Fossilizable Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 (edited) Hello! Here are several photos of a fossilized colony of some sort of worm, or so it appears to me. Please excuse the remnants of clear nail polish I used years ago to increase contrast before I knew better. I came across this in Santa Paula canyon about 2 miles northwest of highway 150 where it turns west at Thomas Aquinas College, Santa Paula, CA. It had washed down decades ago from probably a Matilija Formation exposure. The matrix grain seems quite fine and the rock is very heavy. Although I've been up and down the creek countless times, I've never seen the source bed. Eocene oysters, clams and echinoderms have been collected in the canyon. Thanks for your help. Edited February 20, 2021 by Fossilizable Specified location, removed duplicate image Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossilizable Posted February 20, 2021 Author Share Posted February 20, 2021 (edited) I'm thinking these are large Siboglinidae, to be more precise. Edited February 20, 2021 by Fossilizable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westcoast Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 You could be right. Can you get sharper images of the surface textures of the tubes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossilizable Posted February 21, 2021 Author Share Posted February 21, 2021 I hope these are a little more helpful. Just a few more thoughts: The tube structure is smooth and uniform. From one or two sites on the rock there appear to be double walls delaminating somewhat (as in the last photo). These tubes were originally flexible not rigid. This article looks promising: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322107612 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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