GIANT BACTERIA?

[TOM BUCKLEY]

After my move to Florida, as I unpacked my fossils, I came across this. Any ideas? Possibly giant bacterium or microscopic, cigar-shaped alien space craft? Algae?

They are ~3mm long.

Salona Formation.

Trenton Group

Middle Ordovician

Antes Gap, PA

 

Tom

[fossisle]

57 minutes ago, TOM BUCKLEY said:

After my move to Florida, as I unpacked my fossils, I came across this. Any ideas? Possibly giant bacterium or microscopic, cigar-shaped alien space craft? Algae?

They are ~3mm long.

Salona Formation.

Trenton Group

Middle Ordovician

Tom

  

They could be fecal pellets from a crustacean burrow

[TOM BUCKLEY]

14 minutes ago, fossisle said:

They could be fecal pellets from a crustacean burrow

 

Micro poop? I hadn't considered that. 

[Plax]

I think it looks like that but doubt it from the Ordovician of PA. Maybe poorly preserved bits of bryozoan but not saying that is a definite identification. Maybe one of the trilobite collectors has seen Flexicalymene or Triarthrus coprolite????

[TOM BUCKLEY]

46 minutes ago, Plax said:

I think it looks like that but doubt it from the Ordovician of PA. Maybe poorly preserved bits of bryozoan but not saying that is a definite identification. Maybe one of the trilobite collectors has seen Flexicalymene or Triarthrus coprolite????

 

Trilobite coprolite. Now that's intriguing. I've not heard of trilobite poop being described. The trilobites I found in this formation were Cryptolithus tesselatus and Isotelus gigas.

 

Tom

[abyssunder]

Maybe we are dealing with Tomaculum igen.

[marguy]

 

42 minutes ago, TOM BUCKLEY said:

I've not heard of trilobite poop being described

see this...

 

[TOM BUCKLEY]

48 minutes ago, abyssunder said:

Maybe we are dealing with Tomaculum igen.

 

That may well be it. Seilacher describes Tomaculum as possibly fecal pellets which are in string in Ordovician shales.

I've attached the appropriate diagram from his book, Trace Fossil Analysis.

 

Tom

TRACE FOSSIL A06012020.pdf

[TOM BUCKLEY]

17 minutes ago, TOM BUCKLEY said:

 

That may well be it. Seilacher describes Tomaculum as possibly fecal pellets which are in string in Ordovician shales.

I've attached the appropriate diagram from his book, Trace Fossil Analysis.

 

Tom

TRACE FOSSIL A06012020.pdf

 

Is the link working properly? Thanks.

 

Tom

[Pilo]

Anybody think fusilinids?

 

They're in the Pennsylvanian here in NM.

 

Not quite the right shape, tho'

 

EDIT: I like the copro-theory....they are more apt to preserve, while bacteria, not so, and several orders of magnitude smaller.

 

Edited June 2, 2020 by Pilo

[TOM BUCKLEY]

18 minutes ago, Pilo said:

Anybody think fusilinids?

 

They're in the Pennsylvanian here in NM.

 

Not quite the right shape, tho'

 

EDIT: I like the copro-theory....they are more apt to preserve, while bacteria, not so, and several orders of magnitude smaller.

 

 

A good candidate but the shape is a little rougher than what I've got. Also, mine are Ordovician and I believe Fusilinids are Permian?

 

Tom

[abyssunder]

Not a bad idea..