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Mineralized Soft Body Creature? In Pliocene Rifraf From Ft Myers, Fl


dalmayshun

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i recently had my lake side hill fortified with a layer of riprap from a local contractor, and was told most of the riprap in our area comes from the tamiami formation, which I believe could be miocene, pliocene, or even pleistocene...the rock came in by dump truck so I obviously don't really know, just a guess...perhaps some of the other shells would help id its source better. At any rate, one of the chunks looking interesting to me so I split it several times. the shells in the multi shell photo are what I found in side after the first couple of splits. but that cool mineralized dude in the last three photos is what I am really interested in. Often my unidentified pieces on here, are just minerals of one sort or another...i have to think this guy is something. He looks like amber. you can see through the appendages on the dime side of the image to the shell ridges underneath him. He has all these cool triangular arms coming out from that thumbprint like main body. Any one know what it is? As always I appreciate all your help.I tried to show the depth of the piece from one angle, and another angle shows the little appendages and how they sort of curve up and away from the shell under them.

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Edited by dalmayshun
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That is strange looking. Sorry can't help with an ID on the fossil but the rock size is called Rip Rap.

Riff raff are those guys your mom told you not to hang out with. :D

Looking forward to seeing what the mystery fossil is.

It's hard to remember why you drained the swamp when your surrounded by alligators.

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It would be from the Upper Pliocene Tamiami Formation if local. To me it looks like calcitic replacement of maybe a shell or echinoid fragment but it is hard to tell from your pics. The Tamiami preserves calcitic fossils very well but not so much aragonitic shells which would be shell composition of the mollusk molds. Maybe you can tell if there is an identifiable mold underneath?

Mike

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I believe those are mineral structures, inorganic.

"Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"_ Carl Sagen

No trees were killed in this posting......however, many innocent electrons were diverted from where they originally intended to go.

" I think, therefore I collect fossils." _ Me

"When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."__S. Holmes

"can't we all just get along?" Jack Nicholson from Mars Attacks

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I put it under a loop and I too now think with the help, it is a crystal of some sort, the middle part looks like crystal that grew against a shell, and so missed it's crystal forum. The edges had some room and grew in the little points....it's beautiful, and really cool to have found it in the middle of a riprap rock....Thanks to everyone, another mineral specimen for me. Lol.

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