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fossil feather or (likely) leaf?


bobobob

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Well, the oredonte skull  was so quick, here is another one.

I bought this on eBay listed as a fossil feather and quite inexpensive.

When it arrived and I saw it close up, I realized it was likely a leaf, probably fern.

This would be fine also.  What do you think?  Species?

 

Interesting that it was entombed in an erosion rounded rock, fairly soft material,

and that it fit and split perfectly, even to the curve in the rock/leaf. 

Seems unlikely that someone picked up a rock and

then tried to split on a chance, and got this result.  But would it split naturally and

stay together over a period of time?

 

I inquired of the seller where he got it.  He got it at Goodwiill ! (which explains why it

was so inexpensive).  I doubt whoever found it realized it would one day show up

at Goodwill.  At least it ended up in a good(?) home.

 

 

FossilFernMaybe.jpg

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48 minutes ago, JohnBrewer said:

That’s a plant fossil. Looks like Mazon Creek to me. @Nimravis might be able to help here. :) 

It is a Macroneuropteris and it does appear to be from Mazon Creek- nice find.

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Agree - Macroneuropteris.  

Neat fossil.

Regards,

  • I found this Informative 1

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

   MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png      PaleoPartner.png.30c01982e09b0cc0b7d9d6a7a21f56c6.png.a600039856933851eeea617ca3f2d15f.png     Postmaster1.jpg.900efa599049929531fa81981f028e24.jpg    VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png  VFOTM  --- APRIL - 2015  

__________________________________________________
"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."

John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~   ><))))( *>  About Me      

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The rounding of the rock isn't erosional, Mazon Creek (and other) nodules are concretions. And yes, people do collect MC nodules and split them deliberately; they do have fossils inside often enough to be worth investigating. As for the clean split, that one's particularly nice. It's not uncommon for them to split cleanly through the fossil (the fossil is a weakness in the structure of the rock), but it's also common for them to fragment.

 

A very nice find!

 

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Man, our Goodwill only stocks junk...and I mean junk!  

The seller was lucky to get it and you are even luckier to now possess it. Congrates!

 

 

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  • 1 year later...

Macroneuropteris Scheuchzeri. Mazon Creek, Francis Creek Shale Member, Carboniferous, Pennsylvanian. 320 to 300 million years old. This is an old specimen because it is "painted/coated" with either albumen (egg white) or yellow dextrin. If you look at it through a magnifier you will see tiny bubbles in the coated area. The procedure of coating it to help preserve the fossil was common among collectors up until the early 1990's. Although it's fairly common the excellent preservation of this specimen makes it worthy of being in anyone's collection. Great grab. It's a keeper.

 

P.S. -- The concretions formed in the general outline of whatever was being fossilized, and hardened into nodules of iron siderite, the mineral that for some unknown reason was drawn toward the specimen from all the sediment around it. Depending on the exact location of where they are found these concretions may contain fossils anywhere from 1 in a hundred or as high as 9 out of 10 if you find a good spot. Some of them are found already split open by being exposed to the weather and freezing and thawing cycles as the temperature goes below and above freezing. The ones that weren't already split open when found would be hammered back in the old days when they were easy to get by the thousands. Nowadays we freeze/thaw them just the way nature would and this results in a lot less "oops, I just ruined what would have been a really great one". Mazon Creek fossils are my specialty, and believe me I've wrecked a couple of good ones before I learned. Like almost all other fossils and even more than some they require a good measure of patience. I have some that have been freezing and thawing for five years and haven't opened yet. Each year they all get checked, dried, and lightly tapped with a hammer to see if they cracked. If not, back in the bucket and see ya next year. Most of those that refuse to open after 50 freeze/thaw cycles probably don't contain a fossil.

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Mark.

 

Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them!

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  • 3 weeks later...
On December 13, 2017 at 6:21 PM, caldigger said:

Man, our Goodwill only stocks junk...and I mean junk!  

The seller was lucky to get it and you are even luckier to now possess it. Congrates!

 

I saw a Capitola clam fossil (Upper Purisima Formation) in a local Goodwill once, and in the same store, I found a really nice Triceratops toy/model for $3.  It was likely much more than that new as it's very detailed and it was still in great shape.

 

Jess

 

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