What's this?

[Jeff1675]

This was sitting in my yard when I bought this house. The owner found it but didn't know what it was. Now every time I walk by it, it bugs me. Anyone have any idea's? The fossil's here on Vancouver Island are cretaceous sea creatures for the most part if that helps. Thanks!

[Kane]

Looks like it might be an ammonite of some sort... 

I'll tag @Wrangellian who certainly knows a great deal about Vancouver Island fossils. 

[Pemphix]

Part of an Ammonite.

[grandpa]

Hello and welcome to TFF from Austin, Tx.  You've found a great place for such questions.

 

I'm of a different opinion from my two colleagues above.  I believe what you have here is the impression of the edge of a bivalve (think clam shell).  Now you've got two opinions on the table.  Let's see what others have to say.

 

Again welcome to the forum.

 

BTW, love the violet succulent above the fossil.

[Jeff1675]

   Wow! You guys don’t mess about! Quick responses and I very much appreciate it.

 

     So, just when I thought the case was solved (within an hour I might add) you have to go ahead and identify another possible suspect?!  I’ll keep looking into it. I almost hope it’s not an ammonite because I’ve found some in the past.  They’ve been complete, mind you, but if that’s all this is then I really should have known better.

 

    I tried to reconstruct what it might possibly look like if it was, in fact, an ammonite. If you are thinking I must be retired and have way too much time on my hands then you would be wrong. Still working. I’m a lighthouse Keeper so… I’ve got time.

 

   BTW I love my little plant too. I was always meaning to look up what the heck the little guy was called but always seemed to forget. Now I know. ..Violet Succulent.  So a double thanks to you, Grandpa! And thank-you for the warm welcome.

[Wrangellian]

Ha!

You've got part of an ammonite but it's not one of the regular 'planispiral' types as we call them. It's a heteromorph, meaning it grows in shapes other than planispiral. This one looks like a piece of Glyptoxoceras subcompressum (maybe).

Interesting how coarse-grained that matrix is. I'm used to finding them in shale.

 

 

[Jeff1675]

Wow. Awesome. What a beauty! Thanks for that. I have always enjoyed looking for fossils and thought I had a bit of knowledge about them but judging by your reply and others I might be a bit out of my league here. 

[Wrangellian]

Don't feel intimidated.. there is a wide range of experience here, from beginners to experts. I'm somewhere in between. Anything complicated like this requires a fair bit of study (and specialization) to become an expert! As long as I've been collecting in the Nanaimo Group, I'm still unsure of many things, and I have to defer to the pro's like Jim Haggart at the GSC. And there are always new things coming along, that may be still undescribed. I believe I have a few such things, but progress is typically slow.