Can anyone identify anything on this rock

[Joel H]

 

Hi, I am Joel, I am completely new to this forum, and I came here because I need some help on something I have been absolutely fascinated with.   At work in St. Louis, Missouri, the other day, I found on our lot what I believe to be a chunk of limestone approx. 5" x 2-1/2" x 1-1/2" thick which has some VERY interesting features on one side, and I have spent the better part of the last few days searching the internet for images of fossils that resembled anything on this rock - and aside from the little 'seashell' at the one end, came up largely emptyhanded.  I am not sure if the lines on this rock are plant, animal, or possibly even insect.

 

I am sorry to say, this rock was not found in it's native strata, but rather plucked from the building's low-maintenance landscaping - they used crushed limestone as a topping in some areas outside the building, and this one, owing to it's large size, stood out.

 

How long it has been exposed to the elements, I don't know, but I was amazed at how crisp the lines were, with depth, and sharpness, they don't seem to have experienced much weathering at all.  I tried photographing the lines to pick up on that detail - the sharpness, but couldn't capture it - not enough zoom.  One small possibility, at one end of our building, there IS a limestone outcropping - perhaps one of my coworkers was strolling on the property one day, stooped to examine a rock (this rock) recently calved from that outcropping, and just happened to carry it back towards the door, and dropping it amongst all the other bits of crushed limestone?

 

I took a ton of photos, picked the best, reduced them and uploaded as many as allowed.

 

Can anybody even suggest what I am looking at, and where I might find more information?  Any help at this point would be a godsend!

 

 

Joel H

Edited August 25, 2019 by Joel H
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[Joel H]

The standard round toothpick, I put that in one or more photos so that the viewer might see by the fall of it's shadow the contours on the rock - this thing is 'hilly'

Edited August 25, 2019 by Joel H

[connorp]

Looks like bryozoans and a brachiopod.

[Kane]

Neat piece. I would say you have bryozoans (with a brachiopod in the mix)

 

Edit: connorp beat me by seconds! 

[FossilNerd]

+1 for bryozoans and brachiopod. I see why it caught your eye.  

[Joel H]

22 minutes ago, connorp said:

Looks like bryozoans and a brachiopod.

 

21 minutes ago, Kane said:

Neat piece. I would say you have bryozoans (with a brachiopod in the mix)

 

Edit: connorp beat me by seconds! 

 

1 minute ago, FossilNerd said:

+1 for bryozoans and brachiopod. I see why it caught your eye.  

Thank you for your responses!  The brachiopod I get.  Had not expected bryozoans, however.   But, this is so cool!  In looking at wikipedia, and latching onto this image of Flustra foliacea, I can see the flat leaf-like appearance with all the rectangular 'cells' if that is the right word arranged end-to-end, as in my photos.  Even if Flustridae is not the correct family, there are features there that match.

 

Thank you all so very much!

 

 

 

[piranha]

These are Paleozoic fenestrate bryozoans.  Fenestella or similar (Latin for little window).  Congrats on finding it!

[Jackson g]

I would agree, looks a lot like a fenestella bryozoan. You can find a lot of rock around the St. Louis area that will preserve these. Splitting/ prepping some rock can expose some with great detail/colors, so keep your eye out! The brach would be hard to narrow down an ID imo due to preservation (looks like an Atrypa genus though). I personally love colorful bryozoans. Here's an ok example I've been working on with some cool colors.

[Joel H]

15 hours ago, piranha said:

These are Paleozoic fenestrate bryozoans.  Fenestella or similar (Latin for little window).  Congrats on finding it!

Wow! I only found it, you helped me to figure out more closely what they are.  

[Joel H]

6 hours ago, Jackson g said:

I would agree, looks a lot like a fenestella bryozoan. You can find a lot of rock around the St. Louis area that will preserve these. Splitting/ prepping some rock can expose some with great detail/colors, so keep your eye out! The brach would be hard to narrow down an ID imo due to preservation (looks like an Atrypa genus though). I personally love colorful bryozoans. Here's an ok example I've been working on with some cool colors.

 

The outside of that rock actually looks very close in color to the outcropping behind our building.   I think I will spend some time looking more closely at the pieces crumbling off there.

 

To everyone, thank you for your interest .... and your help!