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Background on Fossil Tile from Turkey Wanted


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We recently had limestone tile flooring installed and selected a sample labeled "Fossil Tile". The wrapped packages indicated country of origin as Turkey. I have studied numerous features in the tile and believe they include belemnites or cephalopods, but there are irregular masses with bumpy linings that I'm unsure about. I'm interested in learning what region the stone may have come from, the geologic age and especially, the identification or possible identity of the "fossils". I've inspected broken tile edges for surface features that might tell more than the polished cross-sections, but found nothing thus far.

Tile Floor 01.jpg

Tile Floor 02.jpg

Tile Floor 03.jpg

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Tile Floor 05.jpg

Tile Floor 06.jpg

Tile Floor 07.jpg

Tile Floor 08.jpg

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On 3/9/2021 at 6:08 PM, jpc said:

cool.  The 6th photo down is a brachiopod in cross section.  

Thanks for your reply. No one else has offered any thoughts on the irregular masses that are so common in the tile... And no thoughts on the Turkey quarries or possible limestone age.

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On the net i found a quarry of marble fossils, Akdag Creamsa in the Sivas basin in eastern Anatolia with three layers : Oligo-Miocene, Eocene and Maestritchian.

 

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2 hours ago, fifbrindacier said:

On the net i found a quarry of marble fossils, Akdag Creamsa in the Sivas basin in eastern Anatolia with three layers : Oligo-Miocene, Eocene and Maestritchian.

 

Thanks! Your web searching is definitely superior to mine. All I was finding was ads to sell tile with no background information. With your keywords, I should be able to research some more. Thanks again!

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First three pictures remind me of rudist colony in transverse section if the geological time is Cretacious.

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42 minutes ago, abyssunder said:

First three pictures remind me of rudist colony in transverse section if the geological time is Cretacious.

If the source is Turkey, the quarries appear to be in the Eocene to early Miocene. I looked at rudist colonies at your suggestion and I will keep that possibility in mind. Thanks!

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From what I understand from @fifbrindacier's search results, it could also concern Maastrichtian sediments, which would make the fossils Cretaceous in age. This would seem more logical of an assumption if the tiles indeed contain belemnites, as these went extinct after the Cretaceous. And while I realise this is circular reasoning, the presence of rudists, supported by the presence of belemnites, might actually not just give you an identification of the embedded fossils, but also of their (Late Cretaceous) age. This should help you narrow down where the tiles could have come from. I'd advocate this approach, rather than doing it the other way around by first determining where they may have come from to then see what fossils the outlines may match...

'There's nothing like millions of years of really frustrating trial and error to give a species moral fibre and, in some cases, backbone' -- Terry Pratchett

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33 minutes ago, pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon said:

From what I understand from @fifbrindacier's search results, it could also concern Maastrichtian sediments, which would make the fossils Cretaceous in age. This would seem more logical of an assumption if the tiles indeed contain belemnites, as these went extinct after the Cretaceous. And while I realise this is circular reasoning, the presence of rudists, supported by the presence of belemnites, might actually not just give you an identification of the embedded fossils, but also of their (Late Cretaceous) age. This should help you narrow down where the tiles could have come from. I'd advocate this approach, rather than doing it the other way around by first determining where they may have come from to then see what fossils the outlines may match...

Excellent points! I will continue to pursue this and another proposal I received on the Fossil Forum Facebook site and that was microbialites or microbial crusts. There is a probable cross-section of a brachiopod (image #6) and it has the clotty or bumpy appearance on the inside... Also, I see some features have a very smooth inner region and other have the bumpy surface inside...

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