Snails in Petrified Wood

[Mikeydoeswork]

On 11/5/2015 at 10:02 AM, GeschWhat said:

I LOVE petrified wood with insect traces! Any chance you could get it under a microscope? From the center picture, I would guess the feature at 10 o'clock in the center photo is a silicified burrow. If you could get it under a microscope you would probably see the crystal structure. The resolution of the closeup of the other structure isn't clear enough to tell what it is. It could be backfill/frass from an insect, algae, fungi, or maybe an egg/pupa casing as you suggest. If it is coprolite, it would have to be a cluster of them and would be easily distinguishable under a scope.

I found a piece of petrified wood that looks very similar to this that has sap and a couple tiny snails  eating the sap from what it looks like. I polished a small section of it and it’s like a mirror graphite color. Anyway, I can post some images here soon if anyone is still around and interested to see. Really just looking to learn more about it if possible!

[Lone Hunter]

There would be many people interested in seeing it and it would probably be best to start a new post. 

[Mikeydoeswork]

No idea what I’m doing here so just going to post here and then I’ll figure out how to post a new one…

But it looks like he (the snail) was fixin’ to get some grub, and then the great flood came and brought instantaneous death. Died happy and that’s more than what we can ask of it. From what I’ve researched, they eat sap. Not sure what the other thing is there with the long spike, I need a microscope.

 

[Mikeydoeswork]

Found this in a creek bed in NE Ohio. Looks like he (the snail) was fixin’ to get some grub, and then the great flood came and brought instantaneous death. Died happy and that’s more than what we can ask from life. From what I’ve researched, they eat sap. Not sure what the other thing is there with the long spike looking thing, I need a microscope.

 

Anyway, is it possible to identify the type of wood/snail from the pictures? I was thinking wood was Jet because it polishes up into a graphite color and it streaks brown against porcelain. Also it kind of looks like it has a leaf or something on it too… curious as to what period this could have come from… any info would be awesome! Thanks! 

[JohnJ]

@Mikeydoeswork

 

I've split your posts into your own topic.  You can add replies and photos below.

 

It would be useful to have a general location or geologic formation where this was found.

[Lone Hunter]

I could be wrong but what you think are snails I think is actually the sap or some other substance. Soft tissue like a snail just wouldn't preserve like that. You could do a test by sticking a hot needle into the 'snail' and see if it gives or has a smell or is it hard like the rest of the wood which I'm not even sure is wood.

Edited November 13, 2022 by Lone Hunter

[Lone Hunter]

I think there's more merging to do. @JohnJ

[Rockwood]

My first thought is to grab the chipping hammer. This looks like slag to me.  One needs to remove it before building on a metal welds, but it is also a byproduct of iron/steel production.

[Mikeydoeswork]

Thanks everyone! Guess it’s just a “snail fail.” Lol

[Tom Olson]

Those "snails in Petrified wood are "Serpulid worm tubes"!

[cngodles]

14 hours ago, Tom Olson said:

Those "snails in Petrified wood are "Serpulid worm tubes"!

 

That is more in line with what I was thinking. Some kind of worm or other microscopic creature.

[Rockwood]

Care to flesh out the argument a bit ? Preserved how in what type of rock ?

[Mikeydoeswork]

Well, I cracked it open assuming it was nothing… maybe this will help determine a conclusive resolution? It’s full of bubbles, and being that I found it in a creek (private farm) but a couple hundred yards from a railroad bridge that runs across the creek on the property, the slag argument made sense. But I’m still open to hearing more! If there’s a long standing member here willing to take a look at it with a microscope, I’ll be happy to ship. 

[Mikeydoeswork]

1 hour ago, Mikeydoeswork said:

Well, I cracked it open assuming it was nothing… maybe this will help determine a conclusive resolution? It’s full of bubbles, and being that I found it in a creek (private farm) but a couple hundred yards from a railroad bridge that runs across the creek on the property, the slag argument made sense. But I’m still open to hearing more! If there’s a long standing member here willing to take a look at it with a microscope, I’ll be happy to ship. 

 

[Rockwood]

I'm staying with slag.

[Mark Kmiecik]

Yup, that's slag.

[KOI]

You may get something like this when you burn coal. The carbon burns leaving other minerals in place and pieces of burned coal have a bit of a melted look (high temperature melts the rest of material). The bubbles can form when gasses are expanding the material. My guess is that it came as a byproduct of coal burned to make locomotive engine moving. Similar rocks can also be found when iron ore is melted to extract iron. Heavy metal ends up at the bottom and all contaminants are floating at the top, full of gases. The top gets discarded and is turned in rocks resembling pumice.