Help To Identify This Jaw/tooth Fossil From North Wales, Uk

[Rumblebook]

Hello everyone,

I found this unusual fossil a few days ago here in north Wales. I have no idea of what it is, hence my posting these details in the hope of a better idea.

It measures 100mm long by 70mm wide, and is fully mineralised, with crystals visible throughout. It appears to have tooth sockets, complete with mineralised tooth roots, which appear as a lighter colour. I assume these to be tooth sockets after finding similar shapes on online images, but none have given a likely source of the fossil, or been quite the same.

Across the fossil there is lots of very fine cellular detailing too, some in pure white calcite. There also appears to be a centere line, with root sockets mirrored about it. I have included a photo with the centre line dotted in. It is this apparent mirroring that has me baffled. All the images I have so far found show just a single line of sickle-shaped sockets, not a pair.

I would love an idea of what this is and a possible age too.

Thanks in advance.

[ted coulianos]

sorry, but not seeing anything here that says bone or tooth; appears more coralline; what looks like "cellular" structure is actually worn & recrystallized coral columns & septa; If you could give the locality perhaps a member more familiar with the geology in your area could give you a more definitive answer.

[Auspex]

The structures are most coral-like. The growth habit that formed the "tooth sockets" is very interesting, and begs explanation

[ckmerlin]

Hello everyone,

I found this unusual fossil a few days ago here in north Wales. I have no idea of what it is, hence my posting these details in the hope of a better idea.

It measures 100mm long by 70mm wide, and is fully mineralised, with crystals visible throughout. It appears to have tooth sockets, complete with mineralised tooth roots, which appear as a lighter colour. I assume these to be tooth sockets after finding similar shapes on online images, but none have given a likely source of the fossil, or been quite the same.

Across the fossil there is lots of very fine cellular detailing too, some in pure white calcite. There also appears to be a centere line, with root sockets mirrored about it. I have included a photo with the centre line dotted in. It is this apparent mirroring that has me baffled. All the images I have so far found show just a single line of sickle-shaped sockets, not a pair.

I would love an idea of what this is and a possible age too.

Thanks in advance.

Hi Rumblebook

Welcome to the forum , Where in north Wales did you find this , Im from the North Wales coast near rhyl

It looks like coral to me also and as auspex says it has an unusual formation in it

best regards

Chris

[Fossildude19]

I agree with it being some type of Coral.

I think the "tooth socket" features may be explained by a second coral growing on the branching section of a first coral, forming around those extrusions.

Neat find - maybe TQB will weigh in on this.

Regards,

[abyssunder]

I think is a very nice coral.

[TqB]

Certainly an interesting weathered piece of Lower Carboniferous rugose coral. I think it's part of a compound one - Palastraea regia seems to fit but I'm not sure. It's likely to be Brigantian Stage, about 325-330 my.

Crystal filled voids and partial silica replacement are characteristic of a lot of specimens from that area; when weathered, that and the colonial structure would explain the sockets.

Edited April 19, 2015 by TqB

[Rumblebook]

Thanks everyone, particularly TqB for the specifics, which gives me a direction to research.

I've found quite a few fossil corals at the same site, although they have been far more obvious and typical. This one is just plain odd, with the sickle-shaped 'sockets' and I can find no images online of anything similar. It may not be a jaw, but it is still a great find, for me!