Walker_Weyland Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 This fossil is from the Platteville formation in southern Wisconsin, which is Ordovician in age. It does not seem to be a compress spiral, but rather composed of separate pieces or plates that alternate on either side. At the tip there are two sections that are positioned in the middle rather than on either side like the rest of the sections seem to be. I put it under the microscope but there is not much finer detail besides the individual grains, so it does not seem to be a Bryozoan or Coral. If anyone has any leads they would be much appreciated. The scale is in centimeters. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innocentx Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 That's different looking... like a curled up leaf, which would be wrong for that formation I think. Hopefully someone with more knowledge of that area will come along. "Journey through a universe ablaze with changes" Phil Ochs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herb Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 sorry, it does not look like a fossil to me "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...
Peat Burns Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 That's very interesting. Definitely worth keeping and pursuing a proper ID. I think it's a fossil of some sort, possibly ichnofossil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 Looks like the remnants of shell substance to me. Is that shell on the surface or mineral substance? Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 40 minutes ago, Ludwigia said: Is that shell on the surface or mineral substance? In the second photo, just above the scale at 7"-7.5" looks like a brachiopod to me. I agree that it is a body fossil of some sort. The pattern of growth isn't ringing any bells as to just what it may be though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innocentx Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 6 hours ago, Rockwood said: In the second photo, just above the scale at 7"-7.5" looks like a brachiopod to me. Definitely. "Journey through a universe ablaze with changes" Phil Ochs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 Looks like a bundle of dried chili peppers. Has @Ptychodus04 been in the area? Maybe he is missing some of his stash. 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...
FossilDAWG Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 I don't think the fossil is completely exposed, as the left hand side seems to have a "lobe" that goes under the matrix. My initial impression is of an elongated gastropod, worn to an off-center longitudinal section. Don 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDAWG Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 2 minutes ago, ynot said: Looks like a bundle of dried chili peppers. Has @Ptychodus04 been in the area? Maybe he is missing some of his stash. I wonder if they would still be hot after >400 million years? Don 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innocentx Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 20 minutes ago, FossilDAWG said: elongated gastropod, worn to an off-center longitudinal section. I think that's the correct ID. The tip at right has that look, and it has the arrangement of chambers so possibly worn gastropod steinkern (as I don't see evidence of shell). 1 "Journey through a universe ablaze with changes" Phil Ochs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDAWG Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 It's common to a lot of Ordovician formations that molluscs (bivalves, gastropods, and cephalopods) are preserved as internal molds, whereas brachiopods, trilobites, corals, bryozoans etc preserve the shell. Basically, aragonitic shell is less stable than calcitic or phosphatic shell so it tends to dissolve. Sometimes the internal molds will be exhumed (exposed by erosion) and reburied multiple times before finally being buried for good (at least until exposed in the present day and collected). As a result, worn or split molds can be found, and also sometimes one will find molds that were exposed for long enough for epibionts such as bryozoans to grow on them. Don 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilized6s Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 Split gastropod cast. 1 ~Charlie~ "There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why.....i dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" ~RFK ->Get your Mosasaur print ->How to spot a fake Trilobite ->How to identify a CONCRETION from a DINOSAUR EGG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westcoast Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 Vaguely reminds me of a very strange and unlikely treptichnus trace fossil. But whatever it is its a really interesting find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptychodus04 Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 5 hours ago, ynot said: Looks like a bundle of dried chili peppers. Has @Ptychodus04 been in the area? Maybe he is missing some of his stash. Can’t be me, I haven’t been to Wisconsin in years and I covet my peppers too much to drop them! 5 hours ago, FossilDAWG said: I wonder if they would still be hot after >400 million years? Don Probably so hot you would damage your teeth and intestines if you eat them. Regards, Kris Global Paleo Services, LLC https://globalpaleoservices.com http://instagram.com/globalpaleoservices http://instagram.com/kris.howe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now