Chris Anderson Posted January 9, 2021 Share Posted January 9, 2021 Here is a pair of fossil moullsk she'll me and my wife found today. I believe they are also called sterkins. These were found on North Myrtle Beach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thecosmilia Trichitoma Posted January 9, 2021 Share Posted January 9, 2021 27 minutes ago, Chris Anderson said: they are also called sterkins Close enough; they are called steinkerns, literally German for “stone seeds.” They form when mud fills the inside of a fossil. When the fossil (in this case a gastropod) erodes away or dissolves, the cast is left behind. Although I know very little about fossils on the East Coast, I am not sure if they can be properly identified much further than “gastropod.” Many diagnostic features have been lost due to weathering from the ocean, and the shell material might not have been preserved in the first place. It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt -Mark Twain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Anderson Posted January 9, 2021 Author Share Posted January 9, 2021 Thanks so much for the wonderful information! In your opinion are they both good enough to keep? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thecosmilia Trichitoma Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 40 minutes ago, Chris Anderson said: In your opinion are they both good enough to keep? I live in a pretty fossil-free area, so I’d keep pretty much anything. Unless fossils are so common that you couldn’t carry them all, I think keeping them is a good idea. Just thinking about all of the things that had to happen for each fossil to come to you. First it needed to be buried quickly after death, so that it didn’t erode away from the tide. It had to be buried in the right rock to survive, so that it wouldn’t be completely destroyed. It was pushed underground, and the sediment hardened to stone, protecting it from outside forces. New species came and went above it on land, and many mass extinctions occurred, but the fossil remained there in the stone. The rock layer didn’t get pushed so far underground as to become metamorphic or melt, but didn’t come up earlier to be destroyed before you could find it. It washed from it’s rock layer in to the ocean, where it would mostly likely have been destroyed, as with most of the other fossils that were beside it for so many years. It washed on the beach at just the right time for you to walk there and find, evidence of a little snail that lived millions of years earlier, a time so long that it is hard for humans to even comprehend. The fossil survived all odds to eventually be found. That is why I think that you should keep it in your collection. 2 It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt -Mark Twain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Top Trilo Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 Could the one on the left be a coprolite? “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) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas.Dodson Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 32 minutes ago, Top Trilo said: Could the one on the left be a coprolite? Nope. Definitely a gastropod steinkern. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Anderson Posted January 10, 2021 Author Share Posted January 10, 2021 Wow! A fossil is a truly amazing piece! We should all cherish the moment we pick one up. They are truly special and desve recanition. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FranzBernhard Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 5 hours ago, Thecosmilia Trichitoma said: I live in a pretty fossil-free area, so I’d keep pretty much anything. Unless fossils are so common that you couldn’t carry them all, I think keeping them is a good idea. Just thinking about all of the things that had to happen for each fossil to come to you. First it needed to be buried quickly after death, so that it didn’t erode away from the tide. It had to be buried in the right rock to survive, so that it wouldn’t be completely destroyed. It was pushed underground, and the sediment hardened to stone, protecting it from outside forces. New species came and went above it on land, and many mass extinctions occurred, but the fossil remained there in the stone. The rock layer didn’t get pushed so far underground as to become metamorphic or melt, but didn’t come up earlier to be destroyed before you could find it. It washed from it’s rock layer in to the ocean, where it would mostly likely have been destroyed, as with most of the other fossils that were beside it for so many years. It washed on the beach at just the right time for you to walk there and find, evidence of a little snail that lived millions of years earlier, a time so long that it is hard for humans to even comprehend. The fossil survived all odds to eventually be found. That is why I think that you should keep it in your collection. This should be placed here on TFF on a prominent place!! Thanks, @Thecosmilia Trichitoma! 4 hours ago, Chris Anderson said: Wow! A fossil is a truly amazing piece! We should all cherish the moment we pick one up. They are truly special and deserve recanition. Franz Bernhard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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