chrismalamber Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 I'm hoping someone can help me identify this possible in phibian fossil found in Morris Illinois Mazon Creek region I've been told by several it is an amphibian but I'm get find any pictures to match it and get a name thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Russell Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 Welcome to the forum, Chris. It looks more like plant material to me. The matrix looks interesting. Is this in a piece of shale? Or is it in a concretion? Finding my way through life; one fossil at a time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 This looks wonderful. But I think plant material, too. Hope I am wrong. Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 Almost looks like plant root, something similar to Pinnularia, maybe. How large is the specimen? comparative picture from here 1 " 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...
RJB Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 Looks like plant to me too? RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilized6s Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 Is this a personal find? It doesn't look anything like Mazon material. It looks more like Green river material. ~Charlie~ "There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why.....i dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" ~RFK ->Get your Mosasaur print ->How to spot a fake Trilobite ->How to identify a CONCRETION from a DINOSAUR EGG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimTexan Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 @Nimravis is from that area and has been collecting in the Mazon area for decades I believe. He may have some thoughts on it. I can see that the general shape and first glance do resemble a salamander, but the closer inspection looks quite a bit like a plant root or mycelium (fungi) of some kind. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 2 hours ago, fossilized6s said: Is this a personal find? It doesn't look anything like Mazon material. It looks more like Green river material. I agree- looking at the bottom of the first pic, the rock does not look like a concretion- can you take a pic that shows the whole rock? And like the others have said- I am not seeing an amphibian or any other fauna here, looks more like some type of flora. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doushantuo Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 It might help if we knew what the "amphibian" assignment /assessment was based on Mazon non-fish vertebrates (random sample/Moodie ,Kansas Sc.Bull,6-1913)): Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismalamber Posted November 20, 2017 Author Share Posted November 20, 2017 Personal find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismalamber Posted November 20, 2017 Author Share Posted November 20, 2017 Thank you everyone for your responses. This was pulled from the creek itself not from a spoil pile. Again thank you for the input i really appreciate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 2 hours ago, chrismalamber said: Thank you everyone for your responses. This was pulled from the creek itself not from a spoil pile. Again thank you for the input i really appreciate it. Thanks for the pic- that is a concretion, but still seeing Flora and not Fauna. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCFossils Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 I would agree that it appears to be plant material. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimTexan Posted November 21, 2017 Share Posted November 21, 2017 I thought I’d refer you to a Mazon vertebrate post here on The Forum if you haven’t been there already so you can compare your specimen to it. http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/73327-winner-of-the-march-2017-vertebrate-find-of-the-month/&tab=comments#comment-772030 You will note hair/filament like structures coming out of the sides in the vertebrate example too, but if you will note they correspond only to where ribs would be expected. Your specimen has the filament like structures from head to tail (if it had a head and tail). I believe there are more examples in the post too. Here’s another from there too. You see that the skeletal remains primarily preserved the densest bones, which would be vertebrae and the jaw or parts of the skull. It is interesting how jellyfish and plant leaves can be preserved and yet legs and feet bones don’t seem to be. I’m sure there must be some examples out there of such preservation. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doushantuo Posted November 21, 2017 Share Posted November 21, 2017 In e.g.plethodontid caudata ossification of the jaw articulation and the frontal processes of the premaxilla, contact of prefrontal with maxilla, and development of the otic crests occur later. The glenoid fossa and the pelvic plate are cartilaginous at hatching,though ossification begins very shortly thereafter. The distal phalanges are ossified, but not the more proximal ones, and the shafts of the long bones are not well ossified. It pays(at least in some cases) to know a bit about vertebrate ontogeny.(note the remark about the mesopodials below) As an interesting aside: Apateon Caducus of large size (so presumed adult)has been found in Germany ,with almost ALL juvenile characters retained. I am not sure if that basically means that ossification can be completely ("indefinitely")delayed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdp Posted November 21, 2017 Share Posted November 21, 2017 I've seen Mazon vertebrate material that looks like this. Can you take a picture of the fossil with something for scale (e.g. a dime)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismalamber Posted November 24, 2017 Author Share Posted November 24, 2017 is just sold the item for little too nothing based on responses someone may get very very lucky. It was an inch long and quarter inch at widest possible limb parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismalamber Posted November 24, 2017 Author Share Posted November 24, 2017 On 11/21/2017 at 5:36 PM, jdp said: I've seen Mazon vertebrate material that looks like this. Can you take a picture of the fossil with something for scale (e.g. a dime)? Do you have a picture of an invert you have seen that is kind of like the photo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terminal Stareasaurus Posted November 25, 2017 Share Posted November 25, 2017 Could it be 2 things on top of each other? The one end looks like a tail fin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdp Posted November 26, 2017 Share Posted November 26, 2017 On 11/24/2017 at 6:02 AM, chrismalamber said: Do you have a picture of an invert you have seen that is kind of like the photo? I unfortunately cannot because the material is not mine and is currently under study. But I have seen small amphibians and reptiles with this sort of preservation out of Mazon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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