PSchleis Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 Found on Myrtle Beach. Seems to be almost enamel-like beneath the bumps, as if the bumps were added later. But I can't remove any of the bumps so it's a solid piece. It's thin, and the bumps are on all sides. Thanks! - Paula Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
facehugger Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 Thinking this is geological, but more experienced members may disagree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kane Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 It looks oddly similar to building material... ...How to Philosophize with a Hammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 Really ambitious phosphate nodule ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 It looks a lot like a piece of oyster shell with filled-in galleries of the sponge Cliona. We get virtually identical specimens in the Cretaceous of NJ. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erose Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 1 hour ago, Carl said: It looks a lot like a piece of oyster shell with filled-in galleries of the sponge Cliona. We get virtually identical specimens in the Cretaceous of NJ. Yep, what he said... Have a handful of matching specimens myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 Ah ! , but is it a trace fossil or a body fossil ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plax Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 1 hour ago, Carl said: It looks a lot like a piece of oyster shell with filled-in galleries of the sponge Cliona. We get virtually identical specimens in the Cretaceous of NJ. thanks Carl. It's amazing what things look like depending on the experience of the member. I recall seeing cucullea completely replaced or represented with cliona for the shell and wrapped around the steinkern. Sort of a cliona pseudomorph. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSchleis Posted January 9, 2019 Author Share Posted January 9, 2019 I can tell there is a slight concave to it, so I can see the oyster shell possibility. I looked up cliona and it says it is a boring sponge. I've got tons of fossils with boreholes, but this isn't anything like that. I'm not an expert, but I really think this looks like bumps have been added to the original material, not the result of something being stripped away. It's really a pretty thing, the way the silver-gray original material reflects through the black nodules. Thanks for your suggestions! Paula 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 Just wondering if this could be an altered iron pyrite. Can You do a streak test? 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...
Carl Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 3 hours ago, Rockwood said: Ah ! , but is it a trace fossil or a body fossil ? Trace fossil of Cliona, body fossil of oyster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 2 hours ago, Plax said: thanks Carl. It's amazing what things look like depending on the experience of the member. I recall seeing cucullea completely replaced or represented with cliona for the shell and wrapped around the steinkern. Sort of a cliona pseudomorph. Yes! We get those in NJ for snails, bivalves, and even belenmites. So amazing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 52 minutes ago, PSchleis said: I can tell there is a slight concave to it, so I can see the oyster shell possibility. I looked up cliona and it says it is a boring sponge. I've got tons of fossils with boreholes, but this isn't anything like that. I'm not an expert, but I really think this looks like bumps have been added to the original material, not the result of something being stripped away. It's really a pretty thing, the way the silver-gray original material reflects through the black nodules. Thanks for your suggestions! Paula The way these preserve in NJ, evidenced by several phases of this transformation which we find, would be: 1. Living oyster (or other mollusk) 2. Dead oyster (or other mollusk) 3. Cliona creates the galleries (i.e., 'boreholes') and occupies the shell 4. Cliona dies and rots away 5. Galleries fill with sediment 6. Sediment lithifies 7. Shell chemically erodes away, first leaving things like you have followed by the things @Plax describes. 8. Mechanical degradation results in shattered galleries that have lost hints of what kind of shell was occupied. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSchleis Posted January 9, 2019 Author Share Posted January 9, 2019 1 minute ago, Carl said: The way these preserve in NJ, evidenced by several phases of this transformation which we find, would be: 1. Living oyster 2. Dead oyster 3. Cliona creates the galleries (i.e., 'boreholes') 4. Cliona dies and rots away 5. Galleries fill with sediment 6. Sediment lithifies 7. Shell chemically erodes away, first leaving things like you have followed by the things @Plax describes. 8. Mechanical degradation resulting in shattered galleries that have lost hints of what kind of shell was occupied. That was extremely helpful! Thank you for taking the time to explain that! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 53 minutes ago, Carl said: 3. Cliona creates the galleries (i.e., 'boreholes') and occupies the shell Why is this not a mold of the sponge ? Outranked by the fact that the sponge did it ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 It's a very nice example of Entobia. The infilled galleries are either pyritized or phosphatized, in my opinion. 2 " 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...
fifbrindacier Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 That's an interesting specimen, i didn't know this kind of fossil. I would have taken it for an interesting concretion. "On ne voit bien que par le coeur, l'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry) "We only well see with the heart, the essential is invisible for the eyes." In memory of Doren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 25 minutes ago, abyssunder said: It's a very nice example of Entobia. The infilled galleries are either pyritized or phosphatized, in my opinion. Save you a step. He's agreeing. WIKI 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 I agree! Another picture from here may be more convincing. 1 " 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...
PSchleis Posted January 9, 2019 Author Share Posted January 9, 2019 Wonderful. I wish it were bigger. It's really sweet. Thanks, all! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 16 hours ago, Rockwood said: Why is this not a mold of the sponge ? Outranked by the fact that the sponge did it ? The galleries could be seen as a mold of the sponge or tunnels that they create outright. The infill, in this case the black material, could be seen as a cast of the sponge or an internal mold (steinkern) of the galleries. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 Incidentally,@Carl is the one who introduced me to the term pedantic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 42 minutes ago, Rockwood said: Incidentally,@Carl is the one who introduced me to the term pedantic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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