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Fossilized horseshoe crab in Alabama mountains?


screel0118

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Found this in Alabama mountains near Huntsville.   

Was in a washed out area of rock.  Found others too.  Any ideas? 

 

 

16381147187914829985696408770284.jpg

16381147472488129394224555555838.jpg

16381147648926324564727546887462.jpg

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Archimedes colony?

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15 minutes ago, Fossildude19 said:

Archimedes colony?

Look under the piece, as seen zoomed in, on the top photo. I think that has to be fragments of the colony. You must be right about this.

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I agree about Archimedes, but very interesting preservation. I believe they are prevalent in the Mississippian rocks around Huntsville.

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I’m in the Archimedes camp as well. Typical preservation is mainly of the central axial column with the fragile fronds being broken off. 
 

Your specimen seems to have the fronds (at least partially) intact. I have collected dozens of Archimedes and only found a few with the preservation seen here. 
 

So, while it is not a horseshoe crab, I still think it’s a neat and uncommon find.
 

A decent article from the KGS (Kentucky Geological Survey) can be found here with published paper references cited at the bottom should you be so inclined to learn more about them. :D 
 

https://www.uky.edu/KGS/fossils/fossil-month-09-2018-Archimedes.php

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