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Unusual fossil from the Mahantango formation, Pennsylvania


Misha

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Hello everyone!

Last summer when going on a trip to PA I stopped by a site where some Mahantango formation material was found,

The finds weren't anything too spectacular or plentiful but it was still a nice place to stop by.

While there I picked up quite a few concretions just to see if anything is in them, and for a few months they stayed outside to weather and break down a bit.

Most of them were completely devoid of anything but one did reveal this interesting little fossil.

The whole thing is about 2 cm long and 2mm in width, it has some neat branching to it. 

I initially thought it was a bryozoan and didn't really think much of it otherwise but after getting to cut it from the large concretion and examine it closer it appears to be carbonized?

The whole thing is much darker than the surrounding matrix except for a few parts covered in pyrite, and looking under magnifiation it appears that the fossil has some striations going along its length, it might still be a bryozoan but these thing made me question that ID.

Does anyone know what this might really be?

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My guess would be plant material; it is not uncommon to encounter them in Devonian rocks, generally appearing as carbonized film.

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1 minute ago, Kane said:

My guess would be plant material; it is not uncommon to encounter them in Devonian rocks, generally appearing as carbonized film.

Wow! that was a quick reply.

I did think that it may be that but I havent heard of any from this formation, would be really cool if it is.

Thank you for the information!

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+1 for plant material. 

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I've been looking at Cooksonia specimens the last couple of days and this piece instantly reminded me of those. 
I am not saying it is Cooksonia (as that might be too old for this formation), but it sure looks like some kind of primitive plant, I am sure @paleoflor might be able to tell you more :) 

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Interested in all things paleontology, geology, zoology, evolution, natural history and science!
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The Hamilton Shales and Mahantango formation are Middle Devonian and close in age. Here is a Iridopteris eriensis branch I found in Western New York. My specimen is pyritized, but I have found carbonized impressions of the same. The reason we don't find a lot of plant material on the eastern states, is the plants grew in the coastal (ancient) Acadia mountainous areas and floated by water out to sea in the Devonian sea to the west, where they became water logged and sank to the bottom for deposition with the marine fossils we commonly find.

Iridopteris eriensis.jpg

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