Is it a horn? Claw? Crustacean?

[MWeber]

Hello all,

 

First post here. I've read the FAQ's and I believe I understand post guidelines. I think I'm in the right place for ID help...apologies in advance if I bungle this.

I'm looking for help in determining what this claw/horn/coral looking thing is that I found in my yard yesterday.  I'm slightly west of Austin in northern Hays county. Looking at the Generalized Geologic Map of Texas, my area falls in the "Mesozoic: Lower Cretaceous (Comanche Series)". I won't pretend to know what that means, or if it is useful info to include here, but just in case...

To describe where I found the rock: it was laying in my yard at the foot of a wooded limestone hillside. I have no idea how long it's been there. It was only partially buried. The property itself has been basically undisturbed for years. Incidentally, I found a nearly 100 year old unbroken Coke bottle on the ground nearby as well. (Not that one has anything to do with the other).

 

Any help figuring out what it is would be greatly appreciated. Additional photos to follow.

 

[MWeber]

Additional photos

 

[Fossildude19]

Welcome to the Forum.

Nice pictures and information. 

I'm thinking it is a Rudist.

LINK 1

LINK 2

[MWeber]

Thanks Fossildude19! 

If you don't mind a silly question...is it odd that it seems to have retained that reddish skin/shell/coloring? I don't see that in the rudist images Google brings up. They mostly look like curvy rocks.

[abyssunder]

Nice find!
There is a rudist assemblage, not only one piece.
Your specimens are nicely preserved.
I'll suggest caprinids.
This document might help : R. W. Scott. 2002. Albian caprinid rudists from Texas re-evaluated. Journal of Paleontology, 76(3):408-423.
 

 

BTW, you were close. Goat horn, hence the name.

Edited March 22, 2017 by abyssunder

[Fossildude19]

1 hour ago, MWeber said:

Thanks Fossildude19! 

If you don't mind a silly question...is it odd that it seems to have retained that reddish skin/shell/coloring? I don't see that in the rudist images Google brings up. They mostly look like curvy rocks.

 

Not a silly question at all.  

The coloring is heavily influenced by the minerals that were in evidence at the time the creature was becoming a fossil. 

For example, Iron in the sediments leaching into the fossil can cause them to be red in color.

In some instances, original shell material can be seen in fossils. 

Not sure what the case is with your fossil, however.  

Regards, 

[abyssunder]

I agree with Tim. Probably the reddish color is due to the iron content of the sediments. Here in Europe, especially in high temperature zones, like the Mediterranean/Adriatic/Ionian/Aegean  - Sea regions (for example Croatia, Montenegro, Greece,  Italy, Turkey), the whole soil could be (consolidated or not) rusty. We call that Terra Rossa .

[MWeber]

This is really cool. Thank you all for the information. 

After reading about this thing, I had to go back outside and look at the cliffside to see what I could see. I found all sorts of screw and fin shaped insets in the rocks and boulders. I guess those are reverse fossils? I also found a lot of recognizable shell shapes. It's pretty exciting! I have no idea what any of these things are, but now I sure want to find out. Thank you so much guys!

 

Just as a side note: I took a closer look at the rudist and the colored layer seems to be just that..a layer. It has a lot of detail in it and is flaked off in some places, whereas the inner portion just looks like solid gray rock. 

[erose]

That is a really nice specimen. Northern Hays County and a rudist suggest Glen Rose Formation. Rudists would form reefs and where you find one you find more. They also often have shell material and that reddish color is typical. Look for echinoids amongst the orher stuff. There are some common and some rare ones to be found. You could easily have a very rich collecting site on your property.

[MWeber]

8 hours ago, erose said:

That is a really nice specimen. Northern Hays County and a rudist suggest Glen Rose Formation. Rudists would form reefs and where you find one you find more. They also often have shell material and that reddish color is typical. Look for echinoids amongst the orher stuff. There are some common and some rare ones to be found. You could easily have a very rich collecting site on your property.

 

 

Thanks for the info, erose. I'll admit that I know literally nothing about fossils so everything you guys tell me gets added to my list of things to ask Google about. Glen Rose Formation & echinoids are going on the list! 

 

Since you're in Austin, you may be familiar with my area..I'm just above Dripping Springs, and a mile or so below Dead Man's Hole. Raeford creek and Dead Man's creek run through my property. I have about a 1/2 mile of rocky hillside with multiple exposed limestone shelves. I haven't spent a whole lot of time on the hillside, but each time I hike up there, I find more clamshell looking fossils than I can carry and some that might be gastropods. I'm not certain that is what they are called...they look like soft serve ice cream swirls. Haha. Some of the clamshell ones are huge masses of them stuck together. There are boulder size rocks everywhere with all sorts of indentations of various shapes...screw shapes and whatnot. 

 

It's possible that there are cool things to be found here. Sadly I just don't know what to look for, where to look for it, or what I'm looking at when I find it. 

[Fossildude19]

6 minutes ago, MWeber said:

 

Thanks for the info, erose. I'll admit that I know literally nothing about fossils so everything you guys tell me gets added to my list of things to ask Google about. Glen Rose Formation & echinoids are going on the list! 

 

Since you're in Austin, you may be familiar with my area..I'm just above Dripping Springs, and a mile or so below Dead Man's Hole. Raeford creek and Dead Man's creek run through my property. I have about a 1/2 mile of rocky hillside with multiple exposed limestone shelves. I haven't spent a whole lot of time on the hillside, but each time I hike up there, I find more clamshell looking fossils than I can carry and some that might be gastropods. I'm not certain that is what they are called...they look like soft serve ice cream swirls. Haha. Some of the clamshell ones are huge masses of them stuck together. There are boulder size rocks everywhere with all sorts of indentations of various shapes...screw shapes and whatnot. 

 

It's possible that there are cool things to be found here. Sadly I just don't know what to look for, where to look for it, or what I'm looking at when I find it. 

 

MWeber, 

You might consider joining a local area Rock/Fossil/Mineral Club. It's a way to meet like minded people who have experience with the area fossils/geology.

You should also look into some books or PDF files that might be helpful to your area. 

Lots of fantastic info on this website as well.  

Regards,

[MWeber]

Thanks for the link Fossildude19. I'm going to check into that club. If I'm lucky, perhaps I'll find someone interested in coming over to hunt in a new place and won't mind me tagging along asking a bazillion questions. 

[Fossildude19]

33 minutes ago, MWeber said:

Thanks for the link Fossildude19. I'm going to check into that club. If I'm lucky, perhaps I'll find someone interested in coming over to hunt in a new place and won't mind me tagging along asking a bazillion questions. 

 

I think you'll find plenty of volunteers for that, MWeber.  

And please, call me Tim  

Regards,