Indy Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Animal, vegetable, mineral - or monster? Giant nine-foot-high fossil dubbed 'Godzillus' baffles experts. Article: Click Here Flash from the Past (Show Us Your Fossils)MAPS Fossil Show Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolmt Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 ?? Why would they think this creature lived on Land, also a bit hard to believe that the "experts" don't even know what kingdom it is in........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobC Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Well, whatever it is, it clearly laid the giant Russian dino eggs. Oh wait... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scylla Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 another version http://news.discovery.com/animals/sea-monster-cincinnati-120425.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 I would really ;like to know more about this! We need to find a source other than The Mail (or its ilk) for a scientifically coherent report, though. "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...
pleecan Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Reminded me of a giant bryozoan.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Perhaps someone at TFF knows Carl Brett or one of the other Dry Dredgers associated with the find? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleecan Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 I am sure some one at TFF knows Dr Carl Brett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleecan Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 A person who is connected with this who shall be nameless and who will be studying this thought it might be algal in nature "Shaggothalus, if it is an alga!" much too early.... It will be reveal in time... Hope it ends up as a publication. PL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MammothPaleoGuy Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Greetings! Carl and Dave were both on my thesis committee. I gotta say that if THEY can't figure it out, then it must be seriously weird. That said, I bet they have some ideas that they're keeping to themselves. I still have some feelers back at UC -- I'll see what I can find out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleecan Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Hi mammoth paleoguy: It will be interesting to see the final id... Actually it is Dr BD that will be studying and dissecting the fossil base on his posting on FB today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oxytropidoceras Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 (edited) Auspex stated: "I would really ;like to know more about this! We need to find a source other than The Mail (or its ilk) for a scientifically coherent report, though." The original press release is: Mysterious 'Monster' Discovered By Amateur Paleontologist, University of Cincinnati, Greg Hand http://www.uc.edu/ne...r.aspx?id=15649 The abstract is: Fine, R., C. E. Brett, B. Dattilo, and D. L. Meyer, 2012, An enigmatic Mat-like Fossil (?) in the Kope Formation (Upper Ordovician), Kenton county, Kentucky. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 44, No. 5, p. 67. http://gsa.confex.co...ract_202937.htm http://gsa.confex.co...ssion_31042.htm In part, the abstract states: "A new, enigmatic, large fossil(?) object from a thin silty mudstone bed (up to 3 cm thick) underlain by siltstone was excavated from the lower Kope Formation (Economy Member, basal Pioneer Valley submember) near Covington, KY." Yours, Paul H. Edited April 25, 2012 by Oxytropidoceras Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Nice job tracking down the additional info. It appears to be quite the mystery with more than a few hypotheticals... Thanks Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleecan Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Thanks for the links Paul.... I did send a pm to Dr CB no response yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleecan Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 Dr BD commented " The primaspid trilobites associated with this object are found upside-down as if clinging to the underside of the mat--this very trilobite is often found clinging to bryozoans or hiding in the living chamber of nautiloids . . .so it makes sense that there was some object to cling to. The object shows folds and is organized (if you can call it that) into lobes where it appears that some sort of "skin" is folded around sediment. The structure of the filling inside the lobes is, well, strange as is the structure of the sediment just above the lobes (I wish I had a little more of that). The texture, of course, is odd, scale like. That is about as much as we have right now." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarleysGh0st Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 It looks very interesting, but I'm guessing that it wouldn't be gathering nearly the publicity it's getting now if they hadn't gone a little overboard with the "Godzillus" name. Marketing genius! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AgrilusHunter Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 Dr BD commented " The primaspid trilobites associated with this object are found upside-down as if clinging to the underside of the mat--this very trilobite is often found clinging to bryozoans or hiding in the living chamber of nautiloids . . .so it makes sense that there was some object to cling to. The object shows folds and is organized (if you can call it that) into lobes where it appears that some sort of "skin" is folded around sediment. The structure of the filling inside the lobes is, well, strange as is the structure of the sediment just above the lobes (I wish I had a little more of that). The texture, of course, is odd, scale like. That is about as much as we have right now." This description, coming from an expert with fossil in hand, I think clearly demonstrates just how much of a mystery this object is. I'm guessing this one will be debated for a while, maybe years. Thanks for all the posts, this was a blast to read through. "They ... savoured the strange warm glow of being much more ignorant than ordinary people, who were only ignorant of ordinary things." -- Terry Pratchett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scylla Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 It looks very interesting, but I'm guessing that it wouldn't be gathering nearly the publicity it's getting now if they hadn't gone a little overboard with the "Godzillus" name. Marketing genius! not to mention that this "9 foot" monster seems to measure 6.5 feet, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cojo Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 Its obviously just a coprolite from the real Godzilla! Ha! The hypothesus of a giant anemone seems like a good guess at best, but not impossible. Stichodactyla mertensii is an anemone today that gets over 1m wide. The texture on the fossil looks a little like the mesenteries you see if you cut an anemone open. I'm more into marine Bio than paleontology and i guess if i had to take a bet that would probably be it. Its still just a guess though. Can't wait till they figure it out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 The reticulated pattern makes me think of a sponge. Perhaps it is a type that normally didn't preserve at all (or as tiny spicules only), but in this case, unique circumstances of sedimentation caused the internal chambers to be filled with mud and silt, which preserved the form of the organism. Is there any word of any thin sections or anything else about the microscopic structure? Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleecan Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 (edited) The reticulated pattern makes me think of a sponge. Perhaps it is a type that normally didn't preserve at all (or as tiny spicules only), but in this case, unique circumstances of sedimentation caused the internal chambers to be filled with mud and silt, which preserved the form of the organism. Is there any word of any thin sections or anything else about the microscopic structure? The statement by Dr BD was made today. Still in the very early stages of investigation. Info will eventually come out in a publication ... Edited April 26, 2012 by pleecan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erose Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 I know Ron. He lives just a handful of blocks from my childhood home. We've done some collecting together and shared favorite sites in the Cinci. He is one crazy collector and serious enthusiast. He glues bryozoan colonies back together in his spare time. He also has a real knack for finding excellent stuff. The DryDredgers gave him a rather crude nickname starting with the word "Lucky..." This thing is so cool. He sent me a PDF of it a few months back but I was sworn to secrecy. It's pretty crazy how much it is making the news, and ITS NOT A DINOSAUR! Go Ron! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleecan Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 I know Ron. He lives just a handful of blocks from my childhood home. We've done some collecting together and shared favorite sites in the Cinci. He is one crazy collector and serious enthusiast. He glues bryozoan colonies back together in his spare time. He also has a real knack for finding excellent stuff. The DryDredgers gave him a rather crude nickname starting with the word "Lucky..." This thing is so cool. He sent me a PDF of it a few months back but I was sworn to secrecy. It's pretty crazy how much it is making the news, and ITS NOT A DINOSAUR! Go Ron! You are famous by association ! That is great to have an inside source. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stahlhelms Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 Just wondering what everybody on the Forum thought of this.... http://news.yahoo.com/ohio-mans-fossil-kentucky-stumps-experts-135502960.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamalama Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 Congrats to Ron Fine! He is something of a local expert on fossils from the Cincinnati area so if he's stumped then it has to be something new. Would like to see better pics tho. -Dave __________________________________________________ Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPheeIf I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPheeCheck out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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