elljay Posted August 11, 2021 Share Posted August 11, 2021 I found this on Ocean Beach in SF. It looks like an echidnoid to my uneducated eyes, but there may also be something else. Any help appreciated-thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsaacTheFossilMan Posted August 11, 2021 Share Posted August 11, 2021 Would you be able to take a picture of it wet, or in isopropyl alcohol (hand sanitiser will do!). It might sound a bit weird, but it brings out the details temporarily! Is 'SF' San Francisco? Sorry, Brit over here! ~ Isaac; www.isaactfm.com "Don't move! He can't see us if we don't move!" - Alan Grant Come to the spring that is The Fossil Forum, where the stream of warmth and knowledge never runs dry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
val horn Posted August 11, 2021 Share Posted August 11, 2021 I am sorry but I do not see a fossil. I think it is just a pretty pebble. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fifbrindacier Posted August 11, 2021 Share Posted August 11, 2021 Hi, i don't see the features of an urchin here. You should see plates, where the ambulacrum or the peristome or the periproct are. Image from here : https://www.kau.edu.sa/Files/0000410/Subjects/Lecture 5 EPS 231.pdf "On ne voit bien que par le coeur, l'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry) "We only well see with the heart, the essential is invisible for the eyes." In memory of Doren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClearLake Posted August 11, 2021 Share Posted August 11, 2021 I agree with the others, while it has the general shape of some echinoids, it does not seem to have any other distinctive features of that group. Instead I see some sort of rock like a conglomerate or something with inclusions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elljay Posted August 12, 2021 Author Share Posted August 12, 2021 Thanks all. I’ll take another photo in alcohol and see if it is more clear. If you look at the bottom left, you can see 5 lines radiating from a central point. This is why I thought it might be a sand dollar or similar rather than a concrétion. It was found on the beach in San Francisco. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plantguy Posted August 12, 2021 Share Posted August 12, 2021 I agree those are probably very worn fragments/individual plates from the fossil sand dollars Scutellaster interlineatum we used to collect there many moons ago. Maybe additional pictures will show the individual plates better. I cant tell the orientation of your find from these photos but it maybe just pieces...ocasionally we found multiple dollars as well as damaged ones that were jumbled/pretty messed up like what I think you have. They are in a dark matrix with white/cream colored plates and once in awhile you could find an almost complete one. Here's a link showing some of the fragments another member found and was inquiring about. I used to have some somewhere but I believe they are now long gone. Continued hunting success. Regards, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elljay Posted August 12, 2021 Author Share Posted August 12, 2021 Thanks, Chris. That does look similar. I will post a better photo as soon as I figure out the best way to take one. Best, Laurie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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