Miss_Molly Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 Hello, New to the forum and collecting fossils in general. Went to my moms house and mentioned that I had been fossil hunting and she says "I have found some fossils before." and she pulls out this giant worm like thing. This was found in Port Hope Ontario possibly up to 25 years ago. I have included both a wet and dry picture. The fossil seems to have a dark red tinge to it. Also the back had a ton of fossils on it I have attached a picture of the back as well. Any help with an identification would be much appreciated. Thanks Folks and happy hunting:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arizona Chris Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 Looks just like a nice worm burrow. It is an ichnofossil, from an animal eating its way through a muddy sea or lake bottom. almost looks cambrian in age. The bottom of the slab is the same, ichnofossils. 1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arizona Chris Paleo Web Site: http://schursastrophotography.com/fossiladventures.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 9 minutes ago, Arizona Chris said: Looks just like a nice worm burrow. It is an ichnofossil, from an animal eating its way through a muddy sea or lake bottom. almost looks cambrian in age. The bottom of the slab is the same, ichnofossils. I'd agree with burrow, I always hesitate to say worm. Close to cambrian, those rocks are from middle Ordovician limestone. Lindsay formation btw, here's my source https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC63BHB_port-hope-geology-the-ground-beneath-our-feet?guid=ad2c3fca-9a49-408c-9b18-0b748bba7ae3 1 “...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin Happy hunting, Mason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss_Molly Posted July 17, 2017 Author Share Posted July 17, 2017 Thank you for the responses. The rocks this was found in were brought from somehwere else and dumped at brewery pond in Port Hope 28 ish years ago as part of the low level radioctive waste clean up. Do you have any idea what would cause the red colouring? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 Welcome to TFF! I would like to see better pictures of the back, looks like there could be some shell fossils there but it is to blurry to be sure. The red is caused by oxidised iron in the rock. concentrated in the borow fill. 3 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...
Miss_Molly Posted July 17, 2017 Author Share Posted July 17, 2017 I will take better pics of back next time I am at my moms house. The back has numerous shell fossils all over it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 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...
minnbuckeye Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 Looks like a few Sowerbella (spell?) brachiopods on the back side of your burrow. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 1 hour ago, minnbuckeye said: Looks like a few Sowerbella (spell?) brachiopods on the back side of your burrow. Hi there! I agree - on the back there are some Sowerbyella sericea brachiopods - I've circled them in red in the photo below. There also appears to be a different species of brachiopod on the back - I've circled it in blue - perhaps it's something like Dalmanella sp., (perhaps the species testudinaria ?). Both of these types of brachiopods occur in the Coburg Formation (Hessin, p. 124-126) and can be found in association with one another in what Hessin (p. 42) calls the "Brachiopod Association (Coburg Formation)." Other brachiopods commonly found in this association are Rafinesquina alternata and Hesperorthis sp. (in the Hallowell Member). As for the red specimen on the front - since I see no obvious segmentation (which would lead me to think that it might be an orthoconic nautiloid), I would have to agree that it's probably an ichnofossil (trace fossil) - likely a burrow of some sort. Happy hunting to you, too! Monica PS - I believe your fossil is from the Upper Ordovician - approximately 460-440 million years old!!! Hessin, W.A. 2009. South-Central Ontario Fossils: A Guide to the Ancient Marine Life of the Region. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss_Molly Posted July 17, 2017 Author Share Posted July 17, 2017 Thank you so much to everyone for the information! Here is some (I hope) better up close pics of the shells on the back and the fossil on the front if anyone is interested. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss_Molly Posted July 17, 2017 Author Share Posted July 17, 2017 (edited) I have been advised to send this to the ROM. On another forum they think it is cambrian due to one of the shells being billingsella corrugata. I have emailed and I will update if I hear anything back. Thanks again for all the great info:) Edited July 17, 2017 by Miss_Molly Wrong info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 7 minutes ago, Miss_Molly said: I have been advised to send this to the ROM. On another forum they think it is pre-cambrian due to one of the shells being billingsella corrugata. I have emailed and I will update if I hear anything back. Thanks again for all the great info:) Billingsella corrugated is the latest Cambrian, so the fossil could be from that age, a lower part of the stratigraphy there, or maybe it survived to the Ordovician, not much information on it so I wouldn't be surprised. “...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin Happy hunting, Mason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss_Molly Posted July 17, 2017 Author Share Posted July 17, 2017 The Rom emailed back. They believe it is an invertebrate and not a trace fossil. They have forwarded the email to the invertebrate zoology curator. Will update when I hear any information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 2 minutes ago, Miss_Molly said: The Rom emailed back. They believe it is an invertebrate and not a trace fossil. They have forwarded the email to the invertebrate zoology curator. Will update when I hear any information. WOW, that is exciting!! Good luck! 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...
Miss_Molly Posted July 17, 2017 Author Share Posted July 17, 2017 I am very excited! Can not believe my mom has had this for so long! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaL Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 Did you ever have an update? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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