trilobiter Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 A few years ago I was in the Florida Keys and found some a very interesting site with what looked like fossilized coral. In one of the places I found what looks to be a trilobite, or something similar to a trilobite. I've attached my photo. I thought it would be a good idea to hear what people think it might be. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 Welcome to TFF! There is no rock old enuff to have trilobites in that area. What You have looks like a snail that has a segmented shell, I think it is a variety of limpet. It could also be a lobster tail. Nice find! Tony 1 Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZiggieCie Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 Hi. Welcome to the Forum. Nice coral and whatsit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amphipod Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 its a chiton, and it is actually still alive, a harmless algae grazer. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amphipod Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 Also welcome to the forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 its a chiton, and it is actually still alive, a harmless algae grazer. It is terrible when Your memory starts to go- I should have remembered what they were called. It looks like the top and left side are still covered with some of the matrix, but that could be a optical allusion. It could very possibly be a living critter. Tony 1 Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amphipod Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 It is terrible when Your memory starts to go- I should have remembered what they were called. It looks like the top and left side are still covered with some of the matrix, but that could be a optical allusion. It could very possibly be a living critter. Tony I know that feeling, cursed brain farts. Look really closely at the border and you can see that little chiton girdle, I knew he has to be alive because the girdle is gripping around the fossil coral beneath, this wouldn't preserve like that because of the soft nature of the girdle, and the location of the rock. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 I know that feeling, cursed brain farts. Look really closely at the border and you can see that little chiton girdle, I knew he has to be alive because the girdle is gripping around the fossil coral beneath, this wouldn't preserve like that because of the soft nature of the girdle, and the location of the rock. Agreed, I was interpreting that as matrix because of the color. But on closer inspection I see the pattern of the area is indeed a living critter. The ones I have seen are pacific denizens and have a more bushy looking skirt. Tony 1 Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amphipod Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 Agreed, I was interpreting that as matrix because of the color. But on closer inspection I see the pattern of the area is indeed a living critter. The ones I have seen are pacific denizens and have a more bushy looking skirt. Tony dont worry lol I was tricked by the color a little bit also, impressive camouflage on chiton's part. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 A few years ago I was in the Florida Keys and found some a very interesting site with what looked like fossilized coral. In one of the places I found what looks to be a trilobite, or something similar to a trilobite. I've attached my photo. I thought it would be a good idea to hear what people think it might be. Thanks! Hay-hi Trilobiter, Thanks for bringing this up for discussion. I hope that Your Question has been answered. It is very interesting that this critter has evolved to look like a fossil in the fossil corals. Tony Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trilobiter Posted October 3, 2015 Author Share Posted October 3, 2015 Thanks everyone for the useful information! I took this photo around 3 years ago, so I didn't recall until it was suggested that it was still alive, that I may have seen more and wondered about that at the time I saw them. It's amazing that this animal looks to a novice so much like a primitive fossil.... the color, the structure and it even has what looks like a stone or coral ring around it. I'd never heard of Chitons before. Apparently there are Chiton fossils, this just isn't one: "Chitons have a relatively good fossil record, stretching back 400 million years to the Devonian." http://www.kidzsearch.com/wiki/Chiton Happy fossiling! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coco Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 Hi, About chitons, have a look on my signature ! Here exactly : http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php/topic/26990-cocos-pdf-library-2-living-current-except-fishes-and-selachians/ Coco 1 ---------------------- 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... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PA Fossil Finder Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 That is a very nice little chiton I don't think I've ever seen one of those whenever I visited Florida. I'm assuming this was on a beach? Stephen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 That is a very nice little chiton ... I'm assuming this was on a beach? Look on jetty rocks in the inter tidal zone. Look carefully, as they are small and inconspicuous. "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...
PRK Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 I thought this a fun time to include this fossil version of a chiton(with skin impression) Mazon creek---Carboniferous age 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 I thought this a fun time to include this fossil version of a chiton(with skin impression) Mazon creek---Carboniferous age Hey-hi Paul, That is an absolute beauty!!! Tony Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRK Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 (edited) Hi tony! Edited October 8, 2015 by PRK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 Coming to this conversation a bit late but I'll add my three cents (adjusted for inflation). The photo that started this is (as has been determined) a chiton. Chitons are marine molluscs which, unlike bivalves which have two valves (shells) or gastropods which have a single shell, have a series of eight shell plates (valves). You can count the plates in the photo to verify this. You can also tell from the photo that this is a live animal and not somehow the fossilized remains embedded into the coral as you can also detect the grayish girdle with black bands on it surrounding the plates. Unless the entire animal is buried quickly in sediment (as seems to be the case with Paul's most excellent Mazon Creek nodule) the plates tend to disarticulate once the animal dies separating into a jumble of individual pieces. I usually only see chitons when I'm diving or snorkeling in shallow water around an area that has a rocky coastline. I often see them above the waterline around docks and jetties where they can survive high and dry for extended periods of time between tides or breaking waves. Many are "rock" colored to camouflage themselves in their selected feeding habitat but I've seen many with brightly colored and patterned shells and skirts as gaudy as the rest of their molluscan compatriots. So that's more than you'll ever need to know about chitons. Cheers. -Ken 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amphipod Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 I thought this a fun time to include this fossil version of a chiton(with skin impression) Mazon creek---Carboniferous age as expected, looks exactly like modern chitons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nandomas Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 here two fossil chitons from Italy (not mine, sadly) 1 Erosion... will be my epitaph! http://www.paleonature.org/ https://fossilnews.org/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 here two fossil chitons from Italy (not mine, sadly) Very nice!! It is amazing to see such a fragile thing preserved so well! Tony Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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