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Mystery Morrison Fm Fossil


Troodon

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Boy this one has me stumped and I haven't got a clue what it is.   From the late Jurassic of the Morrison Formation.  I cleaned out the base and its a concave cavity.  Any help pointing me in the right direction would be appreciated.   Thanks

 

 1 cm tall.

 

Unk1.thumb.jpg.3109492ccf28114f5226eff9c33de205.jpgUnk1A.thumb.jpg.532a4ba2cea58727a888abc01088ad27.jpgUnk1B.thumb.jpg.8e9e7821e11d41b06317f063cc0fc036.jpg 

 

Unk1c.thumb.jpg.d93760c5258c02e64027f9d98957f9c7.jpg

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Yikes... I saw the heading and I was hoping I could help you out for a change... but NO, this is weird. 

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That definitely is weird.

 

I'd say it looks like a kind of tooth with enamel on it. Maybe a fish tooth? Some fish have some seriously weird tooth morphology.

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Olof Moleman AKA Lord Trilobite

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@jpc that's exactly what I said when I first saw it.

 

@LordTrilobite that crossed my mind but I've never seen a tooth with this morphology but I'm clueless when it comes to fish.  It does appear to have enamel on it and its size would not exclude fish. I will do some research 

 

thanks guys.

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26 minutes ago, ynot said:

Just a wild thought, but could it be part of a crab?

 

Anything is possible no wrong answers here, thanks 

 

13 minutes ago, GeschWhat said:

Wow! Was this by chance an anthill find?

 

No just a matrix find

 

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9 minutes ago, sagacious said:

Looks a lot like either a conifer terminal bud (bud cap), or a male conifer cone.

 

Thanks, would they have an enamel like surface.  Will research this group.

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3 minutes ago, Troodon said:

 

Thanks, would they have an enamel like surface.  Will research this group.

Many have a resinous surface to protect against desiccation, insect damage, etc.

The mineralization may just look somewhat enamel-like.

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Maybe the surface is just agatized much as what I see in many coral fossil clusters.

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52 minutes ago, goatinformationist said:

Maybe the surface is just agatized much as what I see in many coral fossil clusters.

 

Lots of quite varied options but what I expected.  Thanks will put this on the list to research. 

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This find resembles a Cycad species to me. Try looking through each of the species online.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycad

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:hammer01::mammoth::trex: Troy Niler, amateur fossil & mineral/artifact collector:meg::bone::trilo:

 

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I was thinking that it might be an araucariaceous conifer seed cone as well.  There are some silicified seed cones of that family found in the Morrison Formation.

 

Fig-2-Five-new-morphotypes-of-silicified

-Joe

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Illigitimati non carborundum

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Thanks guys will add roses and conifers to my research list.  Looks like we have a few members on the conifer track.

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I disagree with plant as, in the first picture, there is no pattern/organization to the pimples. 

All of the plant buds I have seen have an organized repeating pattern. (Including the ones posted by Fruitbat.)

Also there is no segmentation in the piece which I would expect to see in a leaf bud or seed cone.

 

I still think it looks crustacean.

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This looks a little like a horsetail cone.

If it is, its the most beautifully, well preserved cone I've ever seen.

 

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I have to admit I only came across them 30 minutes ago! I have a bit of reading to do as well.

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50 minutes ago, ynot said:

I disagree with plant as, in the first picture, there is no pattern/organization to the pimples. 

All of the plant buds I have seen have an organized repeating pattern. (Including the ones posted by Fruitbat.)

Also there is no segmentation in the piece which I would expect to see in a leaf bud or seed cone.

 

I still think it looks crustacean.

I agree.  If crustacean, it should have an opening on both ends (unless it was a tip of a chela, which it doesn't appear to be).  Crayfish are known from the Morrison.  @Troodon, does the narrow end have an opening or is it enclosed entirely?

 

MorrisonCrayfish.thumb.jpg.482cc01bccede560c7546ae1784a0d99.jpg

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