fossil found in soil, columbia missouri by Crum

[bradcrum]

Does anyone know what this might be? The surface of the rock is flat.

 

 

[GeschWhat]

It looks like the cast of a crinoid stem to me. 

 

Welcome to the forum!

[Fossildude19]

I agree - crinoid lumen cast.   

 

[bradcrum]

Thanks for helping out a newbie—so this is the surrounding rock where the fossil was encased?  Isn’t that rock usually softer and worn away?  And if I pressed clay into that “cast” would I see the form of the actual fossil?   Bc

[Mark Kmiecik]

9 hours ago, bradcrum said:

Thanks for helping out a newbie—so this is the surrounding rock where the fossil was encased?  Isn’t that rock usually softer and worn away?  And if I pressed clay into that “cast” would I see the form of the actual fossil?

Yes, it is.

 

Sometimes, depending on their composition, the mineralized remains are dissolved by slightly acidic water moving through the porous rock. This is over a period of at least thousands if not millions of years.

 

If you could get the clay out somehow, yes you would, more or less, because it may have been slightly disarticulated after burial or not completely dissolved from the encasing rock, but the cast you would pull from that mold would be a fairly accurate representation. Google "crinoid" and/or "fossil crinoid" and check out the images. There should be hundreds available for viewing. Your specimen is part of the "stem" or column(al). There was much more to the animal than just the stem as you'll see in the images. Check the wikipedia listing as well for times dates and other info. Crinoids are common in the fossil record as they covered a large portion of the planet for a very long time.

[bradcrum]

Thanks, Mark--I'm pretty familiar with Crinoids, as I've picked up many fossils of that group over my years hiking through the creeks and caves of Mid-Missouri.

As you know, Missouri has a lot of caves and Karst topography, and plenty of sedimentary rock left over from that shallow sea that covered our area back in the day.

I had just never seen a cast of a crinoid fossil before.  My wife and I were initially thrown off by all the straight lines and right angles.  It almost looked like a cast of a machine part.

It's fascinating (if a little disappointing) to know that this was just another example of that class of Echinoderms.

[Mark Kmiecik]

29 minutes ago, bradcrum said:

Thanks, Mark--I'm pretty familiar with Crinoids, as I've picked up many fossils of that group over my years hiking through the creeks and caves of Mid-Missouri.

As you know, Missouri has a lot of caves and Karst topography, and plenty of sedimentary rock left over from that shallow sea that covered our area back in the day.

I had just never seen a cast of a crinoid fossil before.  My wife and I were initially thrown off by all the straight lines and right angles.  It almost looked like a cast of a machine part.

It's fascinating (if a little disappointing) to know that this was just another example of that class of Echinoderms.

I've found lots of casts like that in Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Indiana. Some of the larger ones that are 3/8" or more in diameter can be quite impressive. I used to have one that was about 5/8" x 3" when I was a kid that was beautifully detailed and it was the showpiece of my collection at that time. I've since graduated to Mazon Creek fossils, but I vividly recall that one piece. It was one of the first pieces I found in the field and I guess that's why there's a soft spot in my heart for crinoids.

[Ruger9a]

Here is an example I was saved because of it's uniqueness.

[Fossildude19]

2 hours ago, bradcrum said:

It almost looked like a cast of a machine part.

It's fascinating (if a little disappointing) to know that this was just another example of that class of Echinoderms.

They have been touted as ancient alien screws by some non scientific people.  

[FossilNerd]

43 minutes ago, Fossildude19 said:

They have been touted as ancient alien screws by some non scientific people.  

[bradcrum]

Amazing—-we wondered the same thing.

maybe an inorganic life form from a distant world...and eons in the past.