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I Think It's Coral But I Could Use Some Help.


Shark Tooth Hunter

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I am on a visit to my uncle's farm in western Maryland and we were talking about different places to look for fossils around Cumberland. Then to my surprise he told me that the rocks used to build his house had these imprints on them that to me looked like coral and brachiopods. I took a walk around the house and saw tons of rocks with those imprints. I'm not an expert but that's what I thought they looked like. Anyway, my uncle said that all the rocks were right from the land around the farm. So I decided to take a look in a nearby stream that had plenty of rocks similar to the ones used to build the house. I ended up finding this rock and I think it's coral but I'm not positive. It looked similar to a few of the rocks that I saw in the structure of the house. Any help would be appreciated!

Shark Tooth Hunter

post-5370-0-78863600-1397955034_thumb.jpg

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I don't think it's coral.

Looks more like trace fossils to me.

Infilled burrows and worm type trails.

I cropped and edited your pic :

post-2806-0-47670600-1397965003_thumb.jp

Neat find.

Regards,

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

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I am unable to say what these are but the fan shape in the upper right is interesting as are a couple that look segmented which could all be artifacts of the photo. Could you provide a bit better photo and some close ups of some of the items on this specimen?

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a house built of fossils.... dream come true! :D

I'm CRAZY about amber fossils and just as CRAZY in general.

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I don't think it's coral.

Looks more like trace fossils to me.

Infilled burrows and worm type trails.

I cropped and edited your pic :

attachicon.gifpost-5370-0-78863600-1397955034.jpg

Neat find.

Regards,

. Thanks for the info! It does start to resemble a trace fossil once I look at it with that in mind.
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I am unable to say what these are but the fan shape in the upper right is interesting as are a couple that look segmented which could all be artifacts of the photo. Could you provide a bit better photo and some close ups of some of the items on this specimen?

. OK I tried to take a better pic of the rock. It could be better that's for sure but all I am able to use at this moment is my phone. I also took a close up shot on the marking on thd top right. I also highlighted the marking so it is easier to see. I am pretty sure this is the part of the rock you are pointing out.

post-5370-0-73540300-1397994832_thumb.jpg

post-5370-0-29095100-1397994906_thumb.jpg

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These are ichnofossils, examples of bioturbation. It would pay to examine all the exposed rocks in the area; where there's smoke, there may be fire. :)

"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!

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What is the size of the rock?

It looks to be about 6 inches long and 5 inches wide. It is probably about 4-5 inches thick making it really heavy.
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