Wrangellian Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Ha ha! ZZZZzz I read in that paper that there are different species known, but I suppose they are too difficult to distinguish without adequate preservation too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted February 26, 2012 Author Share Posted February 26, 2012 (edited) I read in that paper that there are different species known, but I suppose they are too difficult to distinguish without adequate preservation too? I shudder at the thought of trying to id these things down to the species level.... Edited February 26, 2012 by Missourian Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted February 26, 2012 Author Share Posted February 26, 2012 Missourian, I'm sitting here reading about algae, and enjoying it Algae are always underrated. I guess people usually think of pond scum whenever it is mentioned. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Algae are always underrated. I guess people usually think of pond scum whenever it is mentioned. Hey... I resemble that... nyuk nyuk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted February 26, 2012 Author Share Posted February 26, 2012 Cool! I wonder then if it would be possible (or worth it) to prep this piece (or a similar one) down to these surfaces somehow? It would be worth polishing or thin-sectioning a piece, but I would leave that one alone. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 (edited) OK. I was thinking if it were possible to prep down to one of those surfaces with the conceptacles, it might be worth doing since they're so hard to find. Keep looking, Kyle, maybe you'll find one exposed by nature yet! Edited February 26, 2012 by Wrangellian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeR Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Here are a few of my Cenozoic algae. It ain't pretty but it's biological. Coraline algae, Upper Eocene, Tivola Limestone, Houston County, Georgia Coarline algae, Lower Oligocene, Bridgeboro Limestone, Mitchell County, Georgia Coraline algae, Upper Pliocene, Ochopee Limestone Member of the Tamiami Formation, Collier County, Florida "A problem solved is a problem caused"--Karl Pilkington "I was dead for millions of years before I was born and it never inconvenienced me a bit." -- Mark Twain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 ...It ain't pretty but it's biological... I hum that tune all the time! Nice specimens "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...
Missourian Posted February 27, 2012 Author Share Posted February 27, 2012 Here's some more Archaeolithophyllum from the Raytown Limestone (Pennsylvanian): I collected this yesterday. Note the thin, horizontal holes. These are sediment-free voids that were preserved beneath some of the algal blades. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 ...Note the thin, horizontal holes. These are sediment-free voids that were preserved beneath some of the algal blades. That's interesting; you'd think the weight of accumulating sediment would close the voids. "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...
Missourian Posted February 27, 2012 Author Share Posted February 27, 2012 That's interesting; you'd think the weight of accumulating sediment would close the voids. The sediment may have been sufficiently mineralized by the time compaction would have been in effect. Usually, those voids are filled with calcite. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 (edited) I have been finding these 'blobs' at 2 different sites near me (U. Cret.) and I'm starting to wonder if they are some kind of algae. When I found them I was reluctant to take them home as they did not look like anything important (I know better now, from past experience). Some of them look superficially like disarticulated parts of crinoids/echinoids or similar but have none of the detail or regularity that these usually have, and no obvious shell, but instead a whitish layer of varying thickness. The only similarity they have with shelly fossils from the same places is that whitish scale/coating that makes them jump out at you like the other more obvious fossils do. Any ideas? Edited February 27, 2012 by Wrangellian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted February 27, 2012 Author Share Posted February 27, 2012 I have been finding these 'blobs' at 2 different sites near me (U. Cret.) and I'm starting to wonder if they are some kind of algae. When I found them I was reluctant to take them home as they did not look like anything important (I know better now, from past experience). Some of them look superficially like disarticulated parts of crinoids/echinoids or similar but have none of the detail or regularity that these usually have, and no obvious shell, but instead a whitish layer of varying thickness. The only similarity they have with shelly fossils from the same places is that whitish scale/coating that makes them jump out at you like the other more obvious fossils do. Any ideas? It's hard to say. Is the orientation convex up or down? When I collect specimens, I frequently forget to note which side is up. I then have to go back to the site for follow up. I'd long thought that these things http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php/topic/26021-mystery-fossils-pennsylvanian/ were convex up, but after yet another trip to the site, I finally found some in situ, and they turned out to be concave up, like soap dishes. And these little guys: Faint segmentation indicates to me that they could be beresellid algae. Beresellids are one of those fossil types that are supposedly common to abundant, yet I never actually recognize them with any certainty. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 It's hard to say. Is the orientation convex up or down? Good question. I don't know if it's possible to tell here as the rock has been excavated and dumped in piles. The beresellid looks familiar, are they specific to the Carb/Paleozoic, or did they range into the Cret., I wonder? I think I saw something like that on one of the pieces I looked at today while taking pics, but didn't try photo'ing it. Could be crinoid pinnules too, though. I'll see if I can get a pic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleecan Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Silurian Algae: Chaetocladus plumula From Dundas Quarry, ON Canada (Guelph and Lockport Formation) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaetocladus Preserved as carbon film on fine grain dolostone matrix.... collect this a few yrs back. Sample was prep using ultrasonic bath . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kehbe Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Wow pleecan, I think you get the award for most pics in one post! I still haven't been able to get past the 2 mg limit. If I reduce the size of my pics any more to get more than two or three pics on one post, you guys won't be able to see them! Anyways, I think I found some of the Archaeolithophyllum that is exposed on the 'top' surface. It remains in situ as I had no tools with me to chunk some from the rock. Here are a couple pics and you all can tell me what you think as well! pic1 pic2 It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change. Charles Darwin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kehbe Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Here is another piece I found that has some interesting circles on it that appear to be part of the fossilization. Any thoughts? pic1 pic2 It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change. Charles Darwin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleecan Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 I just post external links from photobucket.com as I post on multiple forums. PL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted February 28, 2012 Author Share Posted February 28, 2012 Here is another piece I found that has some interesting circles on it that appear to be part of the fossilization. Any thoughts? pic1 pic2 The circles and 'tubes' are likely sponges, possibly Amblysiphonella. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted February 28, 2012 Author Share Posted February 28, 2012 Anyways, I think I found some of the Archaeolithophyllum that is exposed on the 'top' surface. It remains in situ as I had no tools with me to chunk some from the rock. Here are a couple pics and you all can tell me what you think as well! pic1 pic2 The 'thick' algae on the right is where crystals filled a void between two blades, if that's what you mean by the top surface. Were the algae in these two last posts from the Raytown? Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kehbe Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 The 'thick' algae on the right is where crystals filled a void between two blades, if that's what you mean by the top surface. Were the algae in these two last posts from the Raytown? They are from the Raytown, yes. and one is still 'in' the Raytown! In close proximity to the spot I found the piece in post #43. So the reddish/brown surface we are seeing exposed in the pic is not the algae itself. I was wondering about that because in this instance, it lies perpindicular to most of the other algae on this rock so I questioned whether it was the 'top surface' or not. Thanks! It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change. Charles Darwin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Some attractive examples, KB, you can see the cup shapes in those. Hope you can get that big chunk home somehow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted February 29, 2012 Author Share Posted February 29, 2012 Hope you can get that big chunk home somehow! Yeah. It would fit nicely into the landscaping. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kehbe Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 One more interesting sample from the Raytown Limestone! Very different but from the same area and cut as the others, this piece I just thought was interesting also! Check it out! pic1 pic2 It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change. Charles Darwin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted March 1, 2012 Author Share Posted March 1, 2012 Very nice. They look like graffiti. The light-to-dark color of some of the thicker thalli may indicate preserved cellular structure. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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