Any idea what these are?

[Mikachu]

I got these out of an old house where the previous owners had died..so unfortunately I don't know anything other than that about their origin, etc. I was told that the owner had been some sort of a geological surveyor for the govt. ... or something. Anyway can't figure out what these were. Did a few searches and haven't found anything on my own. Thanks 

[Randyw]

Crinoid stem pieces

Edited December 3, 2021 by Randyw
Spelling

[ClearLake]

They are crinoid columnals, that is pieces of the “stalk” that supports the cup in which the animal lives. 

[Randyw]

[Mikachu]

Thank you I've been reading about them now for the last 20 min. or so. I feel kind of silly since they are so common. Really interesting though. .

 

Edited December 3, 2021 by Mikachu
Time

[ClearLake]

2 minutes ago, Mikachu said:

Thank you I've been reading about them now for the last 45 min. or so. I feel kind of silly since they are so common. Really interesting though. .

 

No need to feel silly, asking is a good way to learn. And yes, they are an interesting animal. 

[FranzBernhard]

2 hours ago, Mikachu said:

I feel kind of silly since they are so common.

No need to feel silly. If you have not seen something like this before, you simply can not know it. And you asked at the right place - so you are clever!

Yeah, they are super-common at some places, but still very nice* fossils, witness of long-gone sea life in that area.

*They really look like some mechanical, engineered parts sometimes, which make them something special in the fossil realm. And they are also special mineralogically, each one of the discs consisting originally of one single calcite crystal! You can see a flat area in one of the pieces, which is a cleavage plane of a calcite crystal.

Edit: LOL!! I didn´t read @ClearLake´s comment before writing mine...

Franz Bernhard

Edited December 3, 2021 by FranzBernhard

[Fossildude19]

There are more fossils than just crinoid columnals.

I see a bryozoan, a gastropod, and also the inner part of a crinoid stem - a lumen cast, which is less often preserved.

Nice little set of fossils. 

 

 

[Randyw]

@Fossildude19 wow! Your eyes are better then mine! I went back and looked at the pictures and still missed them until i saw your pictures.

[Fossildude19]

43 minutes ago, Randyw said:

@Fossildude19 wow! Your eyes are better then mine! I went back and looked at the pictures and still missed them until i saw your pictures.

 

 

[BobWill]

@Mikachu now that you see how interesting fossils are go have a look around Oklahoma. There are fossils galore there just waiting for collectors to pick them up. They're almost anywhere you can safely and legally access exposed rock. Cretaceous to the south (circa 100 million years old), Permian to the west (200 mya), Pennsylvanian to the northeast (300 mya) and a smattering of locations with fossils from 4 other periods even older. Living just across the border in Texas, I go there often.

Edited December 4, 2021 by BobWill