New Members Daniel4499 Posted November 16, 2015 New Members Share Posted November 16, 2015 Yesterday I went rock hunting for the very first time and it was a lot of fun! I found a lot of what I think to be very cool objects but one of them iso puzzling me. I don't think it is a fossil but maybe just an impression of a sea shell I think. It was found near the south gate of Badlands national park in a river bed. Any help on the identification of this specimen would be greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZiggieCie Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Welcome to the forum, glad to have you with us. A good start to fossil and rock hunting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pterosaur Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Technically it is a fossil! It's a 'trace' fossil; which is a preserved impression left behind by the original organism. Cool find! "I am a part of all that I have met." - Lord Alfred Tennyson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeymig Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Impression of an ammonite. Unfortunately if you found it within the borders of the park then it's illegal. Many times I've wondered how much there is to know. led zeppelin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Members Daniel4499 Posted November 16, 2015 Author New Members Share Posted November 16, 2015 Thank you Mike. Ammonite impression you say, very interesting. I will have to check my location of yesterday's outing. I hope I didn't do anything illegal eek! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Yes, impression of an ammonite from the Pierre Shale. It is late Cretaceous, looks like a Scaphitid. There is lots of Pierre Shaleinthe area. And yes, if you were within the National Park... remember "take only photos, leave only footprints". If you were within the National Grasslands (which there is alot of around the Badlands NP, then collecting inverts is OK, but not vertebrtates. This is an invert... Note the difference between National Park, and National Grassland (and National Forest, which we did not mention yet). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobWill Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Nice find. It's not really a "trace" fossil though. That would be more like a footprint or burrow left behind by an often unknown creature when it was still alive. An impression like yours is called an external mold. The sediment it came to rest in when it died becomes solidified over time to form the matrix. The mold is what is left in the matrix the ammonite was preserved in after the rest of the fossil has eroded away. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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