Water-creature fossil? Manavgat (S. Turkey)

[meteorquake]

Manavgat (Mediterranean coastal Turkey) - 36.7418835,31.66006184, altitude c. 200m

On the path we walked up I spotted this. I've no idea what it really is but it made me think of a starfish/sea urchin type of creature though perhaps the features better fit some kind of flat sea-type creature? Cheers! Over to you all...

David

 

[Fossildude19]

This looks like some sort of sea urchiin/Echinoid.

[meteorquake]

Thanks Tim! And a quick question. It seems to me helpful if photos are also copied to some geolocated taxonomic repository (rather like iNaturalist though that doesn't seem to handle fossils well) which fossil researchers can systematically make use of. I wonder if there is such a thing? It also seems to me from a cursory view of the web that a lot of fossils are traded about without regard to their research value which even proper photos of might be of help for research...

Edited December 18, 2023 by meteorquake

[Fossildude19]

6 hours ago, meteorquake said:

 It seems to me helpful if photos are also copied to some geolocated taxonomic repository (rather like iNaturalist though that doesn't seem to handle fossils well) which fossil researchers can systematically make use of. I wonder if there is such a thing?

 

Not that I am aware of.

 

6 hours ago, meteorquake said:

It also seems to me from a cursory view of the web that a lot of fossils are traded about without regard to their research value which even proper photos of might be of help for research...

 

Specimens can't be used for research unless they are deposited with a research institution, like a museum or university.

Most fossils being sold/traded are common, widely studied and/or scientifically unimportant specimens.  There is no research value for most of these items.

 

Occasionally, a scientifically important specimen can be sold or traded, but there is no way of forcing people to donate these items to science. 

This is only done by those of us who know of the scientific importance of these fossils, and make our own efforts to donate them to science.

We have many members who have donated their items to science, as evidenced HERE.

 

While some wish to discontinue amateur collecting, it would be bad for science, as most researchers and their institutions cannot afford to hunt all the time, like amateurs do.

The sheer number of people collecting make the odds of finding something new to science, (and possibly getting it donated somewhere,) much greater. 

 

Getting amateur/avocational collectors to partner with institutions is the way to go. These kinds of programs that should be fostered, and instituted, wherever possible.

 

It would be a win/win for science.

 

 

[hemipristis]

Nice find!

[meteorquake]

It certainly seems broadly similar to this example on the web captioned as a Hardouinia -