joshuajbelanger Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 So, occasionally at work I scour the land for fossils. The land for the port of Tampa has been dredged up from the gulf of mexico, and I have found numerous fossils and artifacts. I have ran across two of the specimens that I'm showing you now. It's something geological, I can assure you. I can't find any answers in the UF books or websites for what this may be. I think it is more recent as it has been found with modern bivalves. It is encased with limestone which fisses with vinegar, but the actual ball does not. It is a sphere, but not perfect. Help me figure this one out, or at least point me in the right direction! Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pagurus Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 I don't know what it really is but it does remind me of a plant gall and also part of a marine alga. Do you think it could be hollow inside?? You probably would have mentioned it if it was, but I had to ask. Or maybe it's a dinosaur egg. Or a golf ball. 1 Start the day with a smile and get it over with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 Man made - Google ceramic tumbling balls. 1 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...
ynot Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 Yeah, what Tim said. 1 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...
joshuajbelanger Posted March 22, 2018 Author Share Posted March 22, 2018 Sorry, have to disagree with ceramic tumbling balls. Doesn’t make any sense for location it was found. Definitely not hollow. I dunno at this point. I’ve written a couple of my geology professors, to see their opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 I think it's a concretion covered in a calcium carbonate deposit. 2 Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 Reminds me of a lacrosse ball, but perhaps that’s just the Maryland in me. 1 “...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin Happy hunting, Mason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 I would say medium from a ball mill as well. Why do you say it doesn't fit the area? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 I would hazard the guess that it's one of Donald Trump's wayward golfballs. 5 Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bone2stone Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 Have you considered looking into pearls? It is not out of the realm of possibilities. Jess B. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phevo Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 plinthosella resonans is a sponge found in Denmark around 63-70 mya. and resembles your find quite a bit. This one is around 30 mm in diameter, but they range from 10mm up to 80mm or so, when they are first exposed they have a light cover of chalk above the flint/chert whitch eventually wears off. You would have to have a look yourself whether or not you have a similar sponge over there Hope it helps 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshuajbelanger Posted March 22, 2018 Author Share Posted March 22, 2018 Well, sorry about immediately disregarding that it may not be geological. I was hitting the bottle last night, and tend to get a little stubborn I suppose it could be ball mill media, hadn’t really thought of that. My main concern was that it was encased with limestone. I suppose if the ball mill was used to crush limestone, this may be the origin? I don’t know...I’ll do a proper hardness test on it when I get home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshuajbelanger Posted March 22, 2018 Author Share Posted March 22, 2018 Also, funny someone should say pearl(although I doubt it) I found it along side a perfect Mercenaria Mercenaria...or what I assume to be. I’ll take a pick of this when I get home. We were joking at work that it was a huge pearl...always the dreamer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 These ceramic balls fool lots of collectors, especially artifact collectors. Apparently, because they are chemically inert and sooo hard, they are casually discarded after use in a ball mill. Alternatively, a few balls in each used batch may be saved as novelties or conversation pieces. 2 http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshuajbelanger Posted March 22, 2018 Author Share Posted March 22, 2018 Very interesting. But, I’ll still have to run a few tests Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeymig Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 The bedrock of Florida is riddled with caves, pockets, and voids (sinkholes pop up all the time). MAYBE its a cave pearl. 3 Many times I've wondered how much there is to know. led zeppelin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supertramp Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 cave pearl, that was also my thought, but it should have reacted with vinegar, which doesn't seem to be the case: "It is encased with limestone which fisses with vinegar, but the actual ball does not" as joshua said; maybe he should test with a more concentrated HCl ciao 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshuajbelanger Posted March 22, 2018 Author Share Posted March 22, 2018 Now cave pearl is an interesting idea. What’s really getting me is the encrusted limestone. I’ve looked at it under my stereomicroscope, and it seems to be a part of the sphere. So...that keeps throwing me off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 Fossilized ping pong ball? But seriously, I have no idea. But, I am very interested in seeing what it may turn out to be. Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt behind the trailer, my desert Them red clay piles are heaven on earth I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 A cave pearl is 100 % calcite and would fizz with vinegar. 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...
joshuajbelanger Posted March 22, 2018 Author Share Posted March 22, 2018 I believe this is Mercenaria Mercenaria. Probably modern, I think? Still cool little find for the port of Tampa. I imagine this was dredged up from the gulf when they obtained the land to build the port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshuajbelanger Posted March 22, 2018 Author Share Posted March 22, 2018 So, a quick tally would be 3 for ceramic media, 3 for golf ball(), 3 for a ‘pearl’ in name only, 1 for sponge, and my personal favorite-fossilized ping pong ball. You guys are quickly making me look like a fool! My capstone geology professor told me to crack it open, lol...NO, I’ve lost many a good fossils that way...don’t ask. ill let you guys know the results of the hardness test, and I’ll see if any more of this sucker actually fizzes-now that I haven’t been hitting the bottle(yet). O_O Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeymig Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 1 hour ago, joshuajbelanger said: I believe this is Mercenaria Mercenaria. Probably modern, I think? Still cool little find for the port of Tampa. I imagine this was dredged up from the gulf when they obtained the land to build the port. Looks more like a fossil Southern quahog Mercenaria campechiensis. Found a bunch on Sanibel Island in a construction site. 1 Many times I've wondered how much there is to know. led zeppelin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshuajbelanger Posted March 22, 2018 Author Share Posted March 22, 2018 18 minutes ago, mikeymig said: Looks more like a fossil Southern quahog Mercenaria campechiensis. Found a bunch on Sanibel Island in a construction site. Thanks @mikeymig, man...you have a lot of IPFOTHM tags behind your name! I found these two sections about a foot away from each other, and the ball in the middle. It is very rare that I find any whole invertebrate at the port, let alone two sections of one. I've actually been trying to improve my invertebrate collections. I live in South Tampa, let me know if you are ever interested in getting together for a hunt. -J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeymig Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 Just now, joshuajbelanger said: Thanks @mikeymig, man...you have a lot of IPFOTHM tags behind your name! I found these two sections about a foot away from each other, and the ball in the middle. It is very rare that I find any whole invertebrate at the port, let alone two sections of one. I've actually been trying to improve my invertebrate collections. I live in South Tampa, let me know if you are ever interested in getting together for a hunt. -J Thanks for the invite. Been to Sanibel and Cayo Costa Key 3 times in the past 2 years so I just may take you up on it. Im building a shell collection but Im always looking for fossils. Many times I've wondered how much there is to know. led zeppelin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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