TexasFossil Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 Hi all! My son found this fossil in Pease Park, Austin ,TX, Travis County limestone. He wants to use it for our Christmas card! But we need to know what it is, so we can adjust the text on the card. It looks like an coilopoceras ammonite (see image below) , they are common in the region and the number of lines seems right, but someone in a fossil forum thought it was an echinoid, like a star fish? What could it be? Does anyone have an idea? Thank you!! Ammonites in the region: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmaier Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 Mmmm. It's got a white dusty coating on it, and it obscures the details. If you buff it against your pants leg (use old pants), it will highlight the details more. Also, rub your fingers on the high points to create some contrast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 I am not so sure it is either one. I would say definitely not an echinoid. If it is an ammonite, it is very, very, very worn. I really think it is just a rock worn by nature. But maybe someone will prove me wrong. 1 Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt behind the trailer, my desert Them red clay piles are heaven on earth I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasFossil Posted December 11, 2016 Author Share Posted December 11, 2016 Thanks! We'll try to buff it up in the morning. My son was hoping to find an ammonite, so we could use it for a Christmas card and say 'Twas the ammonite before Christmas', hahaha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPS Ammonite Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 Hopefully some our Fossil Forum members with Christmas spirit in the Austin area can show her son where he can collect some nice ammonites and other Texas fossils to put on his Christmas card. TexasFossil, contact the Paleontological Society of Austin (join them too, they are kid friendly) and see if they can lead you to a site with great fossils. 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...
Fossildude19 Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 There is a slight possibility that this is the very worn inner whorls of an ammonite. Here is what I'm seeing: It is extremely worn, as stated. Not sure you could say one way or the other, conclusively. Regards, 2 Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 I'd say that that's a very worn outer mold of the inner whorls of an ammonite. 2 Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TqB Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 10 minutes ago, Ludwigia said: I'd say that that's a very worn outer mold of the inner whorls of an ammonite. So would I. Tarquin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fifbrindacier Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 8 hours ago, Fossildude19 said: There is a slight possibility that this is the very worn inner whorls of an ammonite. Here is what I'm seeing: It is extremely worn, as stated. Not sure you could say one way or the other, conclusively. Regards, 4 hours ago, Ludwigia said: I'd say that that's a very worn outer mold of the inner whorls of an ammonite. I agree it might be that. 9 hours ago, DPS Ammonite said: Hopefully some our Fossil Forum members with Christmas spirit in the Austin area can show her son where he can collect some nice ammonites and other Texas fossils to put on his Christmas card. TexasFossil, contact the Paleontological Society of Austin (join them too, they are kid friendly) and see if they can lead you to a site with great fossils. You can follow this advice, i think it's really a good one and i know there are some places in Texas where there are a lot of ammonites. I swear you and your son good luck. "On ne voit bien que par le coeur, l'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry) "We only well see with the heart, the essential is invisible for the eyes." In memory of Doren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobWill Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 It might help to see other views of the fossil. It has some radial symmetry but not five-way symmetry like an echinoderm of any kind. It could also be a coral but it may be just too worn to tell. If you have time you may be able to get some advice from a local collector about where to find a better example, or at least photograph one at a museum. I love the idea of using the re-written poem line Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasFossil Posted December 11, 2016 Author Share Posted December 11, 2016 oooh, thank you all!!! And thank you for the detailed investigation!! My son is only 6, and he is very proud of his find! Thank you again!!!! Everyone is so helpful on this forum!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erose Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 I also agree that it is the impression made by the inner coil of a ribbed ammonite. Certainly not an echinoid. There are numerous types of ammonites that can be found at that site. Some more often than others. In fact about ten years back I led a summer camp group from the Austin Children's Museum there for about a half hour of collecting from the gravel bars. Most of the kids just found oysters and a few scallops. But one eight-year old boy found four completely different ammonites! All were fairly well preserved and none where the one common species. He brought me the first one and I was impressed. By the time he showed me the third and fourth I was flabbergasted... Keep taking him back and he will eventually find even better specimens. Also, at Pease Park the gravels are a mix from formations upstream but the banks are Grayson/Del Rio Formation. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilGuy1024 Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 An alternative explanation could be that it’s a radial cross section of an ammonite chamber. Meaning if after the ammonite ended up in the creek and the whorls separated as they commonly do, then broke across and rolled around some more you could end up with this. If you look at the top of the shell in the bottom middle drawing below I could see this as a possibility. What gets me is the symmetry of the outline of the piece which I think is not accidental. Also, the white patch toward the right side in the original posting could be infill of the siphuncle. Illustration is from Ernst Haeckel’s “Kunstformen der Natur”, 1899 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasFossil Posted December 31, 2016 Author Share Posted December 31, 2016 Wow, thank you for that information!! I have attached our final Christmas card, my son was SUPER excited!! Hahaha. Thanks again!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 He looks real happy! nice! 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...
fifbrindacier Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 Well, your son has a future in this domain, because i am far much older than he is and i found my very first ammonite this year, like him. So, i swear welcome to a future great paleontologist on this forum. "On ne voit bien que par le coeur, l'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry) "We only well see with the heart, the essential is invisible for the eyes." In memory of Doren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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