michele 1937 Posted June 22, 2019 Share Posted June 22, 2019 Fossil mushroom ?? Found in France in the Quaternary (southern France). 30 years ago by a friend. Measure cm.7 stem and cm. 11. hat. It weighs 240 grams. It appears to be impregnated with travertine. Excuse my English 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted June 22, 2019 Share Posted June 22, 2019 Sure looks like one to Me. 2 Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FranzBernhard Posted June 22, 2019 Share Posted June 22, 2019 3 hours ago, michele 1937 said: Found in France in the Quaternary What does Quaternary mean in this context? 3 hours ago, michele 1937 said: It appears to be impregnated with travertine. Indeed! And that´s also the key. Put in the right thermal water, everything can be coated quickly with calcium carbonate, forming travertine. From wikipedia: "Modern travertine is formed from geothermally heated supersaturated alkaline waters, with raised pCO2 (see partial pressure). On emergence, waters degas CO2 due to the lower atmospheric pCO2, resulting in an increase in pH. Since carbonate solubility decreases with increased pH, precipitation is induced." 3 hours ago, michele 1937 said: Fossil mushroom ?? Technically not, its most probably much younger than 10.000 years. But shure, its an exocast of a mushroom! Thanks for sharing! Franz Bernhard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hemipristis Posted June 23, 2019 Share Posted June 23, 2019 Now there's something ya don't see every day 'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.' George Santayana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilNerd Posted June 23, 2019 Share Posted June 23, 2019 18 hours ago, FranzBernhard said: What does Quaternary mean in this context? Indeed! And that´s also the key. Put in the right thermal water, everything can be coated quickly with calcium carbonate, forming travertine. From wikipedia: "Modern travertine is formed from geothermally heated supersaturated alkaline waters, with raised pCO2 (see partial pressure). On emergence, waters degas CO2 due to the lower atmospheric pCO2, resulting in an increase in pH. Since carbonate solubility decreases with increased pH, precipitation is induced." Technically not, its most probably much younger than 10.000 years. But shure, its an exocast of a mushroom! Thanks for sharing! Franz Bernhard I’m in agreement with Franz that it probably is a travertine exocast, but it seems to me that the mushroom would have to be in a certain zone for this to happen. If the mushroom was too close to a hot spring wouldn’t the environment be too harsh for it to survive? Too hot and/or too acidic. On the other hand, if it was too far away, all the minerals may have been deposited before reaching the mushroom. I think it would have had to be in an area where it could survive, but still get coated with enough minerals to create the exocast relatively quickly. Very fascinating! The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it. -Neil deGrasse Tyson Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. -Bill Nye (The Science Guy) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnBrewer Posted June 23, 2019 Share Posted June 23, 2019 Very interesting! John Map of UK fossil sites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FranzBernhard Posted June 23, 2019 Share Posted June 23, 2019 6 hours ago, FossilNerd said: If the mushroom was too close to a hot spring wouldn’t the environment be too harsh for it to survive? Too hot and/or too acidic. On the other hand, if it was too far away, all the minerals may have been deposited before reaching the mushroom. I think it would have had to be in an area where it could survive, but still get coated with enough minerals to create the exocast relatively quickly. Very fascinating! Agree! My implicit thought was, that someone has dropped it, perhaps intentionally, into a hot spring (like it was done with flowers etc. long time ago in Karlsbad, Czech Republic). Hence my question: "What does Quaternary mean in this context?" Maybe @michele 1937 will give us more details? Many thanks! Franz Bernhard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted June 23, 2019 Share Posted June 23, 2019 I'm in the sponge camp, probably I'm alone. " 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...
FossilNerd Posted June 23, 2019 Share Posted June 23, 2019 2 hours ago, FranzBernhard said: Agree! My implicit thought was, that someone has dropped it, perhaps intentionally, into a hot spring (like it was done with flowers etc. long time ago in Karlsbad, Czech Republic). Hence my question: "What does Quaternary mean in this context?" Maybe @michele 1937 will give us more details? Many thanks! Franz Bernhard That was my first thought as well! That someone could have intentionally thrown it in. Here’s hoping for a few more details. The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it. -Neil deGrasse Tyson Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. -Bill Nye (The Science Guy) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilNerd Posted June 23, 2019 Share Posted June 23, 2019 1 hour ago, abyssunder said: I'm in the sponge camp, probably I'm alone. Hmmm... maybe... but it has the distinct mushroom shape and I see what look to be mushroom gills, especially in the last pic. What kind of sponge were you thinking? The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it. -Neil deGrasse Tyson Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. -Bill Nye (The Science Guy) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted June 23, 2019 Share Posted June 23, 2019 16 minutes ago, FossilNerd said: Hmmm... maybe... but it has the distinct mushroom shape and I see what look to be mushroom gills, especially in the last pic. What kind of sponge were you thinking? I'm unfamiliar with the geological settings and the possible fauna, but in my mind was something like Coeloptychium having a similar resemblance. 1 " 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...
FossilNerd Posted June 23, 2019 Share Posted June 23, 2019 7 minutes ago, abyssunder said: I'm unfamiliar with the geological settings and the possible fauna, but in my mind was something like Coeloptychium having a similar resemblance. I’m unfamiliar with the geology and fauna as well, but Coeloptychium does have a mushroom appearance like the specimen in question. Maybe someone familiar with the area will weigh in. The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it. -Neil deGrasse Tyson Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. -Bill Nye (The Science Guy) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FranzBernhard Posted June 24, 2019 Share Posted June 24, 2019 Thanks, @abyssunder, for the hint to Coeloptychium. I have seen it before, but not thought of it.... For reference, Nr. 9, from Fraas, 1910: Franz Bernhard 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michele 1937 Posted June 24, 2019 Author Share Posted June 24, 2019 Fossil mushroom ?? Found in France in the Quaternary (southern France). 30 years ago from a friend Measure cm.7 stem and cm. 11. hat. It weighs 240 grams. It appears to be impregnated with travertine. Excuse my English And a mushroom. It appears to be impregnated with travertine. Quaternary. The friend is dead The mushroom was given to me by his wife Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted June 25, 2019 Share Posted June 25, 2019 On 6/24/2019 at 11:46 AM, FranzBernhard said: Thanks, @abyssunder, for the hint to Coeloptychium. I have seen it before, but not thought of it.... For reference, Nr. 9, from Fraas, 1910: Thanks Franz for your reference! That's what I was thought it could be. " 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...
michele 1937 Posted June 30, 2019 Author Share Posted June 30, 2019 It is not a sponge. And a mushroom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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