traveltip1 Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 Saturday dawned a bit chilly, but the sun peeped out from lingering clouds to brighten a stellar day of fossil prospecting in the Ordovician bedrock of central Pennsylvania. We strolled along the limestone ground, like beachcombers peering in shallow shore waters, when my relatively newbie friend exclaimed, "That looks like a starfish!" Bingo...Indeed it was an Asteroidea. I'm guessing it's genus Urasterella, and I wonder how rare is this find. The specimen's longest ray is 1.75 inches (4.45 cm). Photos are the rock slab and a closeup of the mostly complete starfish, as found. 21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoNoel Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 Awesome find! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huntonia Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 Very cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 That's an amazing find!!! I would LOVE to find a starfish someday - I'm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilNerd Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 Emojis are worth a thousand words! Great find. Congrats! 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...
fifbrindacier Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 I'm like @Monica i'd like very much to find one, for now i just found ossicles. "On ne voit bien que par le coeur, l'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry) "We only well see with the heart, the essential is invisible for the eyes." In memory of Doren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffrey P Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 Congratulations on an awesome extremely rare find. Beautiful description of how it was found. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archie Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 Beautiful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historianmichael Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 Awesome find! Congratulations! Follow me on Instagram (@fossil_mike) to check out my personal collection of fossils collected and acquired over more than 15 years of fossil hunting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misha Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 Gorgeous find! I love the fossils from there 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDAWG Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 That is a very special find. Don 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 cool. I don 't know anything about this formation, but I suspect it is a pretty rare find. In general, starfish fossils are rare. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDAWG Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 Do you know what formation this find is from? Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabRatKing Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 I literally just sprayed coffee all over my keyboard and screen when the photo loaded. This is one of the best I have seen in years. I agree with Don, more fomration data would be awesome to see! (without giving away your huntin' spot of course!) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolmt Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 Spectacular find..it might even benefit from a bit of a clean up if you know someone with the right equipment. You would need to be very careful though as the details on these guys are easily destroyed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creek - Don Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 12 hours ago, traveltip1 said: I'm guessing it's genus Urasterella, and I wonder how rare is this find. " The fossil record for starfish is ancient, dating back to the Ordovician around 450 million years ago, but it is rather sparse, as starfish tend to disintegrate after death. Only the ossicles and spines of the animal are likely to be preserved, making remains hard to locate. " 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traveltip1 Posted November 2, 2020 Author Share Posted November 2, 2020 I received an expert opinion that the genus is likely Urasterella. 1 hour ago, Creek - Don said: " The fossil record for starfish is ancient, dating back to the Ordovician around 450 million years ago, but it is rather sparse, as starfish tend to disintegrate after death. Only the ossicles and spines of the animal are likely to be preserved, making remains hard to locate. " 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabRatKing Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 2 hours ago, Malcolmt said: Spectacular find..it might even benefit from a bit of a clean up if you know someone with the right equipment. You would need to be very careful though as the details on these guys are easily destroyed. Agreed. This one is special enough I'd pay a pro for the prep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam86cucv Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 Congrats on the beautiful find! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 Great find! Congrats!! Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HemiHunter Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 super cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erose Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 Ridiculously cool fossil. The conditions that made it possible to be preserved were rare. I would go back and scour that site looking for that particular bedding plane. Could be more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 Im just gunna say one word. WOW!!! RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixpaleosky Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 Congratulations for the find ! Lucky you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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