MelodyAnne Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 I found a bunch of fossilized seashells on the Oregon coast, and I found this nut in the sea wall. I'm fairly sure its hollow and fossilized. What is it and how old? Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPS Ammonite Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 Welcome to The Fossil Forum. Did you find the it embedding in rock or was it loose? How hard is it. Try scratching it with a steel knifeblade and let us know what the results are. My goal is to leave no stone or fossil unturned. See my Arizona Paleontology Guide link The best single resource for Arizona paleontology anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 I’m a little skeptical it is a fossil, but I’ve been skeptical and wrong many times. Can we have an approximate location, perhaps a town it was near? This can help determine the age of the rocks and if it is possible to be a fossil. “...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...
ynot Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 Looks like a beech tree nut to Me, common trees in the pacific northwest. I doubt it is a fossil. 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...
MelodyAnne Posted April 29, 2018 Author Share Posted April 29, 2018 It was buried in the wall, in clay, at Beverly Beach. It feels like stone. Here are some others: 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelodyAnne Posted April 29, 2018 Author Share Posted April 29, 2018 The steel left a mark I think but not much of one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 I have a feeling such a seed would be carbonized if it was a fossil, this is the case for any plant material I find in contemporary and similar formations. Here’s the description of the geology of your beach: 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...
ynot Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 The shell of a beech nut is a very dense wood and is hard to scratch. I still think it is a beech tree nut, but pictures from all sides without fingers may change My opinion. 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...
Malone Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 Will it float in water? 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelodyAnne Posted April 29, 2018 Author Share Posted April 29, 2018 Great point!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelodyAnne Posted April 29, 2018 Author Share Posted April 29, 2018 It's a common nut. It floats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelodyAnne Posted April 29, 2018 Author Share Posted April 29, 2018 1 hour ago, WhodamanHD said: I have a feeling such a seed would be carbonized if it was a fossil, this is the case for any plant material I find in contemporary and similar formations. Here’s the description of the geology of your beach: Thank you for this, for the other fossils! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 1 hour ago, Malone said: Will it float in water? Good call Malone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 4 hours ago, MelodyAnne said: Here are some others: Nice gastropod. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 9 hours ago, Malone said: Will it float in water? Well done! Spot on, Malone! And MelodyAnne, that's a nice gastropod and a very warm welcome to TFF from Morocco! Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peat Burns Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 I'm just going to throw this out as a point of information and not as an opinion one way or another on the specimen in question. Some very old plant remains can remain unlithified and when dry would float. I am currently working with a 5 million year-old deposit that has a variety of nuts including hickory and hazelnut. These are contemporaneous with Teleoceras, borophagidae, camellids, etc. These nuts and associated wood are not lithified and remain organic and float when dry. Just throwing this out there so that potential fossils don't get tossed. Context is key. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelodyAnne Posted April 29, 2018 Author Share Posted April 29, 2018 Oh! So, knowing I plucked it from the same layer where I got the gastropod and the stone clamshells is good, right? Is there any use for the nut? Could I call a University and offer it for them to fiddle with? I once did that with a meteorite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max-fossils Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 4 minutes ago, MelodyAnne said: Could I call a University and offer it for them to fiddle with? That's always a smart thing to do This is a completely wild guess, but I'm gonna say that the gastropod is of the Buccinum genus. I don't know what species though. It's definitely from the Buccinidae (true whelks) family. Oh, and also, welcome to TFF! 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 Instagram: @world_of_fossils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peat Burns Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 36 minutes ago, MelodyAnne said: Oh! So, knowing I plucked it from the same layer where I got the gastropod and the stone clamshells is good, right? Is there any use for the nut? Could I call a University and offer it for them to fiddle with? I once did that with a meteorite. You might wish to contact Dr. Bruce Tiffney at UCalSB. Here is his website and contact info. Bruce Tiffney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelodyAnne Posted May 4, 2018 Author Share Posted May 4, 2018 Thank you! I emailed him. Here's another fossil I found: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelodyAnne Posted May 4, 2018 Author Share Posted May 4, 2018 And another, with a clamshell on the left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malone Posted May 4, 2018 Share Posted May 4, 2018 By the way I wasn't suggesting that was a definitive way of telling whether it was or was not a fossil. They have found soft tissue in fossils. It's only a indicator of per mineralization. It would be a fantastic find! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malone Posted May 4, 2018 Share Posted May 4, 2018 Actually it probably could even float per mineralized if the water displacement was enough and it's a fantastic find anyway! I found this on the internet. It's an article saying a viable seed though. I don't know the difference between a viable seed and one that is not fossilized. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peat Burns Posted May 4, 2018 Share Posted May 4, 2018 3 hours ago, MelodyAnne said: Thank you! I emailed him. Let us know what he says Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelodyAnne Posted May 4, 2018 Author Share Posted May 4, 2018 He's not interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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