caldigger Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 I got this from a seller in Israel claiming it is a fossil shell from the Red Sea area of Egypt. It looks like it was obtained from iron rich soil due to the red staining. Just curious if you think it is fossil or modern and what species it my be. I didn't get any information further than what was stated. It was only a buck with free shipping from Israel so it wasn't going to break me if it isn't. I still have a large collection of modern seashells it will fit into nicely if not a fossil. Thanks, caldigger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmaier Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 Looks like an Ark shell, a member of the very large genus Arca. My connection is pretty slow, so maybe somebody can use that bit of info to find it. It's hard to tell the age with these shells. I collect shells from here in Florida, and some are millions of years old, and they look "new". The only indication is that they look a bit blanched sometimes (or have picked up other colorations, like brown or black). On average, a species lives in about the same form for about 2 million years. So even if it is an extant species, it still might be a "fossil", depending on what your definition of a fossil is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted August 15, 2016 Author Share Posted August 15, 2016 The shell surface does have that chalky crumbly texture that I find on Miocene shells here locally. Don't know if that really makes a difference. I just liked it due to the exotic location that I don't have yet. Most of my shells are from south tropical seas ie: Caribbean, south Pacific, Indonesia, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigHyatt Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 The shell surface does have that chalky crumbly texture that I find on Miocene shells here locally. Don't know if that really makes a difference. I just liked it due to the exotic location that I don't have yet. Most of my shells are from south tropical seas ie: Caribbean, south Pacific, Indonesia, etc. Plus, you can't beat the price. ;-) Info: Craig Hyatt, retired software/electrical engineer Experience: Beginner, fossil hunting less than a year Location: Eagle Pass, TX USA on the border with Mexico, hot dry desert Formation: Escondido, Marine, Upper Cretaceous Materials: Sandstone, Mudstone, Shale, Chert, Chalk Typical: Thalassinoides, Sphenodiscus, Exogyra, Inoceramus Reference: http://txfossils.com/Txfossils.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted August 15, 2016 Author Share Posted August 15, 2016 I am sure my $1 didn't even pay for the shipping. The package had Priority $16. Not sure what that exchanges to in U.S. currency. But he probably lost money on the deal. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigHyatt Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 I am sure my $1 didn't even pay for the shipping. The package had Priority $16. Not sure what that exchanges to in U.S. currency. But he probably lost money on the deal. Very, very slow money laundering operation? ;-) Info: Craig Hyatt, retired software/electrical engineer Experience: Beginner, fossil hunting less than a year Location: Eagle Pass, TX USA on the border with Mexico, hot dry desert Formation: Escondido, Marine, Upper Cretaceous Materials: Sandstone, Mudstone, Shale, Chert, Chalk Typical: Thalassinoides, Sphenodiscus, Exogyra, Inoceramus Reference: http://txfossils.com/Txfossils.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmaier Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 Very, very slow money laundering operation? ;-) Some of the prices my son tells me about makes me wonder about things like that. Economics is weird on the internet. And I finally remembered another family to search for this shell. It's Carditidae. They resemble the Ark shells, but also have those prominent radial ribs like in this specimen. http://www.google.com/search?q=CARDITAMERA&btnG=Search&hl=en&gbv=1&tbm=isch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doushantuo Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 look like a juvenile Tridacna,almost. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fifbrindacier Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 It is asymetric, one side is more developped than the other, so i would say Carditidae rather than Tridacna even if i recognize it looks like a juvenile Tridacna. "On ne voit bien que par le coeur, l'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry) "We only well see with the heart, the essential is invisible for the eyes." In memory of Doren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 In my opinion the specimen is a worn one (washed by the sea), and could be very well one of the Tridacna species of the Red Sea. Take a look at this document as reference : HuberEschner2011.pdf 4 " We are not separate and independent entities, but like links in a chain, and we could not by any means be what we are without those who went before us and showed us the way. " Thomas Mann My Library Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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