diabeticwolf Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 (edited) Hello, I received this coprolite fossil from Roger Pabian after he passed away, I was related to him. I noticed a white formation inside and would like to know what it is. I tried to provide the best photos possible. I also included a picture with a red outline to show the basic shape. **The coprolite is 2.5 inches long, nearly 2 inches wide. The white inside is almost 1.4 inches long and just over an inch at it's widest point. What I believe to be the head is about .5 inches across. Edited January 3, 2014 by diabeticwolf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Perhaps the label got misplaced as this siderite nodule contains a Mazon Creek polychaete worm. One of our specialists will be able to tell you the ID on this worm fossil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Wow. That's more than a coprolite. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sylvestersen Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Hi This reminds me of an article about a CT-scan of a koprolit from lower cretaceous. It contained traces from boring organism, most likely from dung beetles and fly larvae. http://www.researchgate.net/publication/258861108_COPROLITES_WITH_PREY_REMAINS_AND_TRACES_FROM_COPROPHAGOUS_ORGANISMS_FROM_THE_LOWER_CRETACEOUS_(LATE_BERRIASIAN)_JYDEGAARD_FORMATION_OF_BORNHOLM_DENMARK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleecan Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 That looks like Carboniferous Siderite concretion from Mazon Creek.... looks like an "acorn" worm .... PL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Russell Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 (edited) Perhaps the label got misplaced as this siderite nodule contains a Mazon Creek polychaete worm. One of our specialists will be able to tell you the ID on this worm fossil.I agree, Piranha. I hope RC catches up with this tread, and elaberates on the spaded end. I've not seen that before. I wonder if it isn't another organism? Or perhaps just the way this particular specimen preserved? Regardless, its a neat fossil! Welcome to the forum, diabetic wolf. Edited January 3, 2014 by Rob Russell Finding my way through life; one fossil at a time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleecan Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 http://www.ebay.com/itm/A-Very-Nice-2-Acorn-Worm-Mazon-Creek-Animal-Fossils-/360790521543?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&nma=true&si=mPdpD89dbhTtn6b6l6SbuZYGrzg%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557 http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/a-chowder-flats-acorn-worm-mazon-creek-fossils http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/mazon-creek-fossils-a-chowder-flats-scarce-acorn http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/mazon-creek-fossils-a-scarce-acorn-worm-morris http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acorn_worm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 I agree that it is a polychaete in an ironstone concretion from the Carboniferous Mazon Creek fauna - not a coprolite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prem Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Most definitely a Mazon Creek nodule...the way I see the "spaded end", the worm is bent and curved into that shape, rather than it being a continuous spaded part. What a nice find! Did you receive any more interesting fossils in this bequest? ---Prem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diabeticwolf Posted January 3, 2014 Author Share Posted January 3, 2014 I agree that it is a polychaete in an ironstone concretion from the Carboniferous Mazon Creek fauna - not a coprolite. Roger Pabian knew what he was talking about and so I trust in his conclusion of this being a coprolite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diabeticwolf Posted January 3, 2014 Author Share Posted January 3, 2014 Most definitely a Mazon Creek nodule...the way I see the "spaded end", the worm is bent and curved into that shape, rather than it being a continuous spaded part. What a nice find! Did you receive any more interesting fossils in this bequest? ---Prem I have fossilized sponges, brachiopods, and some other small Nebraska sea varieties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Roger Pabian knew what he was talking about and so I trust in his conclusion of this being a coprolite. There is no doubt he did; I suggest though that the label somehow got mixed up. This is clearly one of the siderite concretions for which the Mazon Creek deposit is justifiably famous. >LINK< "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgcox Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 What you have is a mason creek nodule with a worm fossil. I think that it must have gotten mislabeled. It is NOT coprolite. The first three are pics of coprolites, the last 4 are mason creek nodules with worms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeySRT8 Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 (edited) Roger Pabian knew what he was talking about and so I trust in his conclusion of this being a coprolite. As others have stated its a Mazon Creek Concretion I collect them regularly, look at some of my past threads you can see some more. I also agree that its a polychaete worm, here's a pic of an Acorn Worm I found from Mazon. Edited January 3, 2014 by JoeySRT8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 jgcox: I have to jump in here with regard to the coprolites you posted. I'm kind of a coprolite nut and those are almost certainly not coprolites either. These are VERY commonly sold as such but no one who works on coprolites considers them to be genuine and there are no scientific papers that I have ever come across that state they are coprolites. It's MUCH easier to sell "Dinosaur poop" than "amorphous crystalline blob." Caveat empturd... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgcox Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 those are stock photos from another site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Russell Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 After checking my references; IMO, this specimen best resembles Didontogaster cordylina Thompson, 1979. A tummy tooth worm. https://www.google.com/search?q=didontogaster+cordylina&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=6hbHUvqjMoKiyAHniYHgCw&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=589 Finding my way through life; one fossil at a time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snolly50 Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 jgcox: I have to jump in here with regard to the coprolites you posted. I'm kind of a coprolite nut and those are almost certainly not coprolites either. These are VERY commonly sold as such but no one who works on coprolites considers them to be genuine and there are no scientific papers that I have ever come across that state they are coprolites. It's MUCH easier to sell "Dinosaur poop" than "amorphous crystalline blob." Caveat empturd... Please post some guidelines as to what may be considered diagnostic of a "true" coprolite. Thanks. Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, also are remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. - Douglas Adams, Last Chance to See Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 (edited) Look at it this way.... An animal swallows a worm, poops it out.... the poop gets buried, fossilized, and then -- presto -- a perfectly preserved worm is revealed when someone has the presence of mind to pop open a piece of fossil poop. What are the odds? Edited January 4, 2014 by Missourian Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prem Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Mazon Creek nodules were not formed as coprolites. Rather, the chemical action of bacteria around the soft-bodied fossils buried in the prehistoric mud caused concretions to form around them. The following link explains it quite well: http://www.museum.state.il.us/exhibits/mazon_creek/about_mazon_creek.html ---Prem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiddlehead Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 You have a complete, partially enrolled, example of the annelid worm Esconites zelus from Mazon Creek. It has the characteristic large jaws and pronounced and distant parapodia. They belong to the extant Order Eunicida which are predatory annelids. Jack 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 snolly50: Coprolites can be tricky to ID. Obviously, shape is a characteristic to notice, but that has allowed huge leeway for commercial dealers as "turd-like" is pretty subjective. Some coprolites have very easily IDed morphologies, famously spiral fish coprolites and anomuran crustacean coprolites for example. Composition is also important: most trustworthy coprolites are phosphatic. Inclusions (teeth, bones, bits of wood, etc.) are great to have as well. Geological context is obviously important, too. Of course, one would like ALL of these features present but they rarely are. The basic idea is be doubtful of any supposed coprolite until it screams coprolite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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