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is this a coral of some kind?


linni

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Hello all!

I was cleaning out my closet earlier today and came across this rock I’ve saved for about... 20 years now?

I found it while digging around at my grandmother’s farm in south central Michigan (somewhere between Homer and Litchfield). 

I’ve always wondered what it could be... any ideas would be much appreciated!

 

(Notice that many of the tiny holes go all the way through the rock. I just thought that was pretty neat, haha.)91A5F744-484C-4673-8B83-F01365C30C06.jpeg.df15cc623c6a812c2db5d27b41602b42.jpeg4F3D330A-6143-430D-8B32-9039D2066664.jpeg.32cb7e37ab4e185058f4bcb6b6e48ee3.jpeg6FD797EA-C9B0-4273-AFAA-EAFC03E1CD60.jpeg.7f36ca92736c53e49e2db9a9a3d4ceef.jpeg22564D86-E572-4FD6-AE2F-FA6F70D7E1ED.jpeg.af11f2da07cd8b0ff16f13c1e84bd8ce.jpeg40C3CFAD-A5E3-45F3-9B02-1E3CA4F845D3.jpeg.1fe49786310e3e27db75d0f322ee79c4.jpeg75566B84-BEA0-400A-9F60-E30F2374C7D1.jpeg.695212a7682efd4d4b36a7e68a7b630e.jpeg

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Looks like a branching tabulate coral filled mold to me, though I couldn't tell you what type if it actually even is. Wait for a more experienced member to chime in.

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4 hours ago, Jackson g said:

Looks like a branching tabulate coral mold to me, though I couldn't tell you what type if it actually even is. Wait for a more experienced member to chime in.

Wouldn't tabulate corallites have chambers just as the chain coral in this illustration?

 

Corallites.png.562f89a7646ca365a28d60c78695666f.png

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25 minutes ago, Rockwood said:

Favositids are another tabulate that would be a better comparison to the original post.

Ok, so here is an illustration of a "cut open" favosite.

It seems to me, that all corals have chambered corallites. No?

How could all the tabulae have disappeared in the OP's fossil, while the vertical septa remain solid?

This just seems highly unlikely to me. 

862d4a21-cbd3-412f-915e-4d1df5bb4ad5.jpg.1ee8b81b5d08158ceaa88cf343f8cacb.jpg

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2 minutes ago, Pippa said:

How could all the tabulae have disappeared in the OP's fossil, while the vertical septa remain solid?

They are as a rule far thinner and thus more fragile, giving them less chance of surviving the taphonomic journey to this point.

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20 minutes ago, Rockwood said:

They are as a rule far thinner and thus more fragile, giving them less chance of surviving the taphonomic journey to this point.

Aha! I see. Thanks for enlightening me! Appreciate it. :)

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16 hours ago, Pippa said:

Wouldn't tabulate corallites have chambers just as the chain coral in this illustration?

 

Corallites.png.562f89a7646ca365a28d60c78695666f.png

Yes they do but like @Rockwood stated, they are fragile and don't always preserve well. Also when I said it's a mold I mean that this process happens to fossils when an organism is buried and the original materials dissolved away before premineralization happens, leaving the shape and size of the original behind.

 

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1 hour ago, Jackson g said:

Also when I said it's a mold I mean that this process happens to fossils when an organism is buried and the original materials dissolved away before premineralization happens, leaving the shape and size of the original behind.

Wouldn't this be more accurately described as a natural cast ? 

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