Jump to content

Found in Ontario Canada approximately 25 years ago


Miss_Molly

Recommended Posts

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:)

20170716_181142-1040x780.jpg

20170716_181236-1040x780.jpg

20170716_180200-1040x780.jpg

20170716_180213-1040x780.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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 found this Informative 1

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Arizona Chris

Paleo Web Site:  http://schursastrophotography.com/fossiladventures.html

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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

  • I found this Informative 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

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

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.

  • I found this Informative 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

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

Looks like a few Sowerbella (spell?) brachiopods on the back side of your burrow.

  • I found this Informative 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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).

20170716_181236-1040x780.thumb.jpg.1be1f04a7db55cebf93bd03b4d35a424.jpg.7154493b52a73c97e3188641cc45af0d.jpg

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.

  • I found this Informative 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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. 

20170717_124409-1040x780.jpg

20170717_124614-780x1040.jpg

20170717_124740-780x1040.jpg

  • I found this Informative 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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 by Miss_Molly
Wrong info
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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

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

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

  • 2 years later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...