SteveS Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 Found loose in gravel pits, glacial dumping grounds in North-Central Minnesota. Could possibly be from Red River or Canadian formations, several different glaciers have deposited rocks in the region. These are 5 low quality samples I held on to, not sure if they are all even fossils or what they might be. 1. Bryozoans or just geology? Soft rock, low quality, appears to be a collection of stick-like stuff in there: alt view 2. Again, Bryozoan or Geology?: 3. There are some obvious crinoid stems in this, but the rock itself is a a weird somewhat lobed cauliflower shape I was thinking may be something larger itself. alt view 4. Crinoid cast? Rock is covered in fractal patterns, but has casts of something on it that look kind of plant-like: alt view 1 alt view 2 5. Sponge? Bryozoans? Other coral? Nothing? Fairly hard rock, entire thing is pourus, very small holes. alt view Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 1-2 - looks to be branching coral or bryozoan4 - I don't see plant material, but the covering natural fractal pattern is dendritic crystallization on limestone. " We are not separate and independent entities, but like links in a chain, and we could not by any means be what we are without those who went before us and showed us the way. " Thomas Mann My Library Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumpkinhead Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 Number five looks like a tabulate coral, like favosites. The lobed shapes could be explained by the rocks actually being sponges Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumpkinhead Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 Also, I think that these are Silurian. Nice finds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveS Posted November 29, 2015 Author Share Posted November 29, 2015 Number five looks like a tabulate coral, like favosites. The lobed shapes could be explained by the rocks actually being sponges The odd thing is that the rock looks the same from all sides, little spherical holes. All the other corals I've found look like segmented tubes from the sides and honeycomb or circular cross section. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herb Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 last one looks like coral, Favosites. From the color of the rock I would guess Silurian "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"_ Carl Sagen No trees were killed in this posting......however, many innocent electrons were diverted from where they originally intended to go. " I think, therefore I collect fossils." _ Me "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."__S. Holmes "can't we all just get along?" Jack Nicholson from Mars Attacks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumpkinhead Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 With all my favosites specimens their growth tends to radiate outward in sort of a spiral pattern. If you get large enough heads it can look like the corallites are pointing in all directions but in reality the growth originates from a centralized point. This is why the "holes" appear to come out from all sides. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumpkinhead Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 See how the tubes on this specimen are not completely vertical- you can tell that the surface follows a slight curve. That is the case with your specimen, except that the curve is more drastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveS Posted November 30, 2015 Author Share Posted November 30, 2015 With all my favosites specimens their growth tends to radiate outward in sort of a spiral pattern. If you get large enough heads it can look like the corallites are pointing in all directions but in reality the growth originates from a centralized point. This is why the "holes" appear to come out from all sides. Interesting. All the favosites examples I have seen have such a distinctive look that this rock doesn't. But could be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveS Posted November 30, 2015 Author Share Posted November 30, 2015 1-2 - looks to be branching coral or bryozoan 4 - I don't see plant material, but the covering natural fractal pattern is dendritic crystallization on limestone. The plant-like thing I'm talking about can be best seen center-right in the first and third photo. It's a fairly straight, gray line that branches off into a few lines further to the right. Not sure if clear from the picture, but the gray line is grooved into the rock. There are also a bunch of gray protrusions around the rock. Might be nothing, but appeared to be different material from the surrounding rock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 It's a little hard to interpret, but a possibility I think could be trace fossils, branching burrow like ichnofossils, similar to Chondrites. A little guide you may find in Jessica's Nature Blog, for example. https://natureinfocus.wordpress.com/2014/11/11/silurian-trace-fossil-burrows-in-dingle/%C2'> " We are not separate and independent entities, but like links in a chain, and we could not by any means be what we are without those who went before us and showed us the way. " Thomas Mann My Library Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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