Rock-Knocker Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 A friend found this fossil. She found this in a creek in the city of Berkely, St. Louis county, MO. I've seen a similar fossil posted somewhere, but don't remember. It appears to be cylindrical with a spiral. The other 2 photographs are with the other fossils she found. Any help in identifying this would be appreciated. Thanks. The above photograph has the fossil I am interested in identifying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottBlooded Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 The honeycomb looking rocks look just like the lithostrotionella coral I find out in WV in the greenbrier river. The shell you’re holding in the second photo is some kind of brachiopod (I’m guessing) but that’s very broad. Currently researching the geology of this area more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottBlooded Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 Pennsylvanian or Mississippian age if they were found in Berkeley MO. As for that spirally boy, closest I could find in searches was an Archimedes, which I’m not familiar with but gotta say it doesn’t look like a great fit. Maybe a particularly beefy one that’s been very worn down? I’ll be really curious to see what actual experts have to say Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minnbuckeye Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 Not archimedes and I doubt if it is lithostrotionella coral. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mahnmut Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 Hello Rock-knocker I have found very similar things that turned out to be highly corroded pieces of steel rope, but you could easily rule this out by density and maybe magnetism. I can second the statement that this is not Archimedes. Maybe a shark coprolite? Best regards, J 1 Try to learn something about everything and everything about something Thomas Henry Huxley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDAWG Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 Very few natural biological structures have a spiral shape like that. It is too large and the wrong shape for Archimedes. I suspect it is a human created artifact, possibly a piece of rebar. Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 I am reminded of these mystery fossils that were never identified satisfactorily. LINK 1 LINK 2 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...
ScottBlooded Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 1 hour ago, minnbuckeye said: Not archimedes and I doubt if it is lithostrotionella coral. The honeycomb looking rocks aren’t lithostrotionella? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supertramp Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 a fragment of a narwhal tusk:-)? ciao Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 1 hour ago, ScottBlooded said: The honeycomb looking rocks aren’t lithostrotionella? I can't offer any great authoritative opinion on the honeycomb piece other than to say that I've had septarian concretions from Mazon Creek where patches of the surface layer popped off to reveal the tessellated texture. I recall the centers of each of these cells having a raised convex center to them. That was my first instinct when I saw this item pictured to the right in the second image above. Here's a similar image I was able to dig up online: https://arkansasgeological.wordpress.com/2015/10/08/geopic-of-the-week-septarian-concretions/ http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/95642-new-mazon-creek-collection/&page=2 I'm not saying that is what this is but at least a possibility to be considered. A better photo of that item would help to confirm an identity of that piece. I agree that the twisty item looks odd for a biological piece and you should considering some sort of man-made artifact to rule that out. Eroded and rusted twisted metal cable is what would come to mind as a possibility. A simple test for this would be both weight (it would be quite dense) and to see if a magnet would stick to it. If it proves not to be badly corroded metal then I can't think of what type of organism would leave such a spiraled remain (excluding narwhals ). It might help to know the general area in which it was collected so that the geologic formations exposed at the surface could be determined. Knowing the potential age of fossils in an area can help narrow down possibilities. Cheers. -Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 Cropped, rotated, and brightened: 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...
grandpa Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 Regarding the "twisty item", I recognized it the minute I saw it. I have a whole group of these: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minnbuckeye Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 2 hours ago, ScottBlooded said: The honeycomb looking rocks aren’t lithostrotionella? I was talking about the "fossil" he was trying to identify. I did not know you were looking at other specimens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabRatKing Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 Is the helix magnetic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now