Dinosaur fossil Claw? Found in PA Need help with ID

[Kane]

The banding almost looks like a kind of shellac. 

 

Perhaps if we go back to examining the "matrix," that may also yield a clue as it doesn't look quite right. 

 

Also, those white bits look a bit like paint splatters. 

[Kingofthekats]

The white stuff could be bird dropping because I found these under a tree where there are birds that have nests above

[Kane]

20 minutes ago, Kingofthekats said:

The white stuff could be bird dropping because I found these under a tree where there are birds that have nests above

If it is, you would probably be able to wash it off. Maybe give that a try just to rule it out?

[Kingofthekats]

I looked through a microscope and one of the white spot is in the shell , and it does not come off

[Kingofthekats]

Does anyone know the value of something like these are? If it is what it is of course, not that I'm trying to sell cause I do want to find the rest if I can

[ynot]

2 minutes ago, Kingofthekats said:

Does anyone know the value of something like these are

The Fossil Forum does not allow for appraisals.

The value of a fossil is a very subjective thing that is dependent on a variety of things, which can not be determined from a picture.

[Kingofthekats]

Okay should look up a museum and get a appraisal and identification as well

[EMP]

Hmmm....

 

The first thing is interesting. I wouldn't be surprised if it was

 

1) some kind of lignite or coal piece, from somewhere around the various coal fields in PA. Charcoal is also a possibility

 

2) A carbonized print of a plant. If it's light, it could be possible that it is a carbonized piece caked in dried dirt with maybe a tiny bit of sandstone matrix. Sometimes when coal forms imprints of plants can form on it. In the Pocono Group this can happen quite frequently.

 

The "slickensides" is probably just a metamorphic crystal, sorry. Pretty common fill material, and it has the look of minerals common from the Glenram Group (Wissahickon Formation to all the Delawareans and Pennsylvanians in the thread).

 

The second piece will probably end up being what the first is. From the odd shape it has it looks highly likely to be some kind of carbonized/lignitized plant matter. I've found similar things in the Potomac Group (Arundel Clay) in MD.

 

The third rock is a shale/sandstone. Judging from it being PA, there's a good chance it is either Bloomsburg Formation (late Silurian) or Foreknobs Formation, late Devonian in age. It appears to have a gastropod and bivalve impressions in it, ruling out terrestrial and likely not related to the other specimens.

 

Any rate, judging from your pictures, your specimens are pretty small so that would likely explain the "weight" problem.

 

Raubsville is right by Allentown (remember that Billy Joel song? Allentown is right near the epicenter of the eastern PA anthracite coal fields) if Google Maps is right, so I doubt it would be an arthropod.

[Kingofthekats]

so its not eurypterid?

[EMP]

2 minutes ago, Kingofthekats said:

so its not eurypterid?

 

I doubt it. The problem with the segmentation has already been stated, but there are others.

 

For starters the preservation is off for eurypterids. I've only ever seen them preserved in 2D. I'm sure they could be 3D, but it would be incredibly rare and a scientifically important find possibly. Going on this subject, this seems to be preserved in carbon, not mineral which would be the case for exoskeleton.

 

On top of that is your area. Eurypterids are known from pA, but there's a difference between there having been a few specimens found over the decades and their being abundant enough for someone to just find a fragment along a river. The rocks in your area are a mix of Devonian, Mississippian, and Pennsylvanian terrestrial units with a handful of scattered Paleozoic marine/transitional units thrown in. There's a possibility that it could be a eurypterid, but the only formations that are known to have produced them in this area (the Bloomsburg has produced abundant remains in parts of West Virginia south of Maryland) aren't exposed well enough/don't contain the right beds for this to be a real possibility.

[Kane]

2 hours ago, Kingofthekats said:

Okay should look up a museum and get a appraisal and identification as well

Keep in mind that museums are places of knowledge, not necessarily commerce, so it is unlikely you will get a monetary appraisal. 

 

I would definitely focus first on securing identification. Perhaps a local university paleontology or geology department might be of assistance as well.

[Miocene_Mason]

A hands on examination is always better than pictures.

[Kingofthekats]

So I have found Indian Pottery Shard in the same area as I found these black pieces could that mean anything or just so happen to be in the same place

[Kingofthekats]

I still can't find a place to identify these fossils does anyone know of a place online that can help

[Miocene_Mason]

6 minutes ago, Kingofthekats said:

I still can't find a place to identify these fossils does anyone know of a place online that can help

The Fossil Forum

I'm sure you could email paleontological curators at various museums that could help. I'd start with smaller ones, the smithsonians got a lot on its plat most of the time. I'm also sure professors of paleoantology would help if emailed. I'm sticking with eurypterid by the way. Hope you have luck with your contacts!

[Kingofthekats]

Thank you!

[Miocene_Mason]

Just now, Kingofthekats said:

Thank you!

No problem, happy to help!

[Kingofthekats]

So I contacted someone paleontologist and he said he can't figure out what it is but it is very interesting so he told me to contact  Ted Daeschler at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia so I'm still waiting for a reply hopefully soon

[Peat Burns]

5 minutes ago, Kingofthekats said:

So I contacted someone paleontologist and he said he can't figure out what it is but it is very interesting so he told me to contact  Ted Daeschler at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia so I'm still waiting for a reply hopefully soon

That's great.  Keep us posted.  Very interested to hear the verdict.

[Plax]

there are abundant silurian eurypterid fossils on the Jersey side of the Delaware water gap, these are 2-D as others have mentioned. I don't see why they couldn't occur at similar elevation and formation on the PA side but apparently this isn't the case with this specimen (too far SW?). Am thinking that for anyone to get a positive identification of this object they'll have to have it in hand.

[Kingofthekats]

So I contacted another paleontologist and he said, I don't immediately recognize these. The surface texture and structure in cross-section don't look like what I'm familiar with in fossil remains.

[Miocene_Mason]

34 minutes ago, Kingofthekats said:

So I contacted another paleontologist and he said, I don't immediately recognize these. The surface texture and structure in cross-section don't look like what I'm familiar with in fossil remains.

With that certainly is interesting. Keep us updated with what happens next!

[Kingofthekats]

So I contacted about 16 paleontologist curators and professor but I'm not having any luck with them replying only two replied not knowing what it is, so I'm not sure how to go about this

[ynot]

Take it to a local university or paleontology museum and let someone look at it in person.

[sTamprockcoin]

FInd the local rock/mineral club. Theres one in the Lehigh Valley but I dont remember the name. Theres also one that meets in Pittston Pa. The college in Easton (Lafayette College) has been helpful in ID local stuff. If you get a hands on ID on the yellowish glassy specimen please let me know as I found similar in Easton & have not gotten a good ID. Remember that a lot of stuff got moved by man down the river and even more was transported in to dump along the banks so the "fossil" may not even be local!