Lone Hunter Posted November 24, 2022 Share Posted November 24, 2022 Back in August I was catching feeder fish in a wretched little Woodbine tributary when I pulled this out of the muck. It was black and limestone color with thick algae, it was unrecognizable as wood but there were holes and ripples that gave me hope. Hauling this (24 lbs) and my gear & fish was a challenge up a vertical bank and 100 yd walk through thick thorny brush for a 100 lb person, almost left it halfway back to car. After a good scrubbing it still looked like a chunk of water worn sediment and I deleted the first pic of top side, then I tried a new cleaning method I was using on ammonites that were badly stained and got great results. Pictures 1 & 2 show before and after on bottom side but the top was even worse. It won't win any beauty contest I was just happy it was wood. Thinking it was decaying wood and it is full of piddock clams, #5 shows one well. The things in question are 3 & 4, which I'm wondering could they be soft body fossils of Toredo worm? In pics of #4 the black object looks like part of the shell maybe, but #3 looks segmented like a caterpillar which Toredos are not, picture 5 shows one end of it above clam. So what could they be? 1 Link to post Share on other sites
DPS Ammonite Posted November 24, 2022 Share Posted November 24, 2022 They are shipworm burrows which are burrowing clams. AKA Teredolites longissimus. http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/119684-fossils-in-coalified-pyritized-wood/&do=findComment&comment=1312898 Donovan, S.K. A new ichnogenus for Teredolites longissimus Kelly and Bromley.Swiss J Palaeontol 137, 95–98 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13358-017-0142-9 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Lone Hunter Posted November 24, 2022 Author Share Posted November 24, 2022 I've never seen one on the outside of something like this, being calcite and textured it sure looked like something else. Thanks for showing picture that shows what looks like segments haven't seen that before either. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Rockwood Posted November 24, 2022 Share Posted November 24, 2022 @DPS Ammonite What is the fill texture that looks like a mass of eggs ? Link to post Share on other sites
DPS Ammonite Posted November 24, 2022 Share Posted November 24, 2022 16 minutes ago, Rockwood said: @DPS Ammonite What is the fill texture that looks like a mass of eggs ? They are the top or bottom of the filled burrows. Is this the photo that you were referring to? 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Lone Hunter Posted November 24, 2022 Author Share Posted November 24, 2022 (edited) I know it's hard to tell in that picture but those are piddock clams sticking out. Guessing it's this. Edited November 24, 2022 by Lone Hunter Link to post Share on other sites
Rockwood Posted November 24, 2022 Share Posted November 24, 2022 9 minutes ago, DPS Ammonite said: Is this the photo that you were referring to? Nope. Link to post Share on other sites
DPS Ammonite Posted November 24, 2022 Share Posted November 24, 2022 48 minutes ago, Rockwood said: Nope. Little bit blurry. If chalcedony, it may be showing botryoidal habit. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
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