Mystery Flintstone fossil

[Pierreprairie]

Hi I’m new here. Was given this lump of flint-stone with what was presumed to be an arrowhead wedge inside. Obviously this can’t be correct but it has presented a mystery to us. Can anyone enlighten with an identification of the fossil contained? There are lots of details visible on close inspection. Many thanks! 

[val horn]

It is a belemenite, a part of a fossil squid

[rocket]

Belemnit, great split, belemnites are not uncommon in flint but this is a real beauty!

Age is upper cretaceous, might be upper campanian or maastrichtian

Edited January 8, 2023 by rocket

[digit]

Now that's as a beautiful presentation of a belemnite as I've ever seen.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belemnitida

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Pierreprairie]

Thank you so much for these responses! Mystery cleared up in hours!

I assumed, having little or no knowledge of these things, that these formations were formed deep, deep under the earth, either volcanically or pressurised by upper layers, and then pushed up amongst clays, etc.

 Flint usually seems so pristine that I couldn’t imagine finding fossilised life within it. It has definitely earned its place on the shelf!

Thanks again chaps! 

[Ludwigia]

3 hours ago, Pierreprairie said:

I assumed, having little or no knowledge of these things, that these formations were formed deep, deep under the earth, either volcanically or pressurised by upper layers, and then pushed up amongst clays, etc.

 

Not quite. Here is a good description of the process. It is not uncommon to find fossils in flint concretions.

[Pierreprairie]

This info is incredibly useful, thank you!
Since I was a nipper living by the seaside, I’ve noted and studied rocks and picked up curios and taken them home, but never followed up on that fascination.

I’ve always been in awe of the timespans needed to create all this when staring at the strata on the cliffs. I mean, wow, just one million years seems hard enough to get my head around! Flint stone formation has always baffled me though. Moving to the east of the country, it rose questions as to why I was finding tonnes of flint scattered about after the farmers had ploughed the rich clay.

Now I know! Thanks to the people on this forum that have enlightened me!
 

[digit]

14 minutes ago, Pierreprairie said:

Now I know! Thanks to the people on this forum that have enlightened me!

You've come to the right place for answers. We have an incredibly diverse and knowledgeable membership who enjoy sharing the information they've gained with others. Along with the social aspect of interacting with others who share a passion for fossils, knowledge exchange is our main purpose here at TFF.

 

Keep picking up rocks that tweak your curiosity. If you have more questions we're happy to see your other finds. You can search this forum for other places to hunt for fossils that might be not too distant from where you are. If you are not careful you might start a wonderful addiction to searching for preserved clues from ages long past.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Carl]

Belemnites are not squids but they are closely related. They had hooks on their arms instead of suckers like squid, They had 10 arms of nearly equal length as opposed to 8 arms and 2 tentacles of squid, and they had the heavy, internal shell you found which is entirely lacking in squid. They went extinct 66 million years ago.

 

Yours is a truly exquisite example! Never seen one preserved like that!