JDSSKW Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 I found this on Topsail Beach NC. I do not know very much about invertebrate fossils at all. Any thoughts? Much appreciated. Thank you in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPS Ammonite Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 It looks like worm tubes not a sponge. Does it fizz in HCl? If yes than it is calcite? 1 My goal is to leave no stone or fossil unturned. See my Arizona Paleontology Guide link The best single resource for Arizona paleontology anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bone2stone Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 It appears to be pumice. Is it light weight comparable to it's size? Jess B. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 Another vote for worm tubes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 I agree with worm tubes. I ocassioanally find these on the NC coast and have a very large chunk from South Carolina. I've spend a lot of time trying to find which species make these but haven't had much luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 The bright yellow boring sponge Cliona celata may attack living or non-living shells or pebbles, making regular-shaped circular holes on the surface not by drilling but secreting chemicals (acids) to penetrate the calcium-based substrates on which they live,releasing amoebocytes. The holes may cover the entire surface of the object appearing as a single row with increasing size that open into a labyrinth of interconnected tunnels deeper down below the surface.This inner damage is revealed when the outer surface is collapsing. 1 " 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...
Al Dente Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 The bright yellow boring sponge Cliona celata may attack living or non-living shells or pebbles, making regular-shaped circular holes on the surface not by drilling but secreting chemicals (acids) to penetrate the calcium-based substrates on which they live,releasing amoebocytes. The holes may cover the entire surface of the object appearing as a single row with increasing size that open into a labyrinth of interconnected tunnels deeper down below the surface.This inner damage is revealed when the outer surface is collapsing. I don't think this one is Cliona. This fossil has definite tubes. I have never seen Cliona form distinct tubes. Here's a Mercenaria shell I keep on my desk with Cliona borings. It used to be a nice whole shell until a coworker decided to see what the inside looked like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdsnl Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 Rather than burrows made in a substrate, it looks more like a bunch of tube worms encrusted together. Everything on the second picture looks like part of a tube secreted by a tube worm. Sort of like this but much more extreme and more weathered: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 (edited) I don't think this one is Cliona. This fossil has definite tubes. I have never seen Cliona form distinct tubes. Here's a Mercenaria shell I keep on my desk with Cliona borings. It used to be a nice whole shell until a coworker decided to see what the inside looked like. 20160307_073438.jpg You are correct. What you have there is called Entobia (Bronn, 1838) trace fossil made by clionaid sponges. One of them is Cliona (Grant, 1826). The specimen in question is bored by tube worms. https://natureinfocus.wordpress.com/2011/04/12/pebbles-with-holes-made-by-tube-worms/ Mark Wilson http://woostergeologists.scotblogs.wooster.edu/2012/05/13/woosters-fossils-of-the-week-intricate-networks-of-tiny-holes-clionaid-sponge-borings/ Jessica Winder https://natureinfocus.wordpress.com/tag/sponge-borings/ https://natureinfocus.wordpress.com/2009/12/05/sponge-borings-in-flat-oyster-shells/ Edited March 7, 2016 by abyssunder " 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...
MeargleSchmeargl Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 (edited) I say it looks an awful lot like a pumice stone (as previously stated). Here is an image comparison: So there you go. One vote for pumice. Edited March 7, 2016 by MeargleSchmeargl Every single fossil you see is a miracle set in stone, and should be treated as such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdsnl Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 (edited) I say it looks an awful lot like a pumice stone (as previously stated). Here is an image comparison: 2016-03-07-11-34-28--1088106255.jpeg So there you go. One vote for pumice. I thought so too when I saw the first picture. But the second picture shows some pretty definite structure of tubes. Pumice doesn't weather like that. A pumice would be porous on all sides. But this one has so many long concave structures, and the concave area is smooth. If you have collected tube worms you'd find it very familiar, as that is exactly how tube worms look when the top of the tube is broken off. I have a piece that shows it quite well, with some parts broken and some parts intact to show it's indeed tube worm: Edited March 7, 2016 by sdsnl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 " 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...
bone2stone Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Two votes on pumice. Sorry guys I see some tube action but still appears to be the pumice used in landscape. Almost vermiculite. Without the bubble burst effect, More tube than bubble. If it is lightweight and floats what then? Jess B. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Here is a similar piece that I brought home from a beach South Carolina. This one is almost a foot across. On one side you can see an encrusting coral and several holes from pholid clams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Rather than it being a volcanic product, how about it being a carbonate formation? "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...
janislav Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 I'm with the not-pumice crowd. Specimen is pretty dark for pumice and the texture is unlike any igneous rocks I have seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Put a drop of acid on it; this will either confirm or rule out carbonate. "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...
JDSSKW Posted March 9, 2016 Author Share Posted March 9, 2016 To follow up. I took the piece in to the Aurora Fossil Museum to see if they could identify it -- worm tubes it is! Thank all of you for the help. I really appreciate it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPS Ammonite Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 The early bird (first to reply) got the worm (ID correct). My goal is to leave no stone or fossil unturned. See my Arizona Paleontology Guide link The best single resource for Arizona paleontology anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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