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Odd Vein-Like Marine Sandstone Fossil or Rock?


Bronzviking

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I found what appears to be a small sandstone on a Tampa Bay beach in Florida. It's about 1 inch by 1 1/4 inch. After looking at it under magnification I saw unusual vein-like strands on these raised tanner bumps on both sides. What is it? Is it a fossil? Thanks Guys!

 

Front view angles

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13 minutes ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

Very pretty. :)

Just quartz veining, i should think. 

Thanks!

I don't think it is quartz veins. They are on the surface. Look at this closer view. It also has a unique pattern inside the tan bumps.

sandstone.jpg

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Still looks like quartz to me. 

if it fizzes with vinegar, it may be calcite though, but seems too hard here. 

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My suggestion is some (Upper Cretaceous) sponges. Visible are (without hesitating the before mentioned possibilities or persons who did this) some wall structures and a typical internal structure (Fig 4(8)). Some of the sponges are crossed by secondary (tectonit/synsedimentary) fractures. The rock itself should react positive on carbonate testing.

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6 minutes ago, Johannes said:

My suggestion is some (Upper Cretaceous) sponges.

I think the age would be problematic from Florida.

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Yes, the whole area is Cenozoic, mostly Miocene, Pliocene to Pleistocene and some Eocene, Neogene further out in the Gulf.

 

I grew up in an area that was predominantly sandstone. It is typical veining of silica based material. It looks like a conglomerate of smaller rocks kind of glued together by sandstone matrix. Those stones could have been something once upon a time, but if so they are worn beyond recognition.

 

@Johannes the link didn’t work for me.

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1 hour ago, Rockwood said:

I think the age would be problematic from Florida.

Ok, (I have forgotten the questionmark beyond Cretaceous.. :( )... But I guess the spongegroups I think about survive into the Palaeogene... I should keep in mind that the Chalk Facies is only here reduced on the uppermost Cretaceous.

 

I hope I can provide pictures. Unfortunately I'm stucking in a stormflooded mire at the moment (and the next days) with limited access to fossil material.

 

@KimTexan : sorry, maybe it is only accessable via my university VPN. It' s a figure from "Vodrážka & Crame 2011 First Fossil Sponge from Antarctica and Its Paleobiogeographical Significance" in Journal of Paleontology, 85(1), p. 48–57. Maybe you can request it via researchgate: Vodrazka & Crame 2011

 

 

 

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14 hours ago, Johannes said:

My suggestion is some (Upper Cretaceous) sponges. Visible are (without hesitating the before mentioned possibilities or persons who did this) some wall structures and a typical internal structure (Fig 4(8)). Some of the sponges are crossed by secondary (tectonit/synsedimentary) fractures. The rock itself should react positive on carbonate testing.

@Johannes Thank you, I agree with sponge. I adjusted the brightness of the photo and turned it into gray-scale to show detail. The tan bumps have an organic, spongy texture unlike the surrounding sandstone. Most of the material found here is Miocene. I am living on Tampa's dead coral reef buried under 100 feet of limestone that has agatized into beautiful corals and shells. Shell casts and molds are abundant here too and can be found today.

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If the specimen may be not a bone fragment, bryolith, or sponge, I can't give it a geological formation pattern, because I don't know why it has a spongy structure. :headscratch:

This example it's from a different geological age and location, compared to the specimen in question.

 

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