Fusulinids + Some Other Stuff

[jeremyh]

Hey everybody I got back from my vacation in Vegas and I found an interestering fossil on my uncles property. At mount charleston. Well I will post the pics, I believe a majority of the fossils are Fusulinids, theres like 2 shells, and some bones?(in the third pic) The matriz is like all fosill! 11.5 centmeters by 8 centimeters, and 2.5 centimeters thick. Well have a looksee, and if you know anything about the fossils and the region let me know. Also if you know what genre they are that would be great!!!

[jeremyh]

UPDATE

It is from the Bird Springs Formation in Clark County.

[Plantguy]

hi jeremyh--Nice fossils--love the preservation details of those little guys! I agree with your fusilinid identification. Getting an id down to the genus I'll leave up to some of the experts on this forum--maybe there is a local member who also has specific knowledge. There does seem to be a lot of various info on the bird springs fm on the web.

As I recall I had collected some fusilinids in the Death Valley area many years ago and from what I remember it was also the Bird Springs formation but in order to id them properly they needed polished thin sections thru the specimen on various axis to clearly see the internal structures of these large foraminifera. Maybe the cell wall structure visible in your specimen is enough. I never got around to sectioning mine but it was similar in size to yours and was nothing but fusilinids. Not sure if yours has any significant value--fusilinids can be fairly abundant in different formations, but again I'll defer to a subject matter expert.

Good luck with the ID search and your browser repair. My wife gave up on IE recently after an automatic update by Microsoft caused some problems. Technology can be helpful but at times can be really trying! Thanks for posting the pictures.

Regards, Chris

[jeremyh]

Okay thanks a ton. I found some info on dogpile so I should figure it out. Not surprised the value isnt high but to me a fossil I found thousands of miles away is pretty neat.

[Plantguy]

Yep, finding an organism that was living at least 250-300 million years ago and is now long ago extinct still boggles my mind. They may not be as glamorous as a trilobite or some better known fossils from that time period but I still have those fusilinids that I collected 30 years ago and still fondly remember the trip to that area and having collecting them. Mine come out of the cabinet once and a while when we are teaching scouts about geology and paleontology. They are important index fossils. Keep collecting!