FossilizedJello Posted June 30, 2020 Share Posted June 30, 2020 I picked this up at the flea market. He told me it was petrified moss...which I dont think it is. Im thinking coral but I wasn't able to find the answer after some research. Its from Arizona and was collected in 1968 and its jurassic in age. Pretty cool fossil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TqB Posted June 30, 2020 Share Posted June 30, 2020 (edited) I suspect it's a rather beautiful sponge. The long rods and "flowers" look like spicules. I'm not convinced it's Jurassic - I've seen Palaeozoic ones resembling that - though sponges are massively diverse... EDIT: I probably let my imagination run away here and travertine/tufa moss or other plant is probably right - see comment below by DPS Ammonite. Edited June 30, 2020 by TqB 3 Tarquin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted June 30, 2020 Share Posted June 30, 2020 20 minutes ago, TqB said: The long rods and "flowers" look like spicules. An extremely large version ? I thought they were microscopic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TqB Posted June 30, 2020 Share Posted June 30, 2020 (edited) 14 minutes ago, Rockwood said: An extremely large version ? I thought they were microscopic. Many are, but many are relatively huge and easy naked eye objects. For example, these Astraeospongia (Devonian) are in the range 2 - 5mm across. And some hexactinellid root spicules are over a metre long. Edited June 30, 2020 by TqB 6 Tarquin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPS Ammonite Posted June 30, 2020 Share Posted June 30, 2020 (edited) Never seen a sponge or fossil like that from Arizona. It might be travertine limestone covering plant material; the label says “moss”. Note everything is hollow; (covering plant material.) If it is travertine, I doubt that it very old; it looks very fragile. Anything very old would have been crushed or the spaces would have been filled in with sediment or another mineral. It is probably Tertiary or later. Maybe a paleobotanist could help. @paleoflor Does it fizz in acid? Edited June 30, 2020 by DPS Ammonite 8 My goal is to leave no stone or fossil unturned. See my Arizona Paleontology Guide link The best single resource for Arizona paleontology anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TqB Posted June 30, 2020 Share Posted June 30, 2020 (edited) 2 minutes ago, DPS Ammonite said: Never seen a sponge or fossil like that from Arizona. It might be travertine limestone covering plant material; the label says “moss”. Note everything is hollow; (covering plant material.) If it is travertine, I doubt that it very old; it looks very fragile. Anything very old would have been crushed or the spaces would have been filled in with sediment or another mineral. It is probably Tertiary. Maybe a paleobotanist could help. @paleoflor Does it fizz in acid? I was imagining an etched out silicified specimen but I think you're probably right. Edited June 30, 2020 by TqB Tarquin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supertramp Posted June 30, 2020 Share Posted June 30, 2020 I agree, it's a chunk of phytohermal travertine https://www.online.it/itm/Tivoli-Travertino-TARTARO-LAZIO-ROCCE-Campione-da-collezione-/174042198428 https://ambiente.regione.emilia-romagna.it/it/geologia/gallerie-fotografiche/sorgenti-e-travertini/labante-particolare-delle-rocce-in-travertino/image_view_fullscreen ciao 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilizedJello Posted June 30, 2020 Author Share Posted June 30, 2020 9 minutes ago, DPS Ammonite said: Never seen a sponge or fossil like that from Arizona. It might be travertine limestone covering plant material; the label says “moss”. Note everything is hollow; (covering plant material.) If it is travertine, I doubt that it very old; it looks very fragile. Anything very old would have been crushed or the spaces would have been filled in with sediment or another mineral. It is probably Tertiary. Maybe a paleobotanist could help. @paleoflor Does it fizz in acid? Hi, thanks for your response. Im a little confused when you say covering plant material. So are you saying it is more recent but just got covered by limestone and is preserved...aka not a fossil? Its actually not that fragile at all. Its a pretty solid chunk. I mean im sure its not the strongest fossil out there but I dont worry when I pick it up or put it down. Here are some pics of the back to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilizedJello Posted June 30, 2020 Author Share Posted June 30, 2020 Well it fizzed in acid :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilizedJello Posted June 30, 2020 Author Share Posted June 30, 2020 Wow well im surprised you guys got this one. Soo can someone clarify what exactly it is haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPS Ammonite Posted June 30, 2020 Share Posted June 30, 2020 13 minutes ago, supertramp said: I agree, it's a chunk of phytohermal travertine https://www.online.it/itm/Tivoli-Travertino-TARTARO-LAZIO-ROCCE-Campione-da-collezione-/174042198428 https://ambiente.regione.emilia-romagna.it/it/geologia/gallerie-fotografiche/sorgenti-e-travertini/labante-particolare-delle-rocce-in-travertino/image_view_fullscreen ciao That almost looks like the same rock and “fossilized” plant. Could you please translate what kind of plants it is covering, age and formation that it is from. My goal is to leave no stone or fossil unturned. See my Arizona Paleontology Guide link The best single resource for Arizona paleontology anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPS Ammonite Posted June 30, 2020 Share Posted June 30, 2020 17 minutes ago, FossilizedJello said: Hi, thanks for your response. Im a little confused when you say covering plant material. So are you saying it is more recent but just got covered by limestone and is preserved...aka not a fossil? Its actually not that fragile at all. Its a pretty solid chunk. I mean im sure its not the strongest fossil out there but I dont worry when I pick it up or put it down. Here are some pics of the back to help. Limestone from a spring or limestone rich stream covered plant material which has since rotted away. It is a fossil if it is more than 10,000 years old. Regardless, it is a very nice piece. My goal is to leave no stone or fossil unturned. See my Arizona Paleontology Guide link The best single resource for Arizona paleontology anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilizedJello Posted June 30, 2020 Author Share Posted June 30, 2020 1 minute ago, DPS Ammonite said: Limestone from a spring or limestone rich stream covered plant material which has since rotted away. It is a fossil if it is more than 10,000 years old. Regardless, it is a very nice piece. Ah okay. Cool, thanks. So are we undetermined if it is older then 10k? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supertramp Posted June 30, 2020 Share Posted June 30, 2020 1 hour ago, DPS Ammonite said: That almost looks like the same rock and “fossilized” plant. Could you please translate what kind of plants it is covering, age and formation that it is from. That's from the "ager tiburtinum" plain (Agro tiburtino, being Tiberis the latin for Tiber River), east of Rome, near Tivoli, not far from the Emperor Hadrian’s Villa. Holocenic in age and encrusting mainly Carex sp., Thypa sp. etc. https://www.google.com/search?q=carex&hl=it&sxsrf=ALeKk024dTdTfiOnwnQNpFLEbm9SDHGKvw:1593528420510&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjLocb746nqAhVl-SoKHSi-BrAQ_AUoAnoECBQQBA&biw=1366&bih=625 https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=ALeKk030Umk3axhHjzrSNrZFeE3y0sqt1A:1593528082448&source=univ&tbm=isch&q=Typha&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwif2Kza4qnqAhVBoVwKHRC5DlkQsAR6BAgLEAE&biw=1366&bih=625 ciao 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted June 30, 2020 Share Posted June 30, 2020 I bet this would study well as a CT scan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeschWhat Posted June 30, 2020 Share Posted June 30, 2020 Absolutely stunning piece regardless of age! Lori www.areallycrappystory.com/fossils www.facebook.com/fossilpoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilNerd Posted June 30, 2020 Share Posted June 30, 2020 4 minutes ago, GeschWhat said: Absolutely stunning piece regardless of age! I agree! 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...
FossilizedJello Posted June 30, 2020 Author Share Posted June 30, 2020 Well thank you much everybody..should I catalog the find on the website? Im happy to share with everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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