Createstrat Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 Can anyone identify this fossil? I found it on the beachin Port Orford Oregon. What is so surprising is the color. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 Sorry, but that looks like something is painted or inked onto the rock? From the pictures provided, this does not actually look like a fossil to me. Regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 The patterning reminds me of the interior of an eroded piece of vertebra. "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...
Indy Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 Doesn't remind me of any fossil I've ever found. Difficult to tell from the pictures, however, the markings seem to be on the surface and not embedded in the rock. If you scratch you fingernail lightly over the markings... does it seem to flake off ?? Flash from the Past (Show Us Your Fossils)MAPS Fossil Show Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Createstrat Posted September 18, 2013 Author Share Posted September 18, 2013 I found this rock in heavy surf on the beach - there is no way it is painted on this rock. It does not scratch off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 Can you take another photo that isn't handheld? The ground is in focus, but your find is not. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teres Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 Can we please see another picture? Fossil or not, it's interesting, Use the macro setting on your camera that will help show more detail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indy Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 I agree with Teres ... What you found represents something.Hopefully, a closeup and in focused image ... will reveal detail someone here will recognize to solve the mystery. Flash from the Past (Show Us Your Fossils)MAPS Fossil Show Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlo Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 Could it be a worn seed cone fossil? I have seen some seed cone fossils from the Oregon coast that can be hard to recognize. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Createstrat Posted September 19, 2013 Author Share Posted September 19, 2013 It is definitely not a seed cone fossil - will send more detailed photos tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobWill Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 (edited) The first image seems to have some areas that show a much sharper image than the same areas on the second image where they are more gray looking. This may be a result of a glare or cleaning. You mentioned the color as surprising but all I can see from the photos are gray and black. Maybe a picture with better light will show us what you mean. Edited September 19, 2013 by BobWill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Createstrat Posted September 22, 2013 Author Share Posted September 22, 2013 Okay, here's two close-ups of the rock - it was found in the pounding surf in Port Orford, Oregon. All of the other rocks in the area were similar size and smooth - and mostly basalt. Any ideas what this is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichW9090 Posted September 22, 2013 Share Posted September 22, 2013 (edited) Can you borrow a good camera with a macro lens so that the picture can be enlarged? Thanks. Edited September 22, 2013 by RichW9090 The plural of "anecdote" is not "evidence". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Createstrat Posted September 23, 2013 Author Share Posted September 23, 2013 An entomologist with the Oregon Department of Agriculture believes it is a cicada fossil, and could be of scientific importance. He has sent the pictures on to one of the world's leading experts on cicadas at Oregon State University, and ask that I record the date and exact location of the find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Createstrat Posted September 23, 2013 Author Share Posted September 23, 2013 The expert at Oregon State University is an expert on fossilized insects - George Pinoir, Jr - I sent him a photo of the rock as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 Wow -- impressive and unique. Is the fossil raised up from the stone? Is the fossil smooth to the touch? I am failing in guessing how the fossil became attached to the stone so considering whether it is attached or imbedded. The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 I can see where the pattern suggests a cicada's wing venation, but it is almost certainly not an insect wing draped over the surface of a water-worn cobble: it is a section through something three dimensional embedded within the rock matrix. I still propose that it is a longitudinal section through a bit of bone (such cobbles are common on Pacific N.W. beaches). "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...
Createstrat Posted September 23, 2013 Author Share Posted September 23, 2013 The fossil is ever so slightly raised up from the stone with the seemingly "head" portion of it (the more dense part) raised higher than the rest of the fossil. The fossil is not smooth to the touch, but is more smooth than the feeling of the rock it is on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichW9090 Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 According to the literature, the Port Orford Formation is Pliocene. Our own Bobby B. has reported on barnacle encrusted mammal bones from there. The plural of "anecdote" is not "evidence". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 I believe it is raised on the surface because it is more resistant to abrasion than the entombing matrix. "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...
bdevey Posted September 26, 2013 Share Posted September 26, 2013 Very cool looking find. I can see the cicadas Idea, but the matrix looks like sandstone, and sand + insects don't mix well, or should I say, they mix to well. Keep us posted on what you find out. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herb Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 Looks sort of like a bone fragment eroded at an oblique angle along it's length? "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"_ Carl Sagen No trees were killed in this posting......however, many innocent electrons were diverted from where they originally intended to go. " I think, therefore I collect fossils." _ Me "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."__S. Holmes "can't we all just get along?" Jack Nicholson from Mars Attacks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PennyT. Posted September 27, 2013 Share Posted September 27, 2013 reminds me of a sea lily Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRK Posted September 28, 2013 Share Posted September 28, 2013 (edited) I live along the Oregon coast where these fossils occurr, and would write it off as a small eroded section of fossil bone. the long areas are the longitudinal cross sections of the Haversian canals. The stubby end areas are the cross sections of the ends of the Haversian canals. The thing that throws me is the lovely pastel colors? Usually the Haversian canals from this area are a whitish granular calcite, and are not worth collecting. Whatever your piece IS, its a keeper, however 99.999% not an insect, but very pretty Edited September 28, 2013 by PRK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncoat Posted September 28, 2013 Share Posted September 28, 2013 (edited) I collect a bit north of you along the Oregon coast. I agree completely that it is not an insect. I think its a worn piece of wood or plant material. I have number of nuts, seeds, pine cones, small branches and other woody material i have collected along the coast. I have hundreds of hundreds of worn bone fragments from the coast and color, texture and over all look is very different. if i have a chance i will take some close up fossil wood photos for you to compare for yourself. I think its a really good sign that there may be some other interesting fossils in the area. Keep your eyes peeled and let us know what else you find! Nick Edited September 28, 2013 by uncoat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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