Mctapmonkey Posted July 28, 2018 Share Posted July 28, 2018 Hi, This is another piece from Durlston Bay, Dorset. I picked this one up because of the marine snails in the bed but can anyone tell me what the other fragment is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mctapmonkey Posted July 28, 2018 Author Share Posted July 28, 2018 Most of the slab contains these delightful spiral snails, can anyone ID those for me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeschWhat Posted July 28, 2018 Share Posted July 28, 2018 It looks like enamel...tooth fragment? Lori www.areallycrappystory.com/fossils www.facebook.com/fossilpoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted July 28, 2018 Share Posted July 28, 2018 I think the snail is Viviparus. The other object may be a fragment of turtle shell. Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innocentx Posted July 28, 2018 Share Posted July 28, 2018 The horizontal cracking(?) has a uniformity to it, though it may be natural result of damage. "Journey through a universe ablaze with changes" Phil Ochs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peat Burns Posted July 28, 2018 Share Posted July 28, 2018 Maybe a beetle elytron (the horizontal lines being fractures)? Are we sure this is contemporaneous with the rock and not something recent that is just adhering to the rock? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted July 28, 2018 Share Posted July 28, 2018 1 hour ago, Peat Burns said: Maybe a beetle elytron (the horizontal lines being fractures)? Are we sure this is contemporaneous with the rock and not something recent that is just adhering to the rock? Look closely at the first pic. the item goes into the rock in several places or rather the rock is covering it in several places, so it is embedded and not merely attached at the surface. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Rico Posted July 28, 2018 Share Posted July 28, 2018 23 hours ago, GeschWhat said: It looks like enamel...tooth fragment? + 1 for enamel fragment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innocentx Posted July 29, 2018 Share Posted July 29, 2018 I think @GeschWhat is right. Ancient tooth enamel does crack this way. "Journey through a universe ablaze with changes" Phil Ochs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minnbuckeye Posted July 29, 2018 Share Posted July 29, 2018 16 hours ago, caldigger said: Look closely at the first pic. the item goes into the rock in several places or rather the rock is covering it in several places, so it is embedded and not merely attached at the surface. 17 hours ago, Peat Burns said: Maybe a beetle elytron (the horizontal lines being fractures)? Are we sure this is contemporaneous with the rock and not something recent that is just adhering to the rock? An optical illusion exists with this. When looking at it with @caldigger,s opinion in mind, I see it embedded. But when you think of it as being on the surface, I can see @Peat Burns suggestion. Maybe @Mctapmonkey can clarify. By the way, after multiple views, I do agree with caldigger but still would not be surprised if Peat Burns is correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scylla Posted July 29, 2018 Share Posted July 29, 2018 I can't tell what this is, but beetle is very unlikely. If you think this looks like a chitinous fragment then a marine arthropod (crab,lobster,trilobites,sand flea, etc. )would be 1000's of times more likely to turn up in a marine sediment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordTrilobite Posted July 29, 2018 Share Posted July 29, 2018 Looks like a fish scale to me. Some type of fish have scales that are very similar to teeth. Like gars for example. Olof Moleman AKA Lord Trilobite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gen. et sp. indet. Posted July 29, 2018 Share Posted July 29, 2018 22 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said: I think the snail is Viviparus. There is absolutely NO way to say this based on a mould. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted July 29, 2018 Share Posted July 29, 2018 1 hour ago, Gen. et sp. indet. said: There is absolutely NO way to say this based on a mould. I don't think you should tell me what I should or shouldn't say. I say "I think......." something and you cannot say there is NO way to say this. Everyone is entitled to their opinions and I gave mine. It would be more politic to enquire on what I based this opinion or thought. (not making a statement of fact.) 1. My knowledge of the locality, I have been there on several occasions. 2. The fact that the OP said that there were many of these in the slab, Durlston Bay is famous for slabs containing huge numbers of Viviparus. 3. I have many specimens myself and the size, shape and comparitive dimensions of the snail would fit the id. 4. I know of no other gastropod species from this locality that would fit. Therefore, I say again, despite there being NO way to say it, "I think the snail is Viviparus." Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeschWhat Posted July 29, 2018 Share Posted July 29, 2018 2 hours ago, LordTrilobite said: Looks like a fish scale to me. Some type of fish have scales that are very similar to teeth. Like gars for example. I was actually looking at scales that were a similar shape yesterday, though much, much smaller. The only thing that makes me think tooth rather than scale is the broken end. It seems a little beefy for a scale, but this could be a photographic illusion. That said I am by no means an expert. Most of the scales I see are in coprolite. Lori www.areallycrappystory.com/fossils www.facebook.com/fossilpoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peat Burns Posted July 29, 2018 Share Posted July 29, 2018 4 hours ago, Scylla said: I can't tell what this is, but beetle is very unlikely. If you think this looks like a chitinous fragment then a marine arthropod (crab,lobster,trilobites,sand flea, etc. )would be 1000's of times more likely to turn up in a marine sediment. If @Tidgy's Dad is correct and the snails are, in fact, Viviparus, these are freshwater snails, which would make the likelihood of coleopteran elytra much greater. That having been said, if the specimen is contemporaneous with the rock, I don't think it's an elytron. My mention of elytron was based on the possibility that the specimen was a recent fragment stuck to the surface of the rock. If it is contemporaneous with the rock, I'm in the fish tooth or fish scale camp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted July 29, 2018 Share Posted July 29, 2018 4 minutes ago, Peat Burns said: If @Tidgy's Dad is correct and the snails are, in fact, Viviparus, these are freshwater snails, which would make the likelihood of coleopteran elytra much greater. That having been said, if the specimen is contemporaneous with the rock, I don't think it's an elytron. My mention of elytron was based on the possibility that the specimen was a recent fragment stuck to the surface of the rock. If it is contemporaneous with the rock, I'm in the fish tooth or fish scale camp. Durlston is a mix of marine and freshwater bands, but if I am correct about Viviparus, then this must surely be a freshwater band. I'm not sure if mixing occurs at the boundaries. Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gen. et sp. indet. Posted July 29, 2018 Share Posted July 29, 2018 5 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said: I don't think you should tell me what I should or shouldn't say. I say "I think......." something and you cannot say there is NO way to say this. Everyone is entitled to their opinions and I gave mine. It would be more politic to enquire on what I based this opinion or thought. (not making a statement of fact.) 1. My knowledge of the locality, I have been there on several occasions. 2. The fact that the OP said that there were many of these in the slab, Durlston Bay is famous for slabs containing huge numbers of Viviparus. 3. I have many specimens myself and the size, shape and comparitive dimensions of the snail would fit the id. 4. I know of no other gastropod species from this locality that would fit. Therefore, I say again, despite there being NO way to say it, "I think the snail is Viviparus." OK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mctapmonkey Posted July 30, 2018 Author Share Posted July 30, 2018 Thank you for all your replies, Can I throw more pictures into the mix, the first from the same location at the same time The second from a trip to the Oxford Natural History Museum yesterday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mctapmonkey Posted July 30, 2018 Author Share Posted July 30, 2018 Here are more pictures of the original item slightly end on. It seems to have depth, maybe only 2 to 3 mm, which inclines me more toward the tooth theory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gen. et sp. indet. Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 I'm in a tooth camp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scylla Posted September 8, 2018 Share Posted September 8, 2018 On 7/30/2018 at 3:05 AM, Mctapmonkey said: Thank you for all your replies, Can I throw more pictures into the mix, the first from the same location at the same time The second from a trip to the Oxford Natural History Museum yesterday. Did you ask the museum for an ID on your mystery fossil while you were there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brittle Star Posted September 8, 2018 Share Posted September 8, 2018 On 29/07/2018 at 1:44 PM, LordTrilobite said: Looks like a fish scale to me. Some type of fish have scales that are very similar to teeth. Like gars for example. I would go eith enamel fish scale also. Never ask a starfish for directions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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