jsones Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 Hello, I recently found this object washed up on a beach in northern California. We're wondering if anyone recognizes it, or could tell us what type of animal it might be from? Thanks so much for any suggestions, Jackie Sones Bodega Bay, CA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 Welcome to the Forum. A few more views, maybe? Top, bottom, sides? My initial impression is shell or coral of some sort. More pics will help us figure it out. 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...
ArrowHead Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 Are you sure it is a fossil? I'm wondering if this is a current day calcareous tube worm. They are attached to subtidal rocks and fairly common in your area. They often get broken off during winter storms and the calcareous tube washes up on the beach (minus the worm). Google "calcareous tube worm" and look at some of the images to see if they match up. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsones Posted March 29, 2017 Author Share Posted March 29, 2017 Hi! Thanks so much for taking a look. I'm pretty sure it's a fossil -- based on the texture, weight, and the material. (Sorry for the lack of proper terminology -- I work with live animals!) I'll post photos of the internal structure (visible from the wider open end) tonight. For now, here's a scan of two different sides of the object -- More soon! Jackie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsones Posted March 30, 2017 Author Share Posted March 30, 2017 Here are two more pictures... (1) the inside edge at the wider, open end (what a cool pattern!) (2) the outside at the narrow end Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagacious Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 Nice find! Definitely looks like some kind of fossil coral. There are Tertiary rocks exposed along the coast near Bodega Bay, such as at Doran Beach, and Mesozoic rocks exposed a little further north, so you never know what you might find on the beach in that area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westcoast Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 That internal pattern does not look like what I would expect to see in a solitary or horn coral. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArrowHead Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 The internal structure also eliminates the tube worm idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peat Burns Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 Very strange. No septa in the polygonal structures on the concave end view. There is some apparent horizontal banding though in long section: And there are traces of the polygonal patterns on the pointed end as well: I am stumped. Thoughts have included cartilage, silicified bone, and silicified plant pith... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westcoast Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 Head scratching. Could it be a strangely preserved partial section of a silicified colonial coral corallium? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 Doesn't strike me as having a colonial look. The construction seems more that of bone, but obviously not quite the norm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsones Posted March 31, 2017 Author Share Posted March 31, 2017 In case it's helpful, here are two more close-ups (taken under a microscope): Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 Looks plant to Me. Maybe with some sort of insect trace for the internal structure. Maybe @GeschWhat has an idea. 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...
Rockwood Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 Notice the shapes in the lower left of the last photo. They resemble those in the center of the end. This would seem like evidence to back up Tony's plant idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westcoast Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 Having seen those wonderful close up images I agree. Not coral Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kane Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 I'm leaning more toward plant, but that internal structure is quite fascinating - almost looks like horn tubules. ...How to Philosophize with a Hammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 It could be a rudist. Durania have been found in Northern California. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeschWhat Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 2 hours ago, ynot said: Looks plant to Me. Maybe with some sort of insect trace for the internal structure. Maybe @GeschWhat has an idea. Sorry, this is way out of my wheel house (or should I say outhouse). Lori www.areallycrappystory.com/fossils www.facebook.com/fossilpoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 The pattern of the left side visible in the last picture, the alternating dark and light strips, reminds me of Hunter-Schreger bands of tooth enamel. 2 " 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...
ynot Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 Duh, it is a walrus tooth root! We had another one just a few weeks ago. 1 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...
Kane Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 3 minutes ago, ynot said: Duh, it is a walrus tooth root! We had another one just a few weeks ago. I was actually thinking the same thing, but I couldn't find any comparative images for the internal structure. Is this a "bam" ID for Ynot? ...How to Philosophize with a Hammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 I think Tony might have it. 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...
westcoast Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 Its great when somebody solves the puzzle! Are those polygonal structures typical for walrus tooth? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 9 minutes ago, westcoast said: Its great when somebody solves the puzzle! Are those polygonal structures typical for walrus tooth? Tusk, not tooth. It appears so. @Boesse 1 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...
ynot Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 1 minute ago, Fossildude19 said: Tusk, not tooth. Isn't a tusk just a modified tooth? (Just to save face for Ynot.) Tony 1 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...
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