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Insect Or What?


Highlander

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Hello everybody. At this amazing autumn day me and my parents had some fossil hunting trip at the limesone quarry near Balaclava (Crimea, Sevastopol). One piece of rock presented us several ammonites and a lot of other moluscus. But very rare thing appeared after next stump of my hammer. Fossil was 2 cm diameter and 1/2 cm height ellipse shaped form, covered by thin chitinous layer. There are dints on the surface of fossil: the big one on the top and a little on the side. And a several dots on the topside of fossil.

A piece of rock- sandstone. Time- Lower Cretaceous Series; Albian.


May be some knows what it is? May be a part spider or another insect? Also we found a cancers fossils in that rocks, but chitinous layers was more thicker and have another colour instead of that fossil.


I will be be very happy and thankfull for all your comments and answers.

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Insects have never conquered the oceans, so unless you see alot of near-shore debris, it would be unlikely. When you say cancer, are you referring to crabs?

Brent Ashcraft

ashcraft, brent allen

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In our region we found mostly ocean fossils. But there are unique cases, when shore creatures left their "traces". In that sandstones, where i found this fossil often can be found a pieces of trees an little pieces of coal. Probably it was nearshore (and may be tidal) zone.


I really dont know what it is, but it is not a cancer or crab. Who else have a chitinous layer beside insects?
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I'm not seeing anything to suggest an insect or arachnid. A few more pictures from different angles might help

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As you see from pictures- fossil consist of twoo parts.

Not sure, but may be i`ll try to clear it. I just afraid to broke the fossil, because we hunt for the fossils in that region for last 7-8 years, but never seen something like that- so it is "my pretty".

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Can there be eggs from chitin? Whatever, but it is not a shell, because this layer (covering) is abnormal for the fossils i found there. May be it is not a chitin, but looks like it.

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I don't claim to be an expert, but the egg case idea appeals to me. If it could be viewed with enough magnification would there be pores that might help to confirm it ?

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Rockwood thanks for you advice. I`d try to discover the coverege of this fossil by microscope. If i foun something- ill try to make foto, or ill paint it on the stuff of paper.

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Today in the morning i got a microscope to explore the part of covorege layer of my fossil. Unfortunatly i have not big expirience in such works. So i get a photo of what a see. Is this surface like an egg-type? May be its pores?

Really sorry for stupid questions, but not so much paleontologists with adequate knowledges in my region to help me.

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Unsure what it is, but its a nice peice and looks rather delicate! Be nice and careful with it. Hope you get an answer soon.

"Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe" - Saint Augustine

"Those who can not see past their own nose deserve our pity more than anything else."

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I wouldn't bet against it ! Nice job Highlander. Someone should know.

We need to get the word out that there is good fresh evidence to see.

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It`s will be very interesting to see, If anybody find a microscope photo of fossil eggs, or eggs of present-day lizards, snakes. May be it will help to identify this fossil.

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The obvious deformation does suggest something like a turtle egg or a shark eggcase.

"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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I dont understand your term "eggcase". I thik it dosent means eggs, because sharks are viviparous.


Turtle- realy good idea, i thought about it. I saw only information about miocene turtles in my region. Its pretty interesting, if it turtle egg.

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I dont understand your term "eggcase". I thik it dosent means eggs, because sharks are viviparous.

Some are oviparous. Google "shark egg case".

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Some are oviparous. Google "shark egg case".

Voila: LINK

"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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No... the dots do not occur on turtle eggs... I don't know if they occur on shark/ray egg cases. Very interesting fossil... whatever it is.

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From studying modern examples here in my lab (kitchen) I notice that the chondrichtyans seem to have a decidedly linear aspect to their egg cases, and turtles more of an irregular crystalline appearance. My mosasaur egg seems to be missing :) but I'm not so sure that plant material might not be worth some consideration.

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Hi,

I dont understand your term "eggcase". I thik it dosent means eggs, because sharks are viviparous.

Some species are viviparous, others are ovoviviparous and others are oviparous...

Examples of recent viparous sharks and rays :

- Cephaloscyllium laticeps

- Hemiscyllium trispeculare

- Heterodontus portusjacksonii

- Heterodontus francisci

- Mustelus mustelus

- Schroederichthys biviusiy

- Scyliorhinus canicula

- Scyliorhinus stellaris

- Raja brachyura

- Raja clavata

- Raja eglanteria

- Raja undulata

- Dipturus batis etc...

Examples of recent ovoviviparous sharks

- Carcharias taurus

- Galeocerdo cuvier

Example of recent oviparous shark

- Mustelus asterias

You can see that in a same genius, some sharks are viviparous (Mustelus mustelus) and other ones are oviparous (Mustelus asterias). It was a big surprise for me the day I found a baby Mustelus asterias in a femal one !

Coco

----------------------
OUTIL POUR MESURER VOS FOSSILES : ici

Ma bibliothèque PDF 1 (Poissons et sélaciens récents & fossiles) : ici
Ma bibliothèque PDF 2 (Animaux vivants - sans poissons ni sélaciens) : ici
Mâchoires sélaciennes récentes : ici
Hétérodontiques et sélaciens : ici
Oeufs sélaciens récents : ici
Otolithes de poissons récents ! ici

Un Greg...

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From studying modern examples here in my lab (kitchen) I notice that the chondrichtyans seem to have a decidedly linear aspect to their egg cases, and turtles more of an irregular crystalline appearance. My mosasaur egg seems to be missing :) but I'm not so sure that plant material might not be worth some consideration.

Oops. I'm still struggling with the fact that seaweed is not a plant. Algae is what I had in mind.

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