Possible Pennsylvanian Plant?

[Opuntia]

Happy Friday from Albuquerque, New Mexico! 

We have been hunting for fossils in the Sandia/Manzano mountains just east of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Our beautiful back yard. . .

Pennsylvanian fossils can be found in the limestone that is exposed at the top of the Sandia Crest and east of the mountain. We mostly find brachiopods, crinoids and bryozoan. 

I found this on the hills of Cedro Peak, and it's not like anything we have found up there. Thought it might be a crinoid stem, but looks different. 

Any help identifying would be much appreciated. 

 

 

 

[Fossildude19]

Looks more like a starfish arm, to me.   

 

[Opuntia]

8 minutes ago, Fossildude19 said:

Looks more like a starfish arm, to me.   

 

Whoa!!!!

[Kato]

Walchia, a fossilized conifer, will be my guess. Found in the upper Pennsylvanian formations in your area.

 

Try a Google search on Kinney Brick Quarry Formation....again I'm just guessing.

 

Please provide measurement of length and width of object in question.

[Kato]

5 hours ago, Fossildude19 said:

Looks more like a starfish arm, to me.   

 

@Fossildude19

 

By arm were you meaning a crinoid arm or a crinoid arm with pinnules? I've never seen pinnules in fossilized form but I could believe it is possible.

[Opuntia]

2 hours ago, Kato said:

Walchia, a fossilized conifer, will be my guess. Found in the upper Pennsylvanian formations in your area.

 

Try a Google search on Kinney Brick Quarry Formation....again I'm just guessing.

 

Please provide measurement of length and width of object in question.

It looks very similar to the walchia!

Very exciting if it is. Thank you for the ID suggestion. 

 

I scaled the fossil with a dime. I'd say approx. 10 mm in length/ 1 mm width

 

[Missourian]

I would say it is a bryozoan akin to Rhombopora.

[Rockwood]

1 hour ago, Missourian said:

I would say it is a bryozoan akin to Rhombopora.

There ya go. 

 

[paleoflor]

I don't think this is a walchian conifer twig.

Especially at the tip (upper end firstphoto) the structure looks rather different, almost like radial, inward pointing "spines" (which would then be the infilling of something hollow).

[Kato]

1 hour ago, paleoflor said:

I don't think this is a walchian conifer twig.

Especially at the tip (upper end firstphoto) the structure looks rather different, almost like radial, inward pointing "spines" (which would then be the infilling of something hollow).

@NMFOSSILS99   Perhaps you would be able to take a natural daylight photo just a wee bit more in focus.

 

@paleoflor  wrote about the area in the orange box. It certainly does look like infill.

 

Specifically researching Cedro Peak it appears to be more of a marine environment with some layers of plant fossils.