dragonfly

[MarcoX]

I got offered this piece and I would be happy if someone can give me any hint if its real and no restoration. Thanks.

 

[Meganeura]

Is there any info on provenance of it?

[piranha]

This is a nice Cordulagomphus sp. from the Crato Fm.  I don't detect any apparent restoration.

[JBkansas]

11 minutes ago, piranha said:

This is a nice Cordulagomphus sp. from the Crato Fm.  I don't detect any apparent restoration.

Are those some kind of conifer needles mixed in with the Crato material? That was my impression but couldn't find verification.

[piranha]

35 minutes ago, JBkansas said:

Are those some kind of conifer needles mixed in with the Crato material? That was my impression but couldn't find verification.

 

"The Crato Formation yields a number of fossils and other, possibly fossil, objects that are somewhat puzzling. The most conspicuous of these are the small (usually 5–10mm in length) pellet-like structures that often cover the bedding surfaces. Others are less mysterious, but their presence in the formation is hard to explain, such as the isolated occurrence of pieces of amber. Below is a review of some of these objects with possible explanations for their occurrence and identity.

 

Pelleted Bedding Planes:

A characteristic of many bedding surfaces in the Nova Olinda Member is the super-abundance of evenly distributed pellet-like structures (Figure 21.1). On fresh surfaces they appear to be black or dark grey, but are usually brown or orange on weathered surfaces. When found in early diagenetic concretions they are clearly cylindrical. Most are straight, or only slightly curved, they never bifurcate and lengths may vary from 2 to 15mm while the diameter is usually between 0.5 and 1.5 mm. Hydrofluoric acid extraction of unweathered specimens showed that they can contain high concentrations of palynomorphs. Their occurrence within larger coprolites that also contain bones is puzzling. Their pellet-like morphology suggests that they are just that: faecal pellets. Their size and super-abundance would suggest that they were generated by young individuals of the fish Dastilbe. The high abundance of palynomorphs within the pellets is then easily explained as a consequence of the filter-feeding activities of young Dastilbe.

 

An alternative explanation for their origin was proposed by Neumann et al. (2003), who suggested that they are the remains of isolated branchlets of a cheirolepidiaceous conifer. Arguments against such an origin include the lack of internal structure when viewed under the microscope and their unusual distribution, being scattered evenly on most bedding planes. As a cheirolepidiaceous branchlet, they would be allochthonous, and it is therefore difficult to conceive of how they would become so evenly distributed. Furthermore, no macrophyte with such branchlets in situ has been recorded for the Crato Formation."

 

text from:

 

Martill, D.M., Bechly, G., Loveridge, R.F. (eds.) 2007. The Crato Fossil Beds of Brazil: Window into an Ancient World. Cambridge University Press, 625 pp.

[JBkansas]

31 minutes ago, piranha said:

 

"The Crato Formation yields a number of fossils and other, possibly fossil, objects that are somewhat puzzling. The most conspicuous of these are the small (usually 5–10mm in length) pellet-like structures that often cover the bedding surfaces. Others are less mysterious, but their presence in the formation is hard to explain, such as the isolated occurrence of pieces of amber. Below is a review of some of these objects with possible explanations for their occurrence and identity.

 

Pelleted Bedding Planes:

A characteristic of many bedding surfaces in the Nova Olinda Member is the super-abundance of evenly distributed pellet-like structures (Figure 21.1). On fresh surfaces they appear to be black or dark grey, but are usually brown or orange on weathered surfaces. When found in early diagenetic concretions they are clearly cylindrical. Most are straight, or only slightly curved, they never bifurcate and lengths may vary from 2 to 15mm while the diameter is usually between 0.5 and 1.5 mm. Hydrofluoric acid extraction of unweathered specimens showed that they can contain high concentrations of palynomorphs. Their occurrence within larger coprolites that also contain bones is puzzling. Their pellet-like morphology suggests that they are just that: faecal pellets. Their size and super-abundance would suggest that they were generated by young individuals of the fish Dastilbe. The high abundance of palynomorphs within the pellets is then easily explained as a consequence of the filter-feeding activities of young Dastilbe.

 

An alternative explanation for their origin was proposed by Neumann et al. (2003), who suggested that they are the remains of isolated branchlets of a cheirolepidiaceous conifer. Arguments against such an origin include the lack of internal structure when viewed under the microscope and their unusual distribution, being scattered evenly on most bedding planes. As a cheirolepidiaceous branchlet, they would be allochthonous, and it is therefore difficult to conceive of how they would become so evenly distributed. Furthermore, no macrophyte with such branchlets in situ has been recorded for the Crato Formation."

 

text from:

 

Martill, D.M., Bechly, G., Loveridge, R.F. (eds.) 2007. The Crato Fossil Beds of Brazil: Window into an Ancient World. Cambridge University Press, 625 pp.

Thank you so much!

[IsaacTheFossilMan]

Dangit! Was about to link you to the same paper. Super fascinating formation, and a beautiful real fossil. Shows off the original matrix and its eccentricities, as well as the actual specimen - go for it!

[Phos_01]

Thats a nice one! Do you have some size of it? 

[MarcoX]

2 hours ago, Phos_01 said:

Thats a nice one! Do you have some size of it? 

The dragon fly is around 4cm

[Gareth_]

Wow that detail! What amazing preservation 
Fantastic display piece