi Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 Looks a bit uniformed to be crinoid. Curious to see what others think it is. Do you know what other fossils are found in that area? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBones Posted March 15, 2020 Author Share Posted March 15, 2020 Just now, dhiggi said: Looks a bit uniformed to be crinoid. Curious to see what others think it is. Do you know what other fossils are found in that area? Oh sorry, I forgot to say that I have found many gastropod and bivalve steinkerns, echinoderm fragments, along with corals and bryozoan in the same area Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pterygotus Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 I agree that it’s not a crinoid but it’s definitely a fossil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 Looks more like the imprint of a bivalve shell, to me. 4 Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBones Posted March 15, 2020 Author Share Posted March 15, 2020 3 hours ago, Fossildude19 said: Looks more like the imprint of a bivalve shell, to me. It does a bit, but the "columns" are 3D, some have fallen off towards the base of the fossil, where they all appear to connect. These columns also look to be independent from one another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBones Posted March 15, 2020 Author Share Posted March 15, 2020 The closest bivalve I could see to this is a cockle shell... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kmiecik Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 They resemble ray tooth plate, but I have no idea if that's even a possibility for that area. Mark. Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhiggi Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 10 minutes ago, Mark Kmiecik said: They resemble ray tooth plate, but I have no idea if that's even a possibility for that area. Good call, found this pic online that looks very similar 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCSTer Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 7 hours ago, Mark Kmiecik said: They resemble ray tooth plate, but I have no idea if that's even a possibility for that area. Yes, it definitely resembles a ray tooth plate, and I also have no idea if that's even possible in your area, but something just doesn't look quite right to me. Maybe it looks just a bit more asymmetrical than the "normal" ray mouth plates we frequently find in NC. I always respect @Mark Kmiecik ID's, and I definitely would have given the same opinion -- until I saw the UAE locale. Again, don't know if ray plates are even possible there, but I'd like to hear from other members who might be more familiar with the area than me. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBones Posted March 16, 2020 Author Share Posted March 16, 2020 10 hours ago, NCSTer said: Yes, it definitely resembles a ray tooth plate, and I also have no idea if that's even possible in your area, but something just doesn't look quite right to me. Maybe it looks just a bit more asymmetrical than the "normal" ray mouth plates we frequently find in NC. I always respect @Mark Kmiecik ID's, and I definitely would have given the same opinion -- until I saw the UAE locale. Again, don't know if ray plates are even possible there, but I'd like to hear from other members who might be more familiar with the area than me. I'm not sure about a couple of million years ago, but there are eagle rays and some other types of stingrays swimming around in the modern day Arabian Gulf. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted March 17, 2020 Share Posted March 17, 2020 In my opinion, the specimen in question is an eagle ray mouth plate fragment showing the roots of the teeth rows. 1 " We are not separate and independent entities, but like links in a chain, and we could not by any means be what we are without those who went before us and showed us the way. " Thomas Mann My Library Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBones Posted March 18, 2020 Author Share Posted March 18, 2020 6 hours ago, abyssunder said: In my opinion, the specimen in question is an eagle ray mouth plate fragment showing the roots of the teeth rows. That would be interesting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted March 18, 2020 Share Posted March 18, 2020 12 hours ago, abyssunder said: In my opinion, the specimen in question is an eagle ray mouth plate fragment showing the roots of the teeth rows. Wouldn't that be quite small, for a mouth plate? Each row would only be a few millimeters wide. Plus this weird feature on top row. Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBones Posted March 19, 2020 Author Share Posted March 19, 2020 After a bit of preparation... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBones Posted March 19, 2020 Author Share Posted March 19, 2020 There seems to be a column going further up... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted March 21, 2020 Share Posted March 21, 2020 Sorry to say, but I' ve never seen before these patterns on crinoid crowns. I will remain in the ray mouth plate camp. I could be wrong. 1 " We are not separate and independent entities, but like links in a chain, and we could not by any means be what we are without those who went before us and showed us the way. " Thomas Mann My Library Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now