austinswamp Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Good evening, any likelihood that this is a seed fern preserved in calcite? I found this in the Austin area. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobWill Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 What is the size and general location where it was found? Most Pteriosperms were extinct by the end of the Mesozoic so they would be rare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
austinswamp Posted January 4, 2017 Author Share Posted January 4, 2017 Found in a gravel bed near plenty of shale. 2" tall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 I don't think it's a seed fern. Looks a bit more like a geologic oddity known as a slickenside. Regards, 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...
austinswamp Posted January 4, 2017 Author Share Posted January 4, 2017 Interesting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
austinswamp Posted January 4, 2017 Author Share Posted January 4, 2017 Very informative stuff, thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 I do not see "slickensides" here. The differing direction of the striations are not a feature found in slickensides. Can We see pictures from other angles. It looks like a calcite crystal that has been etched to show the rhombohedral crystal structure. 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...
JohnJ Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 I agree with the need for more photos...but no chance this is a plant fossil given the local geology. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supertramp Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 I agree, it seems to be the base of a (calcitic?) druse; could you add more pics of the opposite side? ciao Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
austinswamp Posted January 5, 2017 Author Share Posted January 5, 2017 Backside Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 It has the tendency to Beekite in the right end of the picture. " 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...
austinswamp Posted January 5, 2017 Author Share Posted January 5, 2017 Were there any fern species in Central Texas during the Carboniferous period? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 According to THIS WEBSITE, ... the only exposed sediments in Travis County are Cretaceous and Holocene. LINK 2 LINK 3 Regards, 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...
JohnJ Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 Any chance you could post additional photos from different angles? Close-ups? As previously mentioned, this isn't a fern fossil. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 I am still seeing a piece of calcite. 15 hours ago, austinswamp said: Backside Even with the back. It is a mineral not a fossil. 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...
DevonianDigger Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 Seeing the reverse side, my bet is on Calcite. Neat nonetheless! Jay A. Wollin Lead Fossil Educator - Penn Dixie Fossil Park and Nature Reserve Hamburg, New York, USA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truceburner Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 As others have noted, you won't find any Carboniferous exposures in Central Texas. I'd suggest it is calcite from Inoceramus - quite common in upper Cretaceous exposures around here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
austinswamp Posted January 6, 2017 Author Share Posted January 6, 2017 10 hours ago, JohnJ said: Any chance you could post additional photos from different angles? Close-ups? As previously mentioned, this isn't a fern fossil. Yep will do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramon Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 Is there even fossil ferns in Austin especially from that age? "Without fossils, no one would have ever dreamed that there were successive epochs in the formation of the earth" - Georges Cuvier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
austinswamp Posted January 6, 2017 Author Share Posted January 6, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 Still looks like a piece of calcite to Me, no fossil there. 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...
Miatria Posted June 5, 2017 Share Posted June 5, 2017 Just jumping in here. Any possibility this is a fragment of mammoth enamel? I find a lot of it in the Peace River in Florida and that's immediately what it looked like to me. Zookeeperfossils.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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