Small Fossil Collection - Batesford Quarry, Geelong, VIC, Australia

[PaleonLachie]

Hello fellow fossil hunters. Below is a photo of the array of fossils I found. Each fossil is labelled with a number and it would be awesome if I could get each one identified. I thought ahead and took the photo on grid paper with each square being 5mm. Item 1 is just some quartz crystal I picked up, item 4 is a piece of some unidentifiable shell and the rest are legit fossils. I am a rooky and an amateur so please let me know if I get anything wrong or if I need to add any more detail. 

Location: Batesford Limestone quarry, Geelong, Victoria, Australia.

 

Geology: Sometime between the Miocene to Oligocene Epoch.

 

Formation: All specimens were found in loose waste heaps inside the quarry at the deepest part.

 

Assembly: The Geelong area was once part of an ancient inland sea hence the limestone deposits. The fossils consist of a lot of marine life, crustacean shells, ancient Mako shark teeth, some sort of cone shell worm. Some Megalodon C. teeth have been found in the quarry too (dont know if that helps out)

Discovery: All items were found in a loose pile of ground limestone at the deepest part of the limestone quarry.

Characteristics: Item 1 is just some quarts. Item 2 looks like the shell of some crustacean, reminds me a lot of the ribbed shell of a lobster (same as item 9) with the small and circular cones protruding up and away from the shell. Item 3 is a very small snail shell, very similar to the small ones you can find on any Australian beach. Item 4 is a rough cut out of some shell of some sort, no major identifiable features besides being smooth. Item 5 looks to be some sort of forking coral with branches that have been visibly broken off at some point. Item 6 appears to be a part of a mollusk shell, the edge is circular with different patterns further up the shell following in the same direction. Item 7 looks to be part of a large snail shell, larger than item 3, with brown streaking marks following the grain of the shell. Item 8 is another part of forking coral, I believe its a different species than item 5 due to its smoothness and lack of branches as compared to item 5. Item 9 is identical to item 2 only being a little smaller. Item 10 appears to belong to a create similar to item 2 and 9, however, the piece looks to be whole (as in not broken off), a standalone, small plate of armour, almost like a 1 x 3 flat Lego brick with the same type of protruding cones as the previously mentioned items. Item 11 is what I believe to be the tooth of a Isurus Desori (Mako Shark) after doing some research of other finds at the quarry. The tooth is almost banana like in shape being extremely narrow and sharply pointed, made for penetrating prey's skin. Item 12 is very similar to item 15, being a long cylindrical shell, almost like a fossilised worm hole with the exception of a small bulb on the tip which is more profound in item 15 and item 13. Item 13 has more details in the form of tiny dots drawing vertical lines down the cylinder of the piece with a similar bulb to that of item 12 and item 13. Item 14 appears to be part of the shell of a what Australians call a "Pippy", its scientific name being Plebidonax Deltoides. Item 15 is identical to the smooth item 12, just a bit longer, however different to item 13 which looks to be the same species given the same shape and bulb at the tip with the exception of the detailed bumps running down the side of the cylinder. 

 

[hemipristis]

1 hour ago, PaleonLachie said:

Hello fellow fossil hunters. Below is a photo of the array of fossils I found. Each fossil is labelled with a number and it would be awesome if I could get each one identified. I thought ahead and took the photo on grid paper with each square being 5mm. Item 1 is just some quartz crystal I picked up, item 4 is a piece of some unidentifiable shell and the rest are legit fossils. I am a rooky and an amateur so please let me know if I get anything wrong or if I need to add any more detail. 

Location: Batesford Limestone quarry, Geelong, Victoria, Australia.

 

Geology: Sometime between the Miocene to Oligocene Epoch.

 

Formation: All specimens were found in loose waste heaps inside the quarry at the deepest part.

 

Assembly: The Geelong area was once part of an ancient inland sea hence the limestone deposits. The fossils consist of a lot of marine life, crustacean shells, ancient Mako shark teeth, some sort of cone shell worm. Some Megalodon C. teeth have been found in the quarry too (dont know if that helps out)

Discovery: All items were found in a loose pile of ground limestone at the deepest part of the limestone quarry.

Characteristics: Item 1 is just some quarts. Item 2 looks like the shell of some crustacean, reminds me a lot of the ribbed shell of a lobster (same as item 9) with the small and circular cones protruding up and away from the shell. Item 3 is a very small snail shell, very similar to the small ones you can find on any Australian beach. Item 4 is a rough cut out of some shell of some sort, no major identifiable features besides being smooth. Item 5 looks to be some sort of forking coral with branches that have been visibly broken off at some point. Item 6 appears to be a part of a mollusk shell, the edge is circular with different patterns further up the shell following in the same direction. Item 7 looks to be part of a large snail shell, larger than item 3, with brown streaking marks following the grain of the shell. Item 8 is another part of forking coral, I believe its a different species than item 5 due to its smoothness and lack of branches as compared to item 5. Item 9 is identical to item 2 only being a little smaller. Item 10 appears to belong to a create similar to item 2 and 9, however, the piece looks to be whole (as in not broken off), a standalone, small plate of armour, almost like a 1 x 3 flat Lego brick with the same type of protruding cones as the previously mentioned items. Item 11 is what I believe to be the tooth of a Isurus Desori (Mako Shark) after doing some research of other finds at the quarry. The tooth is almost banana like in shape being extremely narrow and sharply pointed, made for penetrating prey's skin. Item 12 is very similar to item 15, being a long cylindrical shell, almost like a fossilised worm hole with the exception of a small bulb on the tip which is more profound in item 15 and item 13. Item 13 has more details in the form of tiny dots drawing vertical lines down the cylinder of the piece with a similar bulb to that of item 12 and item 13. Item 14 appears to be part of the shell of a what Australians call a "Pippy", its scientific name being Plebidonax Deltoides. Item 15 is identical to the smooth item 12, just a bit longer, however different to item 13 which looks to be the same species given the same shape and bulb at the tip with the exception of the detailed bumps running down the side of the cylinder. 

 

 

I would posit that:

#2, #9, and #10 are fragments of a Cidarid echinoid test;

#8 is a branching bryozoan;

#11 is a sand shark tooth, probably the genus Carcharias; and

 #12, #13, and #15 are echinoid spines.

 

I'd need a clearer photo to opine on the possible mollusks (#4, #6, #7, and #14)

 

[Fossildude19]

Cropped, enlarged, brightened, and contrasted:

 

[Ludwigia]

I agree with hemipristis and would add that I agree with you that #3 & #7 are gastropods and #4 & #6 are bivalve bits. #5, like #8, is probably also a branching bryozoan, although coral is still possible. And thank you for your exemplary presentation of your finds. Going into such depth certainly helps us with our assessment.

[caterpillar]

6 hours ago, hemipristis said:

#2, #9, and #10 are fragments of a Cidarid echinoid test;

 

Certainly a regular echinid but not a Cidaridae

[hemipristis]

what is a “regular” echinoid?

[JohnJ]

42 minutes ago, hemipristis said:

what is a “regular” echinoid?

 

Regular Echinoid

[PaleonLachie]

You guys are awesome! Thank you so much! 

 

Forgot to follow the topic so I didnt see these replies until now.

Edited April 27, 2021 by PaleonLachie
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[PaleonLachie]

On 4/7/2021 at 11:32 PM, Ludwigia said:

And thank you for your exemplary presentation of your finds. Going into such depth certainly helps us with our assessment.

No, thank you! I've always had a passion for paleontology so I thought, whats the most scientific way of presenting my finds. Glad to know it helped.