Fossil Identification in Western Wisconsin

[Markfothebeast]

*Higher resolution and many more images linked below to Google Drive for a clear view*

 

Fossil: Large limestone rock containing hundreds of marine fossils and with what appears to be a bone roughly 3cm in diameter. As well what appears to be the remains of other bone structures.

 

Location: Found 10 miles from the Mississippi River near Ellsworth, Wisconsin USA (Western Wisconsin) in a low valley area that looks like an ancient river bed.

 

Rock Measurements: Roughly 15cm x 28cm

 

My Understanding of Geology and Paleontology: 2/10

 

*There are a vast amount of images so I'd uploaded them to Google Drive in high resolution here: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=1-QkitLR3bwWFEn0Dh6OoNngsH8F5O31w

 

I found this large limestone rock on our property near what I imagine would be an ancient riverway located at the bottom of a recharge point (aka hill). During heavy rains this area can literally turn in to a river and wash the soil down stream.

 

This rock appears to contain all of the common marine fossils you'd find in Western Wisconsin from what I've researched. However, there's what appears to be a bone or unusual looking aquatic creature near the snail as shown. The snail was extremely well preserved before the vinegar soaking ate the shell and pigment away.

 

A bit more about the location in which it was found; I had been landscaping the slope of the soil for about 2 years in the backyard by shovel. I had lived in this home for about 4 years and I found the soil to be unusual versus any other home I've lived in nearby. 

 

The heavy, wet clay soil contained many large green basalt rocks - I'd never seen one before this time. The bedrock is limestone but about 100 FT away the bedrock is sandstone (according to geological maps).

 

The Mississippi river is 10 miles from this location in western Wisconsin near Minnesota. It's also in the path of the "Great Midcontinent Rift" which I find interesting. There are also many large "bluffs" and rolling hills. It's a beautiful area. 

 

Anyhow, I'd like to find out what else may be in this rock. It has been in vinegar for about 2-years and is slowly changing shape which in my imagination resembles a skull.

 

I'd like to find a means to protect the exposed fossils while the limestone is absorbing. I had read something about fossil glue or plaster that can protect the exposed fossils while in the acetic acid. This is an educational experiment for me and I've always wanted to learn about paleontology and geology.

 

Any help and identification would be appreciated! There are so many fossils and things to look at in this rock that I uploaded the images to a public folder on Google Drive so that others can view them in a higher resolution. My Galaxy Note 8 is not the best at focusing on close up images so please forgive my photography. If you see something interesting I'd be curious to know!

 

Thanks!

-Jack from Western Wisconsin

 

(Google Drive images: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=1-QkitLR3bwWFEn0Dh6OoNngsH8F5O31w)

Edited July 23, 2019 by Markfothebeast
Image Upload

[caldigger]

This is what's called a "hash rock". A solidified chunk of ancient sea floor filled with all sorts of fossil goodies.

Let's hope someone more familiar with the fauna of the area chimes in with some probable IDs. All I see so far are shell pieces.

[Markfothebeast]

As far as I understand, my area of the world would've been called something like "Laurentia" millions of years ago that was near the equator under an ocean. Hence the vast amount of sea fossils. But upon reading, sandstone I guess is generally shoreline sediment. Does the one part of the rock that's darker look like sandstone?

[Ludwigia]

I agree with Doren. I'm seeing lots of shell substance, but as yet no sign of bone.

[Fossildude19]

I see brachiopod and pelecypod (bivalve) shells, gastropods possibly corals, and bryozoans, but no bone. 

[Bev]

Hi there, I'm over here across the River in Fillmore county, MN. Pretty typical piece of Ordovician ocean floor with bivalves, brachs, etc. You are doing yourself no favors letting it sit in vinegar that long. A half an hour will usually show you what you want to see. I totally understand how the imagination can run wild on suggestive pieces of rock. :-D

 

These fossils are way older than the dinosaurs, before fish even had firm jaws large enough to be fossilized. Congrats on your find!  :-D

[Mark Kmiecik]

14 hours ago, Markfothebeast said:

But upon reading, sandstone I guess is generally shoreline sediment. Does the one part of the rock that's darker look like sandstone?

Sand and sandstone are silicates. The vinegar would have no effect on silicates. It is limestone, and the brownish area is iron staining.

[Markfothebeast]

I put it in a shop press and broke a couple large pieces off. It's definitely full of aquatic creatures. The object I thought was a bone is probably like mentioned above. I thought maybe it could be a plant root? What do you call that creature? And if I were to find a bone of a land animal, would it have that reddish iron tint if it were a carnivore?

Edited July 24, 2019 by Markfothebeast

[Markfothebeast]

Regardless of the common fossils, it's quality father and (adult) son time playing pretend paleontologist. Watching my dad carefully chip away at that rock is priceless.

[Markfothebeast]

How long does it typically take to absorb the limestone in 5% acetic acid? I can scrape small traces of softened limestone away but everything else is hard.

[Markfothebeast]

I've been reading through some interesting finds in this forum that many deemed a pseudo-fossil. Such as the claimed wooly mammoth tusk fragment posted - which is in my local area. Interestingly enough, the owner had brought it to the Science Museum of Minnesota paleontologists who had deemed it legit.

 

Now what I find interesting is the type of mineral rock that paleontologists typically unearth fossils from. Our limestone can be much more difficult up here in MN and WI to separate from bone after the geology has changed from ocean to lake to rivers to land over and over. There's a scarce number of actual bone fossils located. I'm feeling like there is actual bone matter and tissue in this rock the more that I research.

[Markfothebeast]

I'm just going to give a random update here. I still have this big ole' rock! For some reason I am still convinced that it is a bone structure. I'm not trying to imagine that it is. I pick up limestone and sandstone rocks twice this size on our property and they don't have nearly the weight of this rock. Today it doesn't look the same as it once did in the images because most of the marine fossils had dissolved in vinegar. It has literally been dissolving in vinegar on and off for about 4 or 5 years now. I was skeptical whether or not it was a bone so I had put it in a 20-ton press as a last resort in attempt to break it. I could NOT break it apart in a 20-ton press. It is extremely dense. 

I contacted a well known local geologist by the name of Bill Cordua and he mailed me his book and gave me a bit of insight on the area. He's not a paleontologist but does have a good understanding of where fossils are located in the area. I can upload an email photos all day long but this big mineral rock is something you really have to feel for yourself. I would like to locate some type of paleontologist that can scan this. I would gladly pay the shipping and send it off. If it is nothing, it can get tossed out. If it is something, it would make an impact to the past history of Wisconsin. 

Is anyone aware of any place that I can send it to be looked at? The area I live in would be very difficult to simply uncover a fossil bone over millions of years old where the soil compacted dense enough to cover up any possible traces of past life. I would imagine that most anything that would be discovered is well embedded in to minerals to the extent that it no longer looks like bone matter.

Edited April 14, 2021 by Markfothebeast

[Ludwigia]

I just did a google search and found within 5 minutes a few natural science museums in your area . The Science Museum of Minnesota in St.Paul looks interesting. Why don't you just pack up your stones, drive there and show them to a resident paleontologist? It's less than an hour's drive.