Skin? from Carboniferous marine deposit, Scotland

[StormOfSilence]

Hi all. Took another trip to our closest site yesterday - a Carboniferous marine deposit on the shores of the Firth of Forth, Scotland. Amongst the usual Bivalves and more familiar shapes (which I may need to ask about on here at some point - as I have only the wildest guess of what they actually are) we found the below. It looks for all the world like a coarsely textured skin of small scales. I'm aware that soft tissue preservation is incredibly rare, so am dubious - but I don't know what else it might be.

 

Anyone able to help? 

 

Nb. I haven't done any work on this at all yet - this is exactly as found.

 

 

[ScottBlooded]

Looks like some kind of bryozoan, as broad as that is. Wait for someone else to be more specific. Very nice!

[mr.cheese]

I bet your imagination was running rings around that when you spotted it! I agree with @ScottBloodedsome type of bryozoan but I am really holding out for it to be some T-rex skin for you! 

Great find though!

[Fossildude19]

Looks similar to Fenestella sp.

[mr.cheese]

I just found a great resource for you to have a look at and learn from. They have an amazing selection of 3D images to view and if you scroll down to the image below the coloured graph showing Class stenolaemata you can press the play button on the image to view a 3D model you can rotate and zoom in on. Great little site! 

From that I agree with @Fossildude19 and with little or no knowledge and only a read of that site, so taking it with a pinch of salt till you get a visit from someone who really knows I will suggest it is the same as the 3D image one and throw stenolaemate bryozoan (Order Fenestrida) Polypora elliptica into the hat!

Here is a link to that site.

https://www.digitalatlasofancientlife.org/learn/bryozoa/ 

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

A very lovely fenestrid bryozoan 

[StormOfSilence]

Thanks for the replies all, and for the resource @mr.cheese!

 

21 hours ago, mr.cheese said:

I bet your imagination was running rings around that when you spotted it! I agree with @ScottBloodedsome type of bryozoan but I am really holding out for it to be some T-rex skin for you! 

Great find though!

 

Imagination was definitely running rings! Didn't look like fish skin, so I was thinking amphibian? Shark? But the reality is still very cool. And a beautiful fossil. Just needs cleaning up now... Also, wow. T-rex skin. Now that would be the most incredible find ever... Not even sure whether I could find the right rocks in Scotland!

 

Something I hadn't realised until I posted the pictures on here, the pattern has an element of optical illusion to it... some times it looks like an open lattice, others a surface of raised bumps. The actual fossil is the latter, but that's a fun effect :-)

[mr.cheese]

On 6/7/2022 at 10:13 AM, StormOfSilence said:

Thanks for the replies all, and for the resource @mr.cheese!

 

 

Imagination was definitely running rings! Didn't look like fish skin, so I was thinking amphibian? Shark? But the reality is still very cool. And a beautiful fossil. Just needs cleaning up now... Also, wow. T-rex skin. Now that would be the most incredible find ever... Not even sure whether I could find the right rocks in Scotland!

 

Something I hadn't realised until I posted the pictures on here, the pattern has an element of optical illusion to it... some times it looks like an open lattice, others a surface of raised bumps. The actual fossil is the latter, but that's a fun effect :-)

Its my pleasure!

 

It did the same thing to me I thought it was like an open honeycomb and then looked again and it was all raised bumps! Glad I am not alone on that one!

 

Great find though, very well done. One to treasure!