SATXPaleo Posted April 9, 2021 Share Posted April 9, 2021 (edited) Glad to be back. I'm here to share a rock fossil my co-contributor and research partner discovered. It was unearthed in north San Antonio, TX. I believe this to be "the smoking gun" of proof sea turtles once inhabited the shoreline and ocean of San Antonio and that an event of great magnitude occurred covering these creatures and allowing petrification to occur. Bold statements and conclusions, but this appears to me to be a small sea turtle that is sticking out of whatever material covered it. And it did not decompose. Your thoughts? Edited April 9, 2021 by SATXPaleo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SATXPaleo Posted April 9, 2021 Author Share Posted April 9, 2021 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lone Hunter Posted April 9, 2021 Share Posted April 9, 2021 Need something for size comparison. I was looking at it all wrong until you added the last picture. I thought there was already proof of sea turtles and mass extinction and I think petrification so to speak only happens in frozen places. I don't see a turtle, maybe inclusions someone can identify. Just a novice opinion. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted April 9, 2021 Share Posted April 9, 2021 These look like chert nodules in limestone to me. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted April 9, 2021 Share Posted April 9, 2021 Sorry, but showing photos like these and making such unfounded statements probably won't convince anybody here of your theory. I'd suggest that you and your "research partner" take it to a practicing paleontologist at your nearest museum for assessment. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scylla Posted April 9, 2021 Share Posted April 9, 2021 I think most people agree sea turtles used to live there. Some are fossilized. There are ice age turtle fossils found near San Antonio as well as Cretaceous turtle bones found in Texas. Your find does appear to be limestone which pretty much is formed under water. Unfortunately I don't see anything that looks like bone in your specimen. I have found chert and infilled burrows in rocks in your area that look like your samples. You are lucky to live where fossils are common. To clarify a different point, petrification does not require cold temperatures as someone stated above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted April 9, 2021 Share Posted April 9, 2021 30 minutes ago, Scylla said: To clarify a different point, petrification does not require cold temperatures as someone stated above. In fact silica is soluble in hot water, so it seems likely that the opposite is often true. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted April 9, 2021 Share Posted April 9, 2021 No "creature" here. Only a rock with different mineral inclusions, probably limestone with chert. You should probably start your research with how fossils form, what they look like, what can be found in your area, and maybe some geology lessons. 2 3 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...
Lone Hunter Posted April 9, 2021 Share Posted April 9, 2021 When I said petrification 'so to speak', I was just using his term but referring to the type of preservation he thought the turtle had, a completely intact body like those of a Mammoth preserved in ice. I just didn't bother explaining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted April 9, 2021 Share Posted April 9, 2021 2 hours ago, Lone Hunter said: When I said petrification 'so to speak', I was just using his term but referring to the type of preservation he thought the turtle had, a completely intact body like those of a Mammoth preserved in ice. I just didn't bother explaining. I think exceptional preservation may be a good way to express the thought. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SATXPaleo Posted April 11, 2021 Author Share Posted April 11, 2021 Thanks to all who expressed an opinion or recommendation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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