Snaggle_tooth Posted August 15, 2020 Share Posted August 15, 2020 Hi All, Recently I purchased some Shale from U-Dig, UT. The trilobites inside were super swell, but one of the more interesting finds was this...thing... It appears to be a circular mass, with some veins or something radiating from the center. My hopeful brain began to think it could be a jellyfish, though realistically it is highly unlikely, and I've never heard of anything like that being preserved in the shale from U-dig. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated, as I am at an ABSOLUTE loss. Thanks, -Snag 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorp Posted August 15, 2020 Share Posted August 15, 2020 Can you post some more up close pictures? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snaggle_tooth Posted August 15, 2020 Author Share Posted August 15, 2020 13 minutes ago, connorp said: Can you post some more up close pictures? I can during the day in a few hours, sorry about that, it's very late over here and they're wrapped up haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted August 15, 2020 Share Posted August 15, 2020 It's algae. These are relatively common there. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westcoast Posted August 15, 2020 Share Posted August 15, 2020 40 minutes ago, Rockwood said: It's algae. These are relatively common there. Do you have any references for that?, its similar to some specimens im looking at Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted August 15, 2020 Share Posted August 15, 2020 54 minutes ago, westcoast said: Do you have any references for that?, its similar to some specimens im looking at I contacted the quarry owner to confirm what I had been told about this by another person in the quarry. I think it was confirmed by someone on here at the time. I'm not sure when that was though. Some time ago. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paleome Posted August 15, 2020 Share Posted August 15, 2020 I am not saying it is, or it isn't, algae. I don't know what it is, right off the bat. Yes, algae is very common in that formation, but not that big! Morania fragmenta, in particular, are usually the size of those small, dark spots (or much smaller) seen elsewhere on the matrix. It would not be out of the realm of possibility for you to find the remains of a jellyfish in the wheeler formation. Great find, whatever it is. I will try to see if I can find out a possible identity with the references I have at hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paleome Posted August 15, 2020 Share Posted August 15, 2020 Well, your photos closely resemble the jellyfish Cambromedusa furcula, as compared to photos offered in the article "Medusaoids from the Middle Cambrian of Utah", by Ralph H. Willoughby and Richard A. Robison. This article is offered by JSTOR, and you can read it free if you register. This is not a common finding, and I have been through hundreds of pounds of wheeler rock, and have never seen it. Congratulations! See for yourself in the article, and I think you will agree. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted August 15, 2020 Share Posted August 15, 2020 Compare with: Cambromedusa furcula figures from: Willoughby, R.H., Robison, R.A. 1979 Medusoids from the Middle Cambrian of Utah. Journal of Paleontology, 53(2):494-500 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snaggle_tooth Posted August 15, 2020 Author Share Posted August 15, 2020 On 8/15/2020 at 1:52 PM, piranha said: Compare with: Cambromedusa furcula figures from: Willoughby, R.H., Robison, R.A. 1979 Medusoids from the Middle Cambrian of Utah. Journal of Paleontology, 53(2):494-500 Great Scott! That's it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted August 15, 2020 Share Posted August 15, 2020 It's good to be wrong this time. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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