IlmareYavanna Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 I recently got this fossil for my classroom museum. The seller listed it as an unidentified invertebrate. The closest I can find anywhere is a Phyllocarid type animal. Does that sound right or am I way off base? Collection Details: Lowermost Upper Cambrian, Mount Simon Complex, Blackberry Hill depositsMarathon County, Wisconsin, USAMatrix: 14 X 8.6 X 2.5 cm'Creature': 12.2 cm long Thanks for any help! Hilary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 Can we get a close up of the fossil? Picture is too small to make out details. Regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raptor Lover Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 Pretty doggy! "Or speak to the earth, and let it teach you" Job 12:8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IlmareYavanna Posted March 1, 2016 Author Share Posted March 1, 2016 Sorry for the delay...I had to take it out of the display and rephotograph it after school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 A lot of the Mt. Simon fossils have been enhanced with water color for extra contrast. You should contact James Hagadorn. He coauthored an excellent paper on this topic: Collette, J.H., & Hagadorn, J.W. (2010) Three-dimensionally preserved arthropods from Cambrian Lagerstätten of Quebec and Wisconsin. Journal of Paleontology, 84(4):646-667 PDF LINK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 The paper does add credence to the site, but I'm afraid this particular one may have to be taken on faith. It looks to me like a number of alternate shapes could have been colored in as well as this. If it were an uncolored research specimen it would be easier to trust the instincts of the people working the site, but coloration by a seller I would have trouble with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IlmareYavanna Posted March 1, 2016 Author Share Posted March 1, 2016 Would it help to know the seller? I've researched him, and I can't find anything that would indicate intentional misleading on his part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 Would it help to know the seller? I've researched him, and I can't find anything that would indicate intentional misleading on his part. Did he collect it, or is he a re-seller? The whole thread of possession has a hand in this, and every fossil's provenience. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IlmareYavanna Posted March 1, 2016 Author Share Posted March 1, 2016 He is a re-seller based in England. He does have a paleontological background it appears, mainly concerning trilobites. I did find the coloration of the fossil odd, though now that the whole watercoloring thing was mentioned, it makes sense. Do you think it would help to contact the seller to see what he knows? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDAWG Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 Is there anything besides the color to indicate a fossil is actually present? Perhaps if you take a photo with the light inclined to the specimen to bring out the surface texture something will show. Don 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IlmareYavanna Posted March 1, 2016 Author Share Posted March 1, 2016 I hope these work. I used the strongest lamps in my classroom. And it is almost certainly watercolored...there was a splotch of the same color on the underside of the matrix. Even if it does turn out to be a fake, this will be a learning experience for me. Thank you to everyone who has helped so far...you guys/gals are the best! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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