Jazfossilator Posted May 6, 2018 Share Posted May 6, 2018 Found Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Cretaceous, Pliocene, and Pleistocene aged material can be found there. Is this some sort of soft coral or some other aquatic plant? Not sure if a species can be narrowed down from such a small chunk but I’m open to suggestions. Help appreciated some of these pictures are taken under my cheap microscope hopefully they show enough details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted May 6, 2018 Share Posted May 6, 2018 Maybe it's a sponge, something like Axinella. " 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 More sharing options...
HansTheLoser Posted May 6, 2018 Share Posted May 6, 2018 Definitely not a coral. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted May 6, 2018 Share Posted May 6, 2018 Bryozoan such as Tabulipora perhaps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innocentx Posted May 6, 2018 Share Posted May 6, 2018 It's not bryozoan, as the geometrically patterned structures for zooids aren't present. These structures are chaotically arranged, and as @abyssunder suggested, this may be a sponge. "Journey through a universe ablaze with changes" Phil Ochs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted May 6, 2018 Share Posted May 6, 2018 Looks like a bryozoan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted May 6, 2018 Share Posted May 6, 2018 I think sponge. A bit like this one from Fossil lady at WordPress.com Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FNG Posted May 6, 2018 Share Posted May 6, 2018 2 hours ago, HansTheLoser said: Definitely not a coral. Just curious but why was coral ruled out as a possibility so quickly? I thought that it might be a type of staghorn when I first saw it. Is it too porous? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted May 6, 2018 Share Posted May 6, 2018 15 minutes ago, Tidgy's Dad said: A bit like this one from Fossil lady at WordPress.com ... and we go back to the previous topic ... " 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 More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted May 6, 2018 Share Posted May 6, 2018 7 minutes ago, FNG said: Just curious but why was coral ruled out as a possibility so quickly? I thought that it might be a type of staghorn when I first saw it. Is it too porous? Corallites in modern corals are much larger than the zooids in this specimen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FNG Posted May 6, 2018 Share Posted May 6, 2018 6 minutes ago, Al Dente said: Corallites in modern corals are much larger than the zooids in this specimen. Thanks, I see that now. So, just to be clear...corallites are the individuals in the colony that is coral; and zooids are the individuals in the colony that is the sponge, correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazfossilator Posted May 6, 2018 Author Share Posted May 6, 2018 I don’t see the uniform individual Zooids in this piece like I could in that other larger piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted May 6, 2018 Share Posted May 6, 2018 18 minutes ago, FNG said: Thanks, I see that now. So, just to be clear...corallites are the individuals in the colony that is coral; and zooids are the individuals in the colony that is the sponge, correct? A corallite is the living chamber, a calcareous skeleton that housed an individual coral polyp, solitary or colonial. A zooid is one animal that is part of a colonial animal, so includes bryozoa, corals, or even graptolites, as examples. In sponges the holes are pores to allow water to circulate and the solid structure is the animal. Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FNG Posted May 6, 2018 Share Posted May 6, 2018 20 minutes ago, Tidgy's Dad said: A corallite is the living chamber, a calcareous skeleton that housed an individual coral polyp, solitary or colonial. A zooid is one animal that is part of a colonial animal, so includes bryozoa, corals, or even graptolites, as examples. In sponges the holes are pores to allow water to circulate and the solid structure is the animal. Thanks. Obviously, I need to study these more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazfossilator Posted May 6, 2018 Author Share Posted May 6, 2018 here are some closeups of the piece I found before that abyssunder posted a link too, in case the comparison helps. I didn’t notice this feature before Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 Here's a comparison from the NC Fossil Club publication "Fossil Invertebrates and Plants" that differentiates coral, bryozoan and sponges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 15 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said: I think sponge. A bit like this one from Fossil lady at WordPress.com I'm fairly confident the item in the photo from Fossil Lady is not a sponge. Looks like a very worn modern coral or calcareous hydrozoan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fifbrindacier Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 I'm in the sponge camp. "On ne voit bien que par le coeur, l'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry) "We only well see with the heart, the essential is invisible for the eyes." In memory of Doren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plax Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 am in the bryozoan camp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 I'll go in both cases / topics with sponges. Can we have a clearer image of this area? " 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 More sharing options...
Jazfossilator Posted May 7, 2018 Author Share Posted May 7, 2018 4 hours ago, abyssunder said: I'll go in both cases / topics with sponges. Can we have a clearer image of this area? not sure if I got the right bit as its all quite small and looks similar but maybe one of these other photos will help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted May 8, 2018 Share Posted May 8, 2018 Jazfossilator's close ups show a bunch of zooids that have been broken and abraded, typical of a beach find. Here are some pictures from the NC Fossil club publication that are vaguely similar but are not the same species as the specimen in question. These show a similar shaped zooid type. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minnbuckeye Posted May 8, 2018 Share Posted May 8, 2018 @Tidgy's Dad A zooid is one animal that is part of a colonial animal, so includes bryozoa, corals, or even graptolites, as examples. From a layman's perspective, I always thought a graptolite was an individual organism. You are saying it is a host of individuals???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fifbrindacier Posted May 8, 2018 Share Posted May 8, 2018 Hmm, i have doubts now, sponge or bryozoan ? "On ne voit bien que par le coeur, l'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry) "We only well see with the heart, the essential is invisible for the eyes." In memory of Doren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innocentx Posted May 8, 2018 Share Posted May 8, 2018 3 hours ago, fifbrindacier said: Hmm, i have doubts now, sponge or bryozoan ? Me too. The bryozoans I'm used to finding in the upper Carboniferous/lower Permian have regularly spaced zooid openings, much different than the picture @Al Dente posted from NC Fossil club publication. What a difference 150 million years made. "Journey through a universe ablaze with changes" Phil Ochs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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