Ruger9a Posted March 22, 2020 Share Posted March 22, 2020 Good morning. Can anyone tell me what these are? I just need a good starting point for researching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica Posted March 22, 2020 Share Posted March 22, 2020 Those are gastropod steinkerns - nice! (The second one looks a bit odd for a steinkern, but I'm still pretty sure it's a gastropod.) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruger9a Posted March 22, 2020 Author Share Posted March 22, 2020 5 minutes ago, Monica said: Those are gastropod steinkerns - nice! (The second one looks a bit odd for a steinkern, but I'm still pretty sure it's a gastropod.) Thanks Monica, I'll check that out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FranzBernhard Posted March 22, 2020 Share Posted March 22, 2020 9 minutes ago, Monica said: The second one looks a bit odd for a steinkern, but I'm still pretty sure it's a gastropod. Sure! Would you like to post pics of the second specimen from different angels, @Ruger9a? Thanks! Franz Bernhard 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruger9a Posted March 22, 2020 Author Share Posted March 22, 2020 Franz, here they are. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica Posted March 22, 2020 Share Posted March 22, 2020 With these additional pictures, I'm no longer thinking the second item is a gastropod steinkern - it looks like an oyster of some sort! (It reminds me of a "ram's horn oyster", which I know is found in Texas, but I'm not sure about where else it may be found.) 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruger9a Posted March 22, 2020 Author Share Posted March 22, 2020 @FranzBernhard forgot to put the at sign, sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruger9a Posted March 22, 2020 Author Share Posted March 22, 2020 6 minutes ago, Monica said: With these additional pictures, I'm no longer thinking the second item is a gastropod steinkern - it looks like an oyster of some sort! (It reminds me of a "rams horn oyster", which I know is found in Texas, but I'm not sure about where else it may be found.) Magallana gigas or Ilymatogyra arietina??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruger9a Posted March 22, 2020 Author Share Posted March 22, 2020 53 minutes ago, Monica said: Those are gastropod steinkerns - nice! (The second one looks a bit odd for a steinkern, but I'm still pretty sure it's a gastropod.) Thank you Monica. Any idea of which gastropod might apply/left to this steinkern? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilNerd Posted March 22, 2020 Share Posted March 22, 2020 If @Monica line of thinking Is correct about Texas, I think the oyster looking shell may be some species of Exogyra. And again, if from Texas, your high spiraled gastropod steinkern could be something like Turritella sp., but there are many high spiraled gastropods (Loxoplocus from the Ordovician for example), so without knowing some kind of location information it may be impossible to narrow down to more than just gastropod steinkern. Have any idea where they came from? I’m guessing they are from your cabinet of unknowns. Some of our Texas members may be able to confirm one way or another. @JohnJ @JamieLynn @erose @Uncle Siphuncle 4 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) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruger9a Posted March 22, 2020 Author Share Posted March 22, 2020 4 minutes ago, FossilNerd said: If @Monica line of thinking Is correct about Texas, I think the oyster looking shell may be some species of Exogyra. And again, if from Texas, your high spiraled gastropod steinkern could be something like Turritella sp., but there are many high spiraled gastropods (Loxoplocus from the Ordovician for example), so without knowing some kind of location information it may be impossible to narrow down to more than just gastropod steinkern. Have any idea where they came from? I’m guessing they are from your cabinet of unknowns. Some of our Texas members may be able to confirm one way or another. @JohnJ @JamieLynn @erose @Uncle Siphuncle Sorry, yes they are from my "cabinet of unidentified/unknows". The steinkern came from the 2000 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. Judging from the other (now identified) items in that same lot, it is most likely from the southwestern portion of the US (Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Texas - etc). I know that's not much help so I will try once again to see if I can locate some additional information. Thanks for taking the time to help me with these. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilNerd Posted March 22, 2020 Share Posted March 22, 2020 11 minutes ago, Ruger9a said: Sorry, yes they are from my "cabinet of unidentified/unknows". No need to be sorry. I figured that’s where they came from, but wanted to confirm. I have a lot of unknowns that I am constantly trying to identify myself. It’s a never ending endeavor my friend. To me, the hunt to identify something is almost as fun as the hunt for the fossil itself. It’s like solving a mystery that’s hundreds of millions of years old. However, I am no Sherlock Holmes, and am wrong on occasion (ok... more than occasionally, but I’m getting better!) so let’s see what the others think. 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) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted March 22, 2020 Share Posted March 22, 2020 Here is my take on what you have. The Ram's Horn Oyster that I have is... Ilymatogyra arietina lower Cretaceous Walnut Formation Bell County, Texas Turritila sp. Paleocene Potomac River Charles County, Maryland This is a very popular location for these and find the majority of dealers I have encountered that sell these loose ones like these get them from that local. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamieLynn Posted March 22, 2020 Share Posted March 22, 2020 Yes, second the Illymatogyra airetina. They are super common in some parts of Texas and one of my favorite fossils. As Monica said, we call them Ram's Horn oysters . The spiraled gastropod steinkern could be a turritella but unless you know where it came from, it woul be hard to ID. 5 www.fossil-quest.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kane Posted March 22, 2020 Share Posted March 22, 2020 Identifying steinkerns is regularly challenging, if not sometimes impossible without provenance information. That being said, here is a very similar specimen I received from @Jeffrey P collected from the Paleocene Aquia Formation from Purse State Park, Potomac River, Maryland. 2 ...How to Philosophize with a Hammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilNerd Posted March 22, 2020 Share Posted March 22, 2020 1 hour ago, caldigger said: Here is my take on what you have. The Ram's Horn Oyster that I have is... Ilymatogyra arietina 1 hour ago, JamieLynn said: Yes, second the Illymatogyra airetina @Ruger9a See. Told you I could be wrong. The above suggestions are a much better match. 1 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) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erose Posted March 22, 2020 Share Posted March 22, 2020 Yep, Illymatogyra airetina oyster. Extremely abundant in certain formations and often found washed downstream in river or creek gravels. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruger9a Posted March 22, 2020 Author Share Posted March 22, 2020 3 hours ago, caldigger said: Here is my take on what you have. The Ram's Horn Oyster that I have is... Ilymatogyra arietina lower Cretaceous Walnut Formation Bell County, Texas Turritila sp. Paleocene Potomac River Charles County, Maryland This is a very popular location for these and find the majority of dealers I have encountered that sell these loose ones like these get them from that local. OMG, they are exactly the same as mine!! Two more bite the dust of my "unidentified cabinet", thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruger9a Posted March 22, 2020 Author Share Posted March 22, 2020 1 hour ago, FossilNerd said: @Ruger9a See. Told you I could be wrong. The above suggestions are a much better match. That doesn't diminish all your efforts helping, thank you! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruger9a Posted March 22, 2020 Author Share Posted March 22, 2020 2 hours ago, Kane said: Identifying steinkerns is regularly challenging, if not sometimes impossible without provenance information. That being said, here is a very similar specimen I received from @Jeffrey P collected from the Paleocene Aquia Formation from Purse State Park, Potomac River, Maryland. Another match! Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruger9a Posted March 22, 2020 Author Share Posted March 22, 2020 2 hours ago, JamieLynn said: Yes, second the Illymatogyra airetina. They are super common in some parts of Texas and one of my favorite fossils. As Monica said, we call them Ram's Horn oysters . The spiraled gastropod steinkern could be a turritella but unless you know where it came from, it woul be hard to ID. Thank you Jamie! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruger9a Posted March 22, 2020 Author Share Posted March 22, 2020 59 minutes ago, erose said: Yep, Illymatogyra airetina oyster. Extremely abundant in certain formations and often found washed downstream in river or creek gravels. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted March 22, 2020 Share Posted March 22, 2020 Never seen a ram's horn oyster before. Very cool! Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 I. arietina 1 Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoons Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 Gotta get me one of those Ram’s Horn Oysters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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