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Flowrock with a fossil


Becky Benfer

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I think I finally found a fossil within a piece of flowrock!?!?!? Found in the same area as the other flowrock pieces in N central Ohio, in a river. Nothing superb but I’m excited! Looks like a shell to me- right? Thanks!

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Nice find, I think maybe in your second photo top left there may be a very small brachiopod imprint

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“If fossils are not "boggling" your mind then you are simply not doing it right” -Ken (digit)

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Is this a conglomerate? It sure is ugly.... ha! I don’t know what’s in it but it seems like it’s full of things. Thanks again. 

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Becky, congrats!  That indeed is a brachiopod (or impression of one, I can’t quite tell from the picture) fossil. Very good. See how it stands out as a different pattern than the rest of the rock, that is one of the things to look for in searching for fossils. It looks like it is within a piece of limestone (a type of sedimentary rock). I know the term “flowrock” was used in some previous posts but let’s not overuse that term as I’m not sure that is even a real thing. Flowstone is a type of deposit formed usually within caves, but I seriously doubt that is what that rock is, or most others you are finding. 

 

1 hour ago, Becky Benfer said:

Is this a conglomerate?

No, it is not. It again looks like a piece of limestone based on the weathering, but we’d have to look closer at a fresh surface to tell fo sure. Most of the bumps and pits are just due to weathering/erosion of the rock and are not fossils. The one possible exception is that roundish bump right in the middle, that could be a fossil. Hard to tell for sure. 

 

At at any rate, good job, you are on the right track!

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The flow look is understandable. Both deposition and weathering involved water. As pointed out, the term is otherwise taken though.

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I have a closer pic of the roundish bump. Thanks again for all of.the help from everyone. I wish I had half your knowledge when looking at these rocks. You all amaze me.

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22 hours ago, Becky Benfer said:

Is this a conglomerate?

I missed that part. The ball shaped objects are almost certainly iron rich concretions. 

I made a foot bridge out of a couple slabs that were peppered with similar ones.

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And how common is it to come upon an area of clay in a river? I found a small area full of material that looks and feels like clay.

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Clay and hardpan (heavily consolidated clay that seems more like rock) is a common abiotic component of river systems. Sometimes it is formed on site and remains there and other times it's deposited in new places by erosion and water.

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2 hours ago, Becky Benfer said:

I assume this is just limestone as well then?

I would call it iron rich (limonite/siderite) concretion.

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I find more iron than anyone I know. Doesn’t iron allow for fossilization? Or am I just not in an area where there are fossils? I feel like I’m wasting time gathering these rocks. They just look like they could be “something” , but never are.

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Your in an area with a lot of great Paleozoic fossils like brachiopods, trilobites, crinoids, bryozoans, and other cool sea creatures so if you familiarize yourself with the shapes and textures of these things you'll be able to tell if what you are bringing home are fossils as soon as you find them, good luck I hope you find more.

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“If fossils are not "boggling" your mind then you are simply not doing it right” -Ken (digit)

"No fossil is garbage, it´s just not completely preserved” -Franz (FranzBernhard)

"With hammer in hand, the open horizon of time, and dear friends by my side, what can we not accomplish together?" -Kane (Kane)

"We are in a way conquering time, reuniting members of a long lost family" -Quincy (Opabinia Blues)

"I loved reading the trip reports, I loved the sharing, I loved the educational aspect, I loved the humor. It felt like home. It still does" -Mike (Pagurus)

“The best deal I ever got was getting accepted as a member on The Fossil Forum. Not only got an invaluable pool of knowledge, but gained a loving family as well.” -Doren (caldigger)

"it really is nice, to visit the oasis that is TFF" -Tim (fossildude19)

"Life's Good! -Adam (Tidgy's Dad)

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41 minutes ago, Becky Benfer said:

Doesn’t iron allow for fossilization?

Lack of oxygen is instrumental in both fossil formation and iron compound formation. They are frequently found in conjunction, and association.

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