Era/Fossil clarification - Central NY State

[pbarnes171]

Hello - I found some fossils on an afternoon walk at my parents' property in upstate New York today. They were in a creek bed. The land is undeveloped (i.e. no paved roads or electricity). They aren't as exciting as lots of stuff on here.

 

I am not necessarily seeking species ID. I am seeking:

- clarification on what geological era they were formed in, if possible

- whether it is more likely that these fossils originated locally or were transported by glaciers

- is that fossilized nacre (cool!!!)?

- is it possible that something more interesting is concealed inside the obvious protrusion on one of the rocks?

 

Scale in photos is inches. I have included a picture with the exact location where the fossils were found. I am unsure whether this area of the state was glaciated during the last ice age and so it is unclear to me whether the fossils come from local parent material or whether they originated further to the north. Speculation welcome!

 

Apologies if this is somewhat outside the scope of normal requests. Thanks in advance for any information, and please ask if there is any helpful info I left out! Hoping you are well as you read this post

[abyssunder]

They look like brachiopod molds/ brahiopod remains, to me.

Welcome to the Forum!

[cck]

Geo map says that whole area is late Devonian, so your fossils likely formed right there, and weren’t deposited by glaciers. 

[Fossildude19]

52 minutes ago, pbarnes171 said:

I am not necessarily seeking species ID. I am seeking:

1- clarification on what geological era they were formed in, if possible

2 - whether it is more likely that these fossils originated locally or were transported by glaciers

3 - is that fossilized nacre (cool!!!)?

4 - is it possible that something more interesting is concealed inside the obvious protrusion on one of the rocks?

 

Moved to General Fossil Discussion

 

1 - Devonian, probably Upper/Late Devonian.

 

 

2 - As stated, likely originating in the area.

 

3 - There could be some original nacre or shell material in place.

 

4 - You never know unless you crack them open. 

 

[pbarnes171]

Thank you for the info and for relocating my post to the appropriate area of the forum (sorry about that!). I'll crack it open tomorrow and if anything interesting is inside I'll post an update

 

[Jeffrey P]

Devonian for sure, but whether they're Upper or Middle Devonian is difficult to say. Since these were found as float either is possible. By float I mean glacially or human transported. Since the bedrock there is Upper Devonian that would be a strong possibility, but none of the brachiopod imprints you show appear to be unmistakably Upper Devonian or Middle Devonian species. Some of the more distinct shell imprints are unfortunately too partial to ID. So either epoch appears possible to me I have personally found Middle Devonian fossils on rocks where the bedrock is Lower Devonian. and I've seen Lower Devonian rocks in areas where the bedrock is Ordovician or Triassic. Closeups of some of the individual imprints might settle it, or not.