Yazzzzz Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 Found dozens of these oval fossils along the Red Sea on the Egypt side. They were in hard, dark grey rocks and kinda look like turtle shells. They were all stuck in the rocks the same way, any idea what it could be? Link to post Share on other sites
Andúril Flame of the West Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 Hello there and welcome to the forum! This is not a turtle shell and does not appear to be a fossil either. To my eye this seems to be a chiton, a type of marine mollusc known to inhabit shallow marine environments including the Red Sea. I can certainly see how it gives the impression of being a fossil, but I would guess that this is simply a live individual that happens to be adhered to the rock. Here is a LINK to a paper on chitons from the Red Sea if you are interested. 3 5 Link to post Share on other sites
ClearLake Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 Very definitely a chiton and modern at that (maybe still alive). 3 Link to post Share on other sites
Yazzzzz Posted August 20 Author Share Posted August 20 Thanks for the responses! Although I don’t think they’re alive because they’re deep in hard rock? Anyways I wasn’t collecting ..hope to see actual fossils =D Link to post Share on other sites
Coco Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 Yes, it’s a chiton. I’m sure it’s alive because the little pustules around it wouldn’t be shaped like that. Probably Acanthopleura. Coco 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Rockwood Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 2 hours ago, Yazzzzz said: Thanks for the responses! Although I don’t think they’re alive because they’re deep in hard rock? Anyways I wasn’t collecting ..hope to see actual fossils =D Actual fossil chitons have been found. If these were all the same, it's likely that you have underestimated their ability to fit into the crevasses in the rock though. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
ClearLake Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 (edited) As usual, I believe @Coco is spot on. It does appear to be an Acanthopleura, in fact it looks like Acanothpleua granulata (see image below from Wikipedia). The little spiky pustules and black banding on the mantle (the fleshy part surrounding the plates) are keys to the ID. Although it is commonly called the West Indian Fuzzy Chiton and Wikipedia has its range listed as the western Atlantic, a quick online search found many pictures and videos of them from the Red Sea. That's a long, slow crawl for a poor little chiton!! And yes, they can find any little nook or cranny and firmly attach themselves there and wait for the tide to come and go bringing them food. Sorry, I just had to add a bit more to this thread, we don't see chitons very often on TFF. Oh, by the way, your picture @Yazzzzz is excellent. When you zoom in the detail on the mantle is excellent! Edited August 20 by ClearLake Link to post Share on other sites
ClearLake Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 A little more searching and I see there is an Acanthopleura vaillantii listed in WORMS (picture below) found in the Gulf of Suez. Not sure how to distinguish from the one I showed above. Down the rabbit hole I go!!! Link to post Share on other sites
Coco Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 Thank you for your research @ClearLake I am leaning more towards A. granulata as you suggested at the beginning. The shape of the plates is not the same as on A. vaillantii. On the 1st they have a mustache shape Coco 1 Link to post Share on other sites
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