Peace River Plant Impression?

[dalmayshun]

A friend and I went out on the Peace River yesterday.  The river is the lowest I've seen...32" below  normal, so much of the bank was exposed. In the area we were hunting, I decided to check out the mudstone bank...located between layers of limestone, and in separating a layer, I came the smaller impressions below. It looks so plant like to me: reminds me of the edges of hydrilla, but am so unsure what it could be. I included a close up so the finely tapered ends would show, as well as the somewhat ovoid edge impressions. I was excited, but I also know looks are deceiving. ( when I was first looking for fossils, I found a complete miniature leopard impression in a rock shown below) ...lol. but now, while I am beyond that, I am still a sucker for my eyes and mind want to be there. At any rate, I did check geology of the area, and we were in the Hawthorn group, probably , Arcadia formation, which does apparently contain mudstone, and plant fossils. Anyone care to hazard a guess, or perhaps you know for sure what the impressions are. So as to not waste anyone's time, I am trying to treat you with a couple of nice glyptodont pieces I found. My best pieces of the day, though my friend found a gorgeous unbroken 6"vertebra from something he has yet to identify. Sorry I don't have an image of that. Btw, the day was beautiful, water was crystal clear, and I got a workout dragging my kayak. 

 

[Innocentx]

I see what looks like feeding traces.

[dalmayshun]

oh, interesting, like from fish?

[Auspex]

The whole piece is strange; I'm trying to wrap my head around it, but no bells are ringing.

I wonder if there might be a 'sponge thing' going on?

[Sacha]

Giant Armadillo......not Glyptodont.

[Miocene_Mason]

10 minutes ago, Auspex said:

The whole piece is strange; I'm trying to wrap my head around it, but no bells are ringing.

I wonder if there might be a 'sponge thing' going on?

I’m thinking it’s a sponge as well, doesn’t look like feeding traces to me (or any trace fossil)

[dalmayshun]

thanks guys, for the giant armadillo id also...don't know why in my head I thought they were the same. 

[Auspex]

The substrate on the mystery piece resembles piddock-bored sea clay. How that fits with the 'rind' with the 'brush marks' on it, I've no idea.

[abyssunder]

There are grazing traces (feeding traces) visible in pictures 2-5 on the surface (including the lateral side) and borings made by  polychaetes (visible in pictures 2-6), so you have there trace fossils.

 

[Darktooth]

If it make you feel any better, I actually see the Leopard.  Kind of cool.

[dalmayshun]

So are grazing traces made by fish, the worms which left the burrows, or something else... Are they scooped, do individual lines represent a feeding worm, or do those ovoid slightly deeper impressions indicate a jaw line of teeth so that one bite would encompass several striations... Curious to me, I'd simply like to know more, if that is possible

[dalmayshun]

And are they something i should keep, if I find more? I am keeping this one,. 'cause it is pretty cool, but I'm wondering about the general category- are feeding traces helpful  to a  knowledge about the formation, or too enigmatic to be of any use? 

[doushantuo]

When used in conjunction with geochemical data and a good facies analysis,Trace fossil data can be useful.

The stratigraphic use of trace fossils is limited,BTW 

[minnbuckeye]

12 hours ago, Darktooth said:

If it make you feel any better, I actually see the Leopard.  Kind of cool.

 

That is what I immediately saw in the first picture! Funny how our minds play games with us. The more I revisit the picture, the more the "leopard" stands out.

[Plax]

15 hours ago, Auspex said:

The substrate on the mystery piece resembles piddock-bored sea clay. How that fits with the 'rind' with the 'brush marks' on it, I've no idea.

Am with Auspex re the piddock clam borings. What looks like feeding traces makes no sense if this is a rip up clast though. Am equally mystified...

[Plax]

scale?

[dalmayshun]

entire piece is about 5 " across...sorry, I didn't have access to a scale when I took the photo...the little ovoid indentations are about 3/4"wide nd about 1" long each

[dalmayshun]

I can see them as feeding traces, though whatever made them had sharp little teeth...notice how when they begin, they are tapered, and then the grooves are rather deep, almost 1/8" deep. It occured to me, if it is a feeding animal with sharp teeth,and this is a repeated gouging pattern made with the same mouth, I should be able to somewhat check the pattern in each...like how many grooves,  regular wide next to narrow, deep next to shallow....some sort of pattern from a creatures mouth would emerge...I have to laugh that I am even thinking about this proceedure  for such an insignificant fossil, but for me the excitement of discovery for new things ( to me) is one of motivators for all of us...( i also wish I had taken photos of the shore where this came from with the layers of limestone, and mudstone, pilled up on top of one another...this piece came from a layer, where the limestone shelf over it had been broken, it came from a mid layer of mudstone, a couple of layers over it and several under it before the limestone again...I had inserted my carpet knive between the layers, and twisted it, and this is what popped out)

Edited May 7, 2018 by dalmayshun
addtion

[abyssunder]

The main difference between pholad (clam) and polychaete (worm) boring is that the latter has a keyhole-like opening on the surface of the hardground, while the former has just a simple circular opening. I would like to compare those "keyholes" of the specimen in question with Caulostrepsis .
It will be difficult to identify the makers of the grazing / feeding traces. These kind of traces can be produced by fishes, chitons, crabs, etc.

[dalmayshun]

thanks, so cool...I love the forum, helps me each time I post or look. @abyssunder

( I did follow your reference to coastal fossil id, and the worm diagram and explanation was perfect, I understood the keyhole opening, so cool. again. Thanks. 

[Spongy Joe]

Is the mudstone quite soft? And was it actually in situ when you dug it out? This looks to me like modern scratch marks (sharp little mouse claws?) rather than fossil: notice how they also run vertically down the edge of the slab! 

[dalmayshun]

the piece was not exposed...I broke it out from between layers of mudstone. It is quite hard, not like dried mud...like mudstone, thin layers wash off if it is brushed with a stiff toothbrush and water.