BLT Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 Hello, I’m hoping someone will let me know if this rock has some type of fossil in it? I found it in a creek in middle Tennessee. After cleaning it with vinegar and water, several little black spots became visible. Are those fossil imprints of some sort? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 I would call them fossils, but they are fragments as far as I can see so id are probably not possible. 1 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...
BLT Posted July 30, 2018 Author Share Posted July 30, 2018 Thanks, @ynot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 6 minutes ago, BLT said: Thanks, @ynot You are welcome! 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...
Rockwood Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 The darker more undulating features make me want to say they could be stylolites. We'll see if Tony lets me get away with it though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 4 minutes ago, Rockwood said: The darker more undulating features make me want to say they could be stylolites. We'll see if Tony lets me get away with it though. Had never heard this term before. Did a quick google. Most of the pieces shown seem to be continuous lines across the rock they are in. BLT's piece seems to be randomly placed around the rock. I stick with fossil bits. 1 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...
BLT Posted July 30, 2018 Author Share Posted July 30, 2018 Thank, @Rockwood! I had to look that one up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLT Posted July 30, 2018 Author Share Posted July 30, 2018 Can either of y’all tell me how to differentiate between plain ole lumpy rocks and the rocks that have marine fossils embedded in them? @Rockwood, @ynot I have searched online and on TFF, but am still unsure of how to tell the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLT Posted July 30, 2018 Author Share Posted July 30, 2018 I’m finding a lot of rocks similar to this one. Is it likely to contain fossils, or is it simply a lumpy rock? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 15 minutes ago, ynot said: Most of the pieces shown seem to be continuous lines across the rock they are in. Cross sections. Did you get to how they are formed ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 5 minutes ago, BLT said: I’m finding a lot of rocks similar to this one. Is it likely to contain fossils, or is it simply a lumpy rock? Looks like the result of ground water transport through limestone to me. But I could be biased toward my previous assessment. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLT Posted July 30, 2018 Author Share Posted July 30, 2018 Thank you again, @Rockwood Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 13 minutes ago, BLT said: Can either of y’all tell me how to differentiate between plain ole lumpy rocks and the rocks that have marine fossils embedded in them? @Rockwood, @ynot I have searched online and on TFF, but am still unsure of how to tell the difference. Search for anything that looks like an exposed fossil is the only thing I can think of in anything but thin layers. Then sometimes a raised outline gives them away. Once you get an eye for what the matrix of the fossiliferous exposure looks like it is easier. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 1 hour ago, BLT said: Can either of y’all tell me how to differentiate between plain ole lumpy rocks and the rocks that have marine fossils embedded in them? @Rockwood, @ynot I have searched online and on TFF, but am still unsure of how to tell the difference. Patterns and textures. Also little bits that appear to be different than the base rock. The best way to learn what to look for is break a few of the suspect rocks and see what patterns show. 56 minutes ago, Rockwood said: Cross sections. Did you get to how they are formed ? Yes, it is an interesting read. The pieces shown are crass section views, but I still do not see that in BLT's piece. Even if it is a parallel surface exposed I would expect to see a different distribution of pieces. 1 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...
Rockwood Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 2 hours ago, ynot said: Even if it is a parallel surface exposed I would expect to see a different distribution of pieces. Wouldn't the distribution be entirely dependent on the presence of insoluble material and the degree of displacement of the soluble ? My best examples don't have much for fossils in them so they are going to be tough to find, but as I remember it is is exposed at the peaks of the undulations in some places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 It seems to Me that if You cut through the plane of the reformed rock it would still have continuous lined patterns (ovals and circles). You should not be seeing isolated strips and clumps. 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...
Rockwood Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 Why would there need to be a continuous plane of darker material in the reformed rock to cut through ? Couldn't it just be spotty occurrences ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 57 minutes ago, Rockwood said: Couldn't it just be spotty occurrences ? That is not what I see in the pictures of stylolites I could find. But I really have no clue on this. 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...
Rockwood Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 It's not the best comparison, or my best example, but here is some of what I'm calling stylolite. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 13 minutes ago, Rockwood said: here is some of what I'm calling stylolite. And look at all of those compleat inclossed lines. Circles, ovals and rectangles all over the place. Exactly what I would expect from a parallel cut through the structure. 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...
Rockwood Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 3 hours ago, ynot said: And look at all of those compleat inclossed lines. Circles, ovals and rectangles all over the place. Exactly what I would expect from a parallel cut through the structure. Those are fossils. This is what is left of the stylolites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 56 minutes ago, Rockwood said: hose are fossils. This is what is left of the stylolites. Oh, OK. 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...
BLT Posted August 1, 2018 Author Share Posted August 1, 2018 This area (on another rock) has a different texture/pattern/color than the rest of the rock. Is it a type of fossil? It doesn’t look like the usual crushed fragments I find on a lot of the rocks around here. @ynot, @Rockwood Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted August 1, 2018 Share Posted August 1, 2018 You are looking a broken faces of the rock, to determine if they are fossil or not they would need to be removed from the rock. 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...
BLT Posted August 1, 2018 Author Share Posted August 1, 2018 6 minutes ago, ynot said: You are looking a broken faces of the rock, to determine if they are fossil or not they would need to be removed from the rock. Hmm. Okay then, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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