Chief1701 Posted March 30, 2019 Share Posted March 30, 2019 Hi, All. The photos below of the group shot, followed by some individual shots, are of my most recent acquisitions. Like many of the fossils I've acquired here in Niger, I don't have much of a clue what I'm looking at! As indicated in the title, these all came from the Agadez area of Niger - a current hotspot of dino discoveries. Unfortunately, it's also "hot" when it comes to danger from terrorism, so the supply of things coming out of the sand there has greatly decreased. Anyway, I don't want to flood the site with photos of all the things I don't have a clue about, but I thought I'd start with these. Thanks so much for your wisdom! Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted March 30, 2019 Share Posted March 30, 2019 I'm not familiar with your region, but somehow, they reminds me of concretions of some sort, like "sand spikes" or similar. They look to have a silica-rich content. I can't remember where I've seen similar examples. 3 " 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...
Brett Breakin' Rocks Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 51 minutes ago, abyssunder said: I can't remember where I've seen similar examples. These concretions are so cool .. I've never seen anything like it, but apparently online they are not uncommon. The ones noted in this blog post are from near the US - Mexico border .... "Briefly, the locality consisted of a series of low, sandy hillocks and banks near the Mexican-American border close to Mt. Signal, Imperial County, California. When they were first discovered, many of these unique concretions were weathering out on the surface of the ground. It became apparent, however, that there actually were beds of these strange concretions 3 feet to 8 feet underground!" Source: http://tywkiwdbi.blogspot.com/2013/01/unexplained-sand-spike-concretions.html Cheers, B 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pterosaur Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 On 3/30/2019 at 8:54 PM, Brett Breakin' Rocks said: These concretions are so cool .. I've never seen anything like it, but apparently online they are not uncommon. The ones noted in this blog post are from near the US - Mexico border .... "Briefly, the locality consisted of a series of low, sandy hillocks and banks near the Mexican-American border close to Mt. Signal, Imperial County, California. When they were first discovered, many of these unique concretions were weathering out on the surface of the ground. It became apparent, however, that there actually were beds of these strange concretions 3 feet to 8 feet underground!" Source: http://tywkiwdbi.blogspot.com/2013/01/unexplained-sand-spike-concretions.html Cheers, B Concretions in general are truly one of the most puzzling aspects of fossil hunting. I've lost more time than I'm willing to admit studying them...lol "I am a part of all that I have met." - Lord Alfred Tennyson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief1701 Posted March 31, 2019 Author Share Posted March 31, 2019 On 3/30/2019 at 8:54 PM, Brett Breakin' Rocks said: These concretions are so cool .. I've never seen anything like it, but apparently online they are not uncommon. The ones noted in this blog post are from near the US - Mexico border .... "Briefly, the locality consisted of a series of low, sandy hillocks and banks near the Mexican-American border close to Mt. Signal, Imperial County, California. When they were first discovered, many of these unique concretions were weathering out on the surface of the ground. It became apparent, however, that there actually were beds of these strange concretions 3 feet to 8 feet underground!" Source: http://tywkiwdbi.blogspot.com/2013/01/unexplained-sand-spike-concretions.html Cheers, B Wow, I really appreciate all the responses! Concretions.... I certainly see the similarity, and I don't know if the differences in shape would be significant or not. For example, as can be seen in some of those pictured in the "group shot", there appears to be a "stem" that passes through the center, almost like a scallop wrapped in bacon with a toothpick through it. (Sorry - I'm really missing seafood these days!) The 3rd from the right is probably most clear in that. As I'm sure all on here know, in the last ice age the area around Agadez would have had (as did most of the Sahara, I gather) savannah, rivers, and huge lakes. Would the glass-like smoothness of some of them possibly be the result of being polished by the water flow? Again, I can't thank you all enough for your responses! I've got a number of items I'm clueless about, and will greatly appreciate any and all guidance you can give me! Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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