Jump to content

fossilnut

Recommended Posts

I have never found pearls before so I am posting for confirmation. I have seen modern blister pearls at rock shows. Also wondering if these are fossil or modern day. The background for these finds is my wife had oysters locally and one had what we believe is a blister pearl. She seems to have an affinity for pearls as she has found 4 pearls (not blister)--2 in mussels and 2 in oysters. A few days later while walking the beach I found the large 1 1/2 inch pearl in a piece of quahog (Mercenaria) shell. Then I found other quahogs with interior coatings that differed from the normal shell. These had small raised bumps or "pimples".  Then my wife found a cockel shell that had a small cluster of pearls. i wonder if these are possible Pliocene fossil pearls rather than recent? There are Miocene/Pliocene fossils shark teeth and fish material. Are these in fact blister pearls and how do I preserve them? Thanks for looking at these.First picture is modern oyster with blister pearl.

 

 

DSCN4930.thumb.JPG.318960d13e4e1ada1256d15f5dc99317.JPG

 

 

Quahog blister pearl--fossil pearl?

 

DSCN4890.JPG

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

  • I found this Informative 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

Thanks Plax and Abyssunder for the information. I'm still curious if the large pearl is fossil or recent. Any ideas on how I could tell-since this is a beach find versus in situ? I did see online recent quahog pearls that are a beautiful violet/purple color. In the picture of a whole valve, you can see the light purple color on the lip. This may be from the southern variety of quahog which almost all the ones in NMB were like. The northern version has a dark blue lip-the Indians used to make wampum beads. The lack of color in the large pearl may be either from exposure to the sea water and sun on the beach or because it is a very old fossil (Plioocene).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To eliminate any speculation related to the possible age it can be used the Uranium-series dating of the quahogs, then the data can be compared with the ones from here , in my opinion. :)

  • I found this Informative 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

You are welcome ! :)
It's an interesting thread, btw.

" 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

 "I'm still curious if the large pearl is fossil or recent. Any ideas on how I could tell-since this is a beach find versus in situ?"

 

Good question. It's been my experience that free matrix fossilized pearls are very difficult to confirm; there aren't really too many dependable ways to test them. That said, I will be following this thread closely!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Firstly my apologies to Fossilnut for making use of his post. But same as him I need confirmation about this specimen. Found it a few months ago at Pliocene marine levels. Mainly echinoids, brachiopods and shells are found at the outcrops. When I saw it in the matrix I thought it was an agate, so I didn't extract it very delicately and I left some shell fragments where it was, they were adhered to the flat side of the object below. Cleaning it at home it broke in two pieces due to humidity because I brushed it under water.  It still maintains fragments of it with a different structure that are thin and flat with a fibrous columnar section. It's the only one I've found since I know the area (nerly 10 years).

I have consulted to several colleagues and their opinions vary since it's not a fossil that it's calcareous algae. It consists of calcium carbonate in theory, the pin stripe it. 

Certainly it bears great resemblance to some current and fossil blister pearls that I've seen on-line. Excuse my bad english.

Pic 1.jpg

Pic 2.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No apologies needed. Thanks for posting,  I am encouraged by your find in Pliocene strata that my finds might in fact be fossil. Mine was a beach find where items range from the Cretaceous, Miocene/Pliocene to Recent. If I understand correctly, it was attached to a shell. What type of shell? From the picture yours is large. What is the size? How are you preserving it? Hope we can hear from others. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was attached to a bigger piece of shell that crushed. Remains of the shell can be seen in the two first images, are darker and flatter and are adherited. I'm not sure wich species belongs to because this kind of shell allways appears in pieces. Biggest sections I've seen were around 7 centimeters, are flat and of continuous thickness and crystalline appearance, with perhaps a soft curve along it. May be they were too fragile to fossilize complete.

I am sure that it not belongs to Terebratula, Amussium, pectinid or oyster because their sections are different by thickness, color or structure. Other kind of mollusks are internal casts at this site.

The specimen is about 4,5 cm long and 3,2 cm. wide. I have not treated it, it's in a showcase.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the additional information. In your original post you say " while cleaning it under water it broke into 2 pieces". Does this refer to the shell matrix and not the pearl itself?  BTW I think it is very beautiful and a rare find. Congratulations

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A picture is worth a thousand words. Image taken after drying and before gluing. Your pearl cluster regardless of it's age is very beautiful and rare too.

Pic 8.jpg

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

That's a really nice blister you have, one of the biggest in the world. It has the same characters as the specimen in question. Thanks for posting it here. :)

  • I found this Informative 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

Thank you for confirming my suspicions that were already transforming into hope. I thought I was the only one who looked like it.

I didn't know it was one of the biggest in the world, but this article shows one with some similarities.

http://www.karipearls.com/fossil-pearl.html

 

Thank you very much again you have made me happier. Greetings. 

 

Pic 5.jpg

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

You are welcome!
I wanted a little earlier to post that picture from the Natural History Museum Vienna, but you gave the link... :)

  • I found this Informative 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

  • 3 years later...

My wife and I have gone to NMB, SC each year (2019 did not go because of COVID) and turned over lots of Quahog shells but had not found anymore blister pearls. But this March, my wife found a piece of quahog with a number of small blister pearls and I found an complete half that is covered with "pearl warts" that occur in numerous lines. In a paper I have seen these referred to as "Comet Trails". I am especially intriqued by these. Does anyone know of any researcher interested in this kind of material? These were found as float on the beach in the same general area as the others with the exception of the Giant Atlantic Cockle shell blisters. I have talked to collectors of quahog shells on the beach and none have found any shells with blisters or pearl warts. Also asked some of the fossil collectors-their main interest is in the shark teeth -but the couple I talked to had never seen any before. Have any TFF members who have collected in the Myrtle/North Myrtle Beach area ever found any? If so please post. Also have any TFF members found blister pearls or pearl warts in quahogs or other fossil or modern shells in the Atlantic coast beaches/rivers?

I have in my collection blister pearls from the Miocene Calvert Cliffs that were found in Panopea (Gueduck) shells. I have seen one found from Stradford Hall in VA that was separated from whatever shell produced it.

In the first picture, it looks like a black lines were drawn around the blister pearls. This is natural original to the shell. We did not do anything to it.

Edited by fossilnut
added info
  • I found this Informative 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Found at the Norfolk coast. It is not a bad example of a blister pearl.

F6EF9FD7-5C95-4293-B269-45278BE4319B.jpeg

A4C6B001-1001-4972-8D65-12F59D73F122.jpeg

D024DB90-3D76-43F9-B651-55ECA8919180.jpeg

7E43AFA0-3C65-47DF-B3DE-B520FF567736.jpeg

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

In response to Fossilnut: The first one looks like a gastrochaenid. Some of the clam shell layers have been dissolved exposing them. There seems to be cliona and possibly gastrochaenid borings in the broken edge of this one also. If we can see the back sides of the shells it would help also. Picture 2 top right looks like it might be the living clams reaction to cliona making it into the living chamber.

  Shells on the beach there can be any age from the Peedee, Goose Creek, Waccamaw, Cane Patch or Soccastee Formations. Also modern of course. No aragonitic preservation in the Goose Creek so you can eliminate Pliocene as an age for your mercenaria shell. Not from the cretaceous Peedee either of course.

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

Thanks for posting. That is a great example. Is this on a recent/extant oyster? We are not sure if these are recent or Pliocene fossils.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Plax Here are pictures of the top sides of the shells. I am not familiar with the term gastrochaenid but will be following up on that. Yes it looks like clionia borings. The first two pics are of the top of the 2 first posted. The 3rd pic I posted because the muscle scars are colored a dark purple as well as the shells lip. Is this because this is the northern variety of Mercenaria? This was the only one I found with this coloration.

Thought these might be from the Waccamaw?

Thanks for your response.

DSCN6280.JPG

DSCN6284.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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...