JTCatskills Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 Hi all. We found this on the rocky Pacific Ocean beaches about 50 miles south of Mendocino, CA. To my untrained eye it looks like a winged insect or perhaps scales. Or am I seeing what I want to see? The photos give dimension and one shot is 7X macro. Any thoughts or comments are always greatly appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virgilian Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 Looks rather like a highly abraded/weathered sand dollar. An echinoderm. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 Welcome to the Forum. You have a fossil echinoid there. Similar to modern era sea urchin . Regards, 4 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...
RyanDye Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 Yes, an echinoid for sure. The middle pattern makes it a fairly easy to identify. Nice photography new members often have problems with getting clear images making it harder to ID. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTCatskills Posted July 21, 2017 Author Share Posted July 21, 2017 Thank you Virgilian, Fossildude19 and Ryan Dye. Much appreciated! And thanks, Ryan, for the compliment on the photogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coco Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 17 hours ago, JTCatskills said: I confirm that it is a sea urchin fossil, doubtless an internal mold. What you see there is called interambulacral plates. Coco 3 ---------------------- OUTIL POUR MESURER VOS FOSSILES : ici Ma bibliothèque PDF 1 (Poissons et sélaciens récents & fossiles) : ici Ma bibliothèque PDF 2 (Animaux vivants - sans poissons ni sélaciens) : ici Mâchoires sélaciennes récentes : ici Hétérodontiques et sélaciens : ici Oeufs sélaciens récents : ici Otolithes de poissons récents ! ici Un Greg... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 It's a nice example of a worn irregular fossil echinoid. The magnified area reveals the calcite cleavage planes. " Fossil echinoderm plates are generally secondarily mineralized, with the 'holes' in the stereom becoming infilled by calcite that develops as an overgrow on the skeleton. Because the secondary calcite has the same crystallographic orientation as the original calcite of the plate, plates of fossil echinoderms are still single crystals. A characteristic of fossil echinoderm plates is that they break along calcite cleavage planes. The flat or stepped fracture surfaces are lustrous and provide a useful means of identifying unknown fossils as echinoderms. " - P. D. Taylor, D. N. Lewis - Fossil Invertebrates 4 " 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...
Plantguy Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 Neat find. We used to find sand dollars from San Fran northward that had a similar preservation. I always liked how the plate outlines were very distinct and showy. Might be the Scutellaster genus that shows up in alot of the Pliocene outcrops. Regards, Chris 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberta NJ CA Posted July 2, 2018 Share Posted July 2, 2018 I have several of these which I found in Northern CA, Pacifica.. Thanks I now know what they are! Roberta 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberta NJ CA Posted July 20, 2018 Share Posted July 20, 2018 Hi all, speaking of sand dollars, is it true that every sand dollar contains five "dove-like" shells inside.. I've found that to be true (broken many) and if so what are they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted July 21, 2018 Share Posted July 21, 2018 1 hour ago, Roberta NJ CA said: Hi all, speaking of sand dollars, is it true that every sand dollar contains five "dove-like" shells inside.. I've found that to be true (broken many) and if so what are they? The "dove-like" shells inside might be parts of the "Aristotle's lantern", so the mouth region of echinoids. I think, you are referring to the "Pyramids". more details here 3 " 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...
Roberta NJ CA Posted July 21, 2018 Share Posted July 21, 2018 Yes! I see it... wow that's amazing (and cool!) Thanks Abyssunder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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