Parthicus Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 While on vacation at a (rented) beach house last week, I noticed that the (marble?) kitchen countertop had some interesting shapes contained within the stone. Many of the shapes have the appearance of cross-sections of crinoid stems. I know that marble is a metamorphic rock, so if the original rock had contained fossils, could there still be recognizable remnants of the fossils? Please let me know if I'm thinking along the right lines, and whether these look like crinoid stems to you. The reference coin has a diameter of 21 mm; I have no idea where the countertop rock was quarried. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 Looks more like a granitic rock and the rectangles are probably feldspar crystals. 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...
Tidgy's Dad Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 Yes, I think they are orthoclase feldspar phenocrysts. Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 11 minutes ago, Tidgy's Dad said: Yes, I think they are orthoclase feldspar phenocrysts. Well, if You want to get technical about it. 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...
Fossildude19 Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 Granite countertop. Some Marbles do contain fossils though. Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 Geologically, marble is metamorphosed calcite, dolomite or other carbonates where they have been recrystallized so that all the original structures are lost or altered. Fossils are very rare and always distorted. A lot of what builders call 'marble' isn't, it's just polished rock, like the OPs granite and probably what @Fossildude19 has posted above too. Tim, is that piece yours? It's very beautiful, but I think polished black crinoidal limestone. Devonian? Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 If I compare the folowing two pictures, there might be a resemblance of crinoid holdfast. " 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...
ynot Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 1 minute ago, abyssunder said: If I compare the folowing two pictures, there might be a resemblance of crinoid holdfast. Purely superficial and coincidental. 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...
DPS Ammonite Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 1 hour ago, Tidgy's Dad said: Yes, I think they are orthoclase feldspar phenocrysts. To get really technical about it, the pink feldspars in granite also include microcline. It may be microcline. Adam is right, marble rarely contains fossils especially as nice as the one with the crinoid stems. The terms, marble and granite as used by home builders and countertop makers, are not very scientifically accurate and include many more types of stone. For kicks, geology students like to go into stone dealers and point out their rock naming errors. My goal is to leave no stone or fossil unturned. See my Arizona Paleontology Guide link The best single resource for Arizona paleontology anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 1 minute ago, DPS Ammonite said: For kicks, geology students like to go into stone dealers and point out their rock naming errors. Sounds like a good way to waste a week. They rarely use proper geologic names for the rock they sell. 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...
Herb Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 metamorphic and igneous rocks seldom contain fossil remains due to their means of formation. "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"_ Carl Sagen No trees were killed in this posting......however, many innocent electrons were diverted from where they originally intended to go. " I think, therefore I collect fossils." _ Me "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."__S. Holmes "can't we all just get along?" Jack Nicholson from Mars Attacks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 Perhaps a little off topic but I like to go on popular auction sites with other people, search “Fossils” and point out fake after fake after fake to emphasize how many there are, how hard they are to tell apart, and how far a little knowledge can go. “...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin Happy hunting, Mason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daves64 Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 1 hour ago, WhodamanHD said: Perhaps a little off topic but I like to go on popular auction sites with other people, search “Fossils” and point out fake after fake after fake to emphasize how many there are, how hard they are to tell apart, and how far a little knowledge can go. You can do that at the Senate building as well. Accomplishing the impossible means only that the boss will add it to your regular duties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parthicus Posted August 13, 2018 Author Share Posted August 13, 2018 Thanks for the help everybody, guess I need to brush up on my mineral recognition skills. At least I learned something new, so it wasn't a waste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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