MtnRunner Posted November 30, 2010 Share Posted November 30, 2010 I know these must be common because they are all around where I live! I was wondering what the scientific name and age of these fossils are. They seem to be some sort of plant. I am taking this specimen to Biology class for an assignment. I have been looking at pictures all day and the only thing that looks close to what I have is a piece of star fish. I am certain that this isn't a piece of a fish but I could be wrong. Location: Tulsa, Oklahoma Prevalent in small rocky areas (gravel beds, creek beds and at the base of cliffs) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted November 30, 2010 Share Posted November 30, 2010 They are sections of crinoid ("sea lilly") stalks. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MtnRunner Posted November 30, 2010 Author Share Posted November 30, 2010 Thank you very much! Wow that was fast. There are a lot of impressive fossils on this site. Interesting stuff. Thanks again! Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2ynpigo Posted December 1, 2010 Share Posted December 1, 2010 And fossil crinoids were animals, not plants, in spite of the informal name "sea lillies". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted December 1, 2010 Share Posted December 1, 2010 and starfish are not fish... Crinoid stems can be pretty common in some places...sounds like you live in one of those areas. Google crinoid and you will see what they look like. Or better yet do a search on this site for crinoid... some folks here haveposted some remarkable crinoid specimens, and then you can see how the stems fit on the complete animal. Getting a more detailed scientific name fom just stem pieces can be tough, though. Good luck with the class project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erose Posted December 1, 2010 Share Posted December 1, 2010 FYI Crinoids ARE related to starfish. They are all part of the phylum Echinodermata along with sea urchins and a host of other weird critters. So in your original post you were not far off base on several levels. Now you just need to find a geologic map for Tulsa and determine what formation they come from and thus the age. A quick look at a very generalized map puts Tulsa in the Pennsylvanian Period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted December 1, 2010 Share Posted December 1, 2010 mother nature is quirky and mean. she put your yard under the ocean 300 million years ago in order to create a bunch of fossil shrapnel to leave laying around now for tornados to use in their attacks. you should immediately clean up all that stuff and ship it somewhere safely out of reach of high-speed nature in your area. advise when you've gotten it all containerized near a rail line and i'll message you a suggestion on where you could ship it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MtnRunner Posted December 2, 2010 Author Share Posted December 2, 2010 Thanks everyone for the incite! I feel dumb/smarter at the same time. I am inspired to become a fossil geek now. Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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