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Plant Fossil? Found In Central Nys In A Definite Layer


morgansilk

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These are actually chondritid (Chondrites isp.) feeding traces. Congrats on finding a spectacular example! :fistbump:

 

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Chondritids:
 
This is one of the most common and distinctive groups of trace fossils. Ranging from the Ordovician to the Tertiary and to modern deepsea muds, chondritids are found in turbidite series as well as in shallowmarine shales and even in storm sands. So one may assume a heterogeneous origin. Yet the different forms share not only a plant-like kind of branching along bedding planes (hence the term “fucoids”), but also a preference for relatively quiet and low-oxygen environments. Like the other forms in this chapter, chondritids are clearly feeding burrows (fodinichia), but details of the probing, feeding and backfill processes are less uniform and must be analyzed separately in every case.
 
Seilacher, Adolf (2007)
Trace Fossil Analysis.
Springer Publishing, 240 pp.
 
 
 

image.png.a84de26dad44fb03836a743755df237c.png

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have seen paleophycus/arthrophycus in the Tuscarora Quartzite that look similar but have never seen anything on this small scale and so distinctively differentiated from the surrounding sediment. The Tuscarora material is in massive blocks big as a car sometimes with traces a couple of inches wide. What would well preserved colonies of coenites look like? Not saying that is what this is just trying to get my head around the trace being so distinctive from the sediment.

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On 10/20/2014 at 2:19 PM, Plax said:

have seen paleophycus/arthrophycus in the Tuscarora Quartzite that look similar but have never seen anything on this small scale and so distinctively differentiated from the surrounding sediment. The Tuscarora material is in massive blocks big as a car sometimes with traces a couple of inches wide. What would well preserved colonies of coenites look like? Not saying that is what this is just trying to get my head around the trace being so distinctive from the sediment.

 

 

It's not that unusual for Chondrites to exhibit 3D relief from the surrounding matrix:

 

IMG1.jpg

 

Bromley, R.G. (1996)
Trace Fossils: Biology, Taphonomy and Applications, 2nd ed.
Chapman & Hall, London, 361 pp.
 
 
 

image.png.a84de26dad44fb03836a743755df237c.png

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Wow. That is a museum-quality piece.

What do the traces look like on the sides of the slab?

Context is critical.

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What happened to the image?

There is something funny about it. I had to re-hit the thread three times and click on the series of numbers to get the images to show up. I'm not sure if the problem is with the image file or the browser or the server. Odd, but I see it now.

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"One never knows, do one" == Fats Waller

"Things come and go so quickly here." == Dorothy

Thanks, everybody. It's a small layer, mostly continuous, that's differentiated from the strata above and below.There are probably huge slabs, but they are under a lot of hils and trees! This was surrounded by other larger and smaller chunks that fell out. The cliff is precipitous., so not to dig. They are cool. First I thought they were fossilized frost-- because I wanted it to be. I love environmental-type fossils, like wave action etc.

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There is something funny about it. I had to re-hit the thread three times and click on the series of numbers to get the images to show up. I'm not sure if the problem is with the image file or the browser or the server. Odd, but I see it now.

I tried 5 times, still nothing and the first post is completely blank to me. I might have to try a different browser. Thanks! :)

Edit: I can see it with IE

Beautiful plate!

Welcome to the forum!

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Very cool fossil! They almost look pyritized to me.

-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 McPhee

If I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPhee

Check out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/

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Spectacular for sure (I find myself saying that a lot here on the Forum but not usually with inchofossils)! I'll bet others would like some samples even if smaller pieces, don't let them get buried and forgotten. Is it a well-known collecting site?

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It's not that unusual for Chondrites to exhibit 3D relief from the surrounding matrix:

attachicon.gifIMG1.jpg

Bromley, R.G. (1996)
Trace Fossils: Biology, Taphonomy and Applications, 2nd ed.
Chapman & Hall, London, 361 pp.

the color difference is bothering me not the 3-D aspect, guess it could be weathering. I agree that these look like chondrites, would still like to see a sharp close up of a single limb if possible.

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I have this more dramatic one, but I can't remember where I got it altho it has to be central NYS, because I fossil hunt while visitng my aged parent every year. However, it sure looks wormy.

1779687_10204894678791218_75258368894353

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Nice, but I like the first one better. Probably some kind of worm produced these both but we only name ichnofossils based on their form rather than on what probably formed them since that is usually impossible to tell for sure.

Btw, Make sure you record the location of all fossil finds as accurately as possible! If you 'check out' unexpectedly and leave no record of this, the fossil is 'orphaned' and less useful to science and less valuable to the next collector who might acquire it.

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your last posted pic looks like what I know as Paleophycus or Arthrophycus. Rock looks like quartzite also like the Tuscarora. Could you please take a sharp photo of your first one close up and post it? Would like to see the texture. Much obliged.

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