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FOSSIL ID - N. Bulgaria - bivalve?


Lollerton

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Hello fellow fossilers,

 

I am currently staying in northern Bulgaria, around 30km south of the Danube and there are a some limestone formations close to another local river.

 

I found this fossil and am very curious to identify it! Perhaps it is some sort of bivalve animal but would be great to get some more information.

 

Any thoughts?

Fossil.jpg

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Looks like an internal cast, or steinkern, of a brachiopod. 

 

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I agree with fossildude19

 

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It is a clam steinkern. You can see the impression of the "teeth" that are on the hinge area.

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It's a bivalve steinkern.

" 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

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Nice find! 

Always good to find stuff when you're in a new and more unusual location. :)

Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

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That's an awesome piece!

What's amazing about this piece is that the two valves, or 'sides', are very different. Therefore I'm partial about this ID.

When looking at the hinge teeth at the bottom valve (which are incredibly well preserved btw :wub: ), we can see that there are many different little teeth following each other. This dentition is typical of a taxodont hinge, and the fact that it is slightly curved indicates with near certain confidence to the Glycymeridae family (the bittersweet clams). Now what confuses me is that the bivalves within this family have perfectly equal valves. But clearly, on your piece, the bottom side is bigger than the top side. So we can't say that we have a steinkern of it or both valves, as those would have to be equal. And that is why I believe that you have a mix of both: one actual valve (bottom, with the teeth), AND the steinkern (top side and probably also inside the bottom side) with it! Very likely a Glycymeris sp.

 

And in my opinion that is insanely awesome. I am a huge bivalve fan, and this is the first time that I see something like this with this level of preservation. I feel nearly honored to be able to see something like this. :ighappy::P

 

Great find!

 

Best regards,

 

Max

Max Derème

 

"I feel an echo of the lightning each time I find a fossil. [...] That is why I am a hunter: to feel that bolt of lightning every day."

   - Mary Anning >< Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier

 

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1 hour ago, Max-fossils said:

What's amazing about this piece is that the two valves, or 'sides', are very different.

I’m pretty sure only one valve is present. 

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Thank you for your in depth analysis Max. I researched a little bit and saw that Glycymeris sp. was found only along the east coast of north and central america. What made you think it is this exact species? 

 

To further clarify, i upload another photo to show that a little bit of the top valve is shown on the inner side of a protrusion. This was my first time searching these rocks and am really happy with the find, the detail in the hinge teeth is amazing. 

 

I would like to ask, do you have any idea on how to roughly date a fossil like this?

IMG_20180405_214844.jpg

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How large are your steinkerns?
This is a Glycymeris valve showing the internal side:

 

b1.thumb.jpg.f5fe13d5bbb68326102aa95cc90d7caa.jpg

" 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

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Yes this looks about right. My sample has a diameter of 5cm and it makes sense if your sample was also found on the other side of the danube. Still curious about the potential age of this fossil. 

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"I would like to ask, do you have any idea on how to roughly date a fossil like this?"

 

Lollerton, find and post an online geological map (with legend) of the area showing us where you found it. Once we know what rock unit the fossil came from we can make better guesses

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40 minutes ago, Lollerton said:

I researched a little bit and saw that Glycymeris sp. was found only along the east coast of north and central america.

BTW, that is not true.
I found my specimens close to Petnic locality, Caras Severin county, Romania in Miocene aged sandy-sandstone sediments whashed by torrents every year.

 

Petnic.jpg.6bb9b47b19ca00f964696ff9033973f6.jpg

 

Your specimens looks to be in chalk.

" 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

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Glycymeris is a very successful and still extant worldwide species.

Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

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19 hours ago, Al Dente said:

I’m pretty sure only one valve is present. 

If you would have read on in my explanation, you would have seen that that is what I said too ;)

 

21 hours ago, Max-fossils said:

you have a mix of both: one actual valve (bottom, with the teeth), AND the steinkern (top side and probably also inside the bottom side) with it!

 

Max Derème

 

"I feel an echo of the lightning each time I find a fossil. [...] That is why I am a hunter: to feel that bolt of lightning every day."

   - Mary Anning >< Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier

 

Instagram: @world_of_fossils

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16 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

Glycymeris is a very successful and still extant worldwide species.

@Lollerton Adam (and @abyssunder) are right. The Glycymeris genus is incredibly successful and can be found worldwide. 

You probably got confused and looked at a specific Glycymeris species that is only present in America. But I put Glycymeris sp. on purpose in order to tell you that I did not know which specific species it is, but rather which genus. 

Also (though it isn't as important here), remember that we are dealing with a fossil here. So if the extant relative only thrives in one area, it doesn't mean that the fossil ones only thrived in that area too ;) 

 

About why I said that it was a Glycymeris sp, that's because the dentition is typical of this genus. You can see from Abyssunder's image that the dentition around the hinge is indeed nearly identical. I can show you some images of my specimens with very similar dentition too if you are interested. 

 

Finally, as @DPS Ammonite said, if you want to calculate the age of a fossil, the best thing to do is to take a look at a geological map of the area. That way, by identifying exactly where you found it, you can see where on the map that was and by that look at the age of the sediments (rock layers) in that location. 

Max Derème

 

"I feel an echo of the lightning each time I find a fossil. [...] That is why I am a hunter: to feel that bolt of lightning every day."

   - Mary Anning >< Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier

 

Instagram: @world_of_fossils

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