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Found Fossil At Overlook Mountain In Woodstock, Ny


jaclynlibra

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Hello. This is my first post and my first fossil. Can someone please help me identify it? It was a very exciting find for me! I came across it while hiking up Overlook Mountain in Woodstock, about 1 mile from the old Overlook Mountain House. It was right in the middle of the hiking path. On one side there appears to be a shell like formation, on the other side there appears 2 on top of one another. The fossil is a bit darker than it apppears in the photo. I thought that perhaps it was slate?

Thanks!

Jackie

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Yep, looks like some of the brachs I have. Sweet find.... I'd like to get lucky like that instead of crawling around on my hands and knees looking through gravel in my in-laws driveway... :)

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Nice find! It is a Brachiopod, and it is very ancient.

Here is a link to a Wikipedia article that will give you some basic info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brachiopod

"There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant

“Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley

>Paleontology is an evolving science.

>May your wonders never cease!

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Welcome from Galveston Island Nice find

Galveston Island 32 miles long 2 miles wide 134 bars 23 liquor stores any questions?

Evolution is Chimp Change.

Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass; it's about learning to dance in the rain!

"I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen." Ernest Hemingway

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yep - that mountain was under the sea a coupla hundred million years ago, and that lamp shell got buried and fossilized, and you're probably the first person, EVER, to see it.

this is how we get hooked on finding stuff like that.

welcome to the forum.

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Thank you to all those responded. I checked out the wikipedia link that one of you posted and it was exactly what I found. I'm very excited. I can't believe how old it can possibly be. that's amazing. I was blown away as I was reading. I've always had a fascination with fossils and such. it's hard to believe that on the top of a mountain, you can find something that belonged to the sea.

Out of curiousity, are these Brachiopods a common find?

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Welcome to the forum! Yes, Brachiopods are common finds in certain strata. I'd say yours is from Devonian rocks (shale or limestone probably) and is from the Spiriferida order... possibly Spinocyrtia genus. Can't be certain of the genus or drill down to the species without close examination and having more knowledge of the geology of where you found it.

-Dave

__________________________________________________

Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPhee

If I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPhee

Check out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/

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Out of curiousity, are these Brachiopods a common find?

In some places they are very common. But the Middle and Upper Devonian rocks of the Catskills are not always as generous with nice marine fossils like that "Spirifed" brachiopod you found. There are better and more well known sites further north and west. In those mountains most of the rock is barren sandstones and mudstones with the occasional plant fragment. But there are occasional thin "marine" beds up thru the section. That layer you found could produce other cool stuff like other types of brachiopods, clams, corals and maybe even trilobites.

The state of NY has a bunch of good and inexpensive publications on the geology and paleontology of the state. Go to: http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/publications/

Also check out Karl Wilson's most excellent site on NY Paleo:http://bingweb.binghamton.edu/~kwilson/home.htm

I miss them mountains!

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Thank you for all the interesting feedback. I am on a mission to find more fossils now. I hike frequently in upstate NY, so I will be sure to research other areas that my contain some fossils. The links that were provided were very useful.

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