Lone Hunter Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 I already had 2 little piles of worm tubes then I found this larger single one today and appears the tube broke and exposed the worm. Examined the smaller ones more closely and noticed they have pyritized insides and cracks like on shell, started to wonder if they were gastropods, I see shiny spots and know the worm isn't preserved and tubes aren't shiny so doubting if they are Serpulid tubes. Also see what appears to be apeture on larger worm, so what are they? Last picture is backside of large one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 Hummm ; is the steinkern of a worm tube also technically a trace fossil ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lone Hunter Posted July 30, 2021 Author Share Posted July 30, 2021 So you think the shiny 'exposed' part is steinkern ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPS Ammonite Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 (edited) 50 minutes ago, Rockwood said: Hummm ; is the steinkern of a worm tube also technically a trace fossil ? No, it is a body fossil. A steinkern does not represent a trace of the organism’s activities; it is an impression of their preservable body parts. https://www.nps.gov/dena/learn/nature/trace-fossils.htm Edited July 30, 2021 by DPS Ammonite 1 My goal is to leave no stone or fossil unturned. See my Arizona Paleontology Guide link The best single resource for Arizona paleontology anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 Modern vermetid shells are made of aragonite which isn’t very stable over time. Are there other aragonitic fossils preserved at this site? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 57 minutes ago, Lone Hunter said: So you think the shiny 'exposed' part is steinkern ? Yup. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lone Hunter Posted July 30, 2021 Author Share Posted July 30, 2021 Thanks for all the info everyone! I wouldn't expect a body fossil to be shiny like shell how did that happen? As far as other fossils this site is a creek with a jumble of QT,QAL and Eagle Ford so no telling where it came from and can't compare it. Pictures 6&8 show what I thought looked more like apeture on Vermetidae than just the end of tube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted July 31, 2021 Share Posted July 31, 2021 In my opinion, those are tubeworms (a colony), possibly serpulids. 1 " We are not separate and independent entities, but like links in a chain, and we could not by any means be what we are without those who went before us and showed us the way. " Thomas Mann My Library Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted July 31, 2021 Share Posted July 31, 2021 @erose 1 The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erose Posted August 1, 2021 Share Posted August 1, 2021 On 7/31/2021 at 5:59 PM, JohnJ said: I also agree that these are "Serpulid" worm shells. One of the smaller smooth varieties. I put it in quotes because, although this is a very classic example of serpulid worms, there are quite a few types to find in our Cretaceous rocks here in Texas. They come in various sizes and with or without keel-like onamentation. Some seem to be always attached to another critter and some were free living. Some formed little cluster/reefs and I have ones from the Glen Rose and Walnut Formations that appeared to have filled in burrows. The literature has very few references for the genera/species found here in Texas. Most are labeled as Serpula sp. or Serpula cretacea, or something like that. They are still extant. Feather duster worms. You can get them for your salt water aquarium. They form a shell that is often well preserved. They are NOT ichno fossils, what we find is a body fossil. These are NOT steinkerns either. There are some other "worm" fossils that get preserved as little phosphatic cylinders, straight or curved, that are steinkerns of something but I don't believe we know for sure what. JohnJ pinged me because he knows I am both fascinated and frustrated by these lowly critters. Many more obvious species than we have descriptions for. AND I just found yet another odd one on a Late Cretaceous Exogyra valve. This one has multiple keels and a reticulate pattern at right angles to the keels. It's all of 2-3mm wide and I have yet to get a good photo of it. Definitely going to be a project for me to document all these types and try and sort them out. Stay tuned...but don't hold your breath. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erose Posted August 1, 2021 Share Posted August 1, 2021 Here is that weird new "serpulid". Pecan Gap, Taylor Group, (Campanian) Upper Cretaceous. Travis County, Texas 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lone Hunter Posted August 2, 2021 Author Share Posted August 2, 2021 That is weird and very cool! I can see why you were summoned and nice to know this lowly overlooked creature is getting some deserved attention. Appreciate the information and I will take a closer look at any I see from now on! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted August 2, 2021 Share Posted August 2, 2021 22 hours ago, erose said: Here is that weird new "serpulid". Pecan Gap, Taylor Group, (Campanian) Upper Cretaceous. Travis County, Texas Excellent! " We are not separate and independent entities, but like links in a chain, and we could not by any means be what we are without those who went before us and showed us the way. " Thomas Mann My Library Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wm.Spillman Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 Lone Hunter, your polychaete tubicules are not serpulids but sabellids, aka spaghetti worm family. Generally speaking, sabellids have much longer tubes whose diameter does not change (or changes very little) over most of their length. However, serpulids are typically shorter and larger, and their diameter changes (i.e. they taper) much quicker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted February 19, 2023 Share Posted February 19, 2023 Lone Hunter is in hope that she will be back on the forum soon. I will relay the message for now. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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