scooter Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 (edited) I'm a first time poster, short term lurker I've done my best to read the guidelines, apologies if my first try isn't the best. I've also gone through information on fossils in the formation I found these in as well as psuedofossils and I'm stumped. I was hunting mostly mollusk fossils in the Calvert formation (Miocene) in a very steep ravine in Prince George's County Maryland. About 30 feet in elevation down the ravine from where the shells started to appear I found a number of things that look like bones, at least to the untrained eye. In the picture of the site below, looking upstream, the rock outcrop is the bottom of the rock formation with shells. These samples were all found loose in the stream just below the outcrop. There were a few more sticking out of the reddish and grey clays on the stream side that I left (didn't want to mess them up). Characteristics: All are heavy. Most are very solid as opposed to the fragile shells in the formation above them. Many of them are made of sediment that includes very small shell fossils. Some have a reddish layer on the outside that has deteriorated. All had clay on them, most were covered in some of the grey clay I'm used to seeing in the Calvert formation around fossils, a few had reddish clay. I have a lot more samples and photos, I just uploaded the max file size allowed to begin with. Ruler is in inches. Site: Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3 Thank you for any help you can give! I have several more finds and can take more pictures if desired. Edited September 24, 2017 by scooter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 Burrows Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 Welcome to TFF! I agree with burrow casts. 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...
scooter Posted September 25, 2017 Author Share Posted September 25, 2017 Thank you very much! I don't know how rare these are, but I'm really excited to have found something I'd never heard of! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted September 25, 2017 Share Posted September 25, 2017 5 minutes ago, scooter said: Thank you very much! I don't know how rare these are, but I'm really excited to have found something I'd never heard of! Your welcome. They are fairly common in many formations. The world of fossils is full of such surprises, even when You have been collecting for many years. Have fun and good luck on the hunt! 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...
Ropterus Posted September 25, 2017 Share Posted September 25, 2017 Nice finds, and welcome!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted September 25, 2017 Share Posted September 25, 2017 I think crabs are the likely burrowers. It's not an expert's opinion though. I've just been told that some burrows there were. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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