Tomg Posted August 5, 2018 Share Posted August 5, 2018 Hi. I found this fossil on the Lake Michigan shore in rocks that were brought in for a seawall, so I don't know where it might actually be from. Any help is appreciated. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innocentx Posted August 5, 2018 Share Posted August 5, 2018 It would be nice to know it's size. There may be a five sided thing going on here which could make it echinoderm of some kind, probably crinoid. A photo taken head on perpendicular to fossil might help clear this up. 3 "Journey through a universe ablaze with changes" Phil Ochs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomg Posted August 6, 2018 Author Share Posted August 6, 2018 Thanks. Indeed size would help! I've included a photo with a ruler along side for reference. Thanks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimTexan Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 This is a pretty uninformed guess, but I think it looks like a top down view of a stromatolite colony. Wait for others to weigh in though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innocentx Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 That's pretty big for a crinoid stem segment and I'm not seeing any of the other markers that would make it so. Seriously I'm stumped. Hopefully someone will come along and recognize this. "Journey through a universe ablaze with changes" Phil Ochs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullsnake Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 41 minutes ago, Innocentx said: That's pretty big for a crinoid stem segment and I'm not seeing any of the other markers that would make it so. Seriously I'm stumped. Hopefully someone will come along and recognize this. Agreed...nothing screaming crinoid. Very interesting. Provenance could help in this case for sure! Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomg Posted August 6, 2018 Author Share Posted August 6, 2018 Here's another view of the sample, from the side showing the profile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 Looks like a weathered chert nodule to Me. Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimTexan Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 This is a pic of stromatolites from just googling the term. This is what it looks like to me. I have found what I believed were chert stromatolites before. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullsnake Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 I was thinking you're onto something, and now that's convincing. But I'm totally unfamiliar with stromatolites. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 55 minutes ago, KimTexan said: This is a pic of stromatolites from just googling the term. This is what it looks like to me. I have found what I believed were chert stromatolites before. It is a good possibility. The singularity of the op"s piece is the only thing that confuses Me, because I thought strom were sorta (if the conditions are right for one then there are a whole bunch) groupings. I am not well versed with stromatolites either. 1 Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRfossilMISTER Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 at first i kinda looked like a little ammonite to me but it does kinda look stromato to me now that you mention it. im no good with stromatolites either, hope someone can solve this. games are fun, but finding fossil is even better! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innocentx Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 With this last picture I'm back to crinoid again. This object is very worn but I think I see a plate from the aboral cup(calyx). 5 "Journey through a universe ablaze with changes" Phil Ochs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimTexan Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 I’m not seeing crinoid there. Crinoids have 5 thin pentagonal shaped plates that form part of the crinoid cup or calyx with another set of 5 plates and sometimes another set of 5. I still don’t see that here. See images below. Pic taken from: http://www.catnapin.com/Fossil/Echinoidermata/ffCrinoids.htm pic taken from here 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wightlight Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 (edited) Might be a reach but it looks a little bit like the heavily eroded sea urchins we find here in Denmark Edited August 6, 2018 by Wightlight 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innocentx Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 I think @Wightlight may have something. I will agree with him! Worn echinoderm(urchin). "Journey through a universe ablaze with changes" Phil Ochs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 I don't want to discourage anyone, but couldn't it be just a concretion with onion skin weathering? 1 " We are not separate and independent entities, but like links in a chain, and we could not by any means be what we are without those who went before us and showed us the way. " Thomas Mann My Library Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 12 minutes ago, abyssunder said: I don't want to discourage anyone, but couldn't it be just a concretion with onion skin weathering? That is what I thought on this. Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimTexan Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 It could be a concretion, but I’m still thinking stromatolite colony. I guess they could be a type of sponge too. These don’t look like the OP item exactly, but you get the idea. Here are 2 pics from another post. The idea the first was a stromatolite was debated, but in the end it was determined to be a stromatolite from Morocco. This is from the same discussion and they are from Wisconsin found by a TFF member. I can definitely be wrong. I’ll have to pull up some pics of ones I found that I believe are stromatolite. I’ll do that later though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 Knowing where the rock for the seawall came from is the key. It would rule out some things and rule in others depending upon the geologic age. Otherwise all guesses are purely speculation, not identification. 3 Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt behind the trailer, my desert Them red clay piles are heaven on earth I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 22 hours ago, KimTexan said: This is a pic of stromatolites from just googling the term. This is what it looks like to me. I have found what I believed were chert stromatolites before. Kim, These actually look more like beekite rings, than stromatolites, to me. Where is this photo from? The one thing I don't see here in the item posted for ID, is the layering that is evident in all Stromatolites. I would discount echinoids based on the area - Not many echinoids around in the Ordovician/Devonian/Silurian, which makes up a large portion of the geologic makeup of the area. I honestly think that @Innocentx may be correct with the crinoid calyx idea - if it was in a seawall, it could have been highly eroded by the water action, or this could be a steinkern of a crinoid cup. The other option, would be a solitary beekite ring. Just my two cents. 4 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...
abyssunder Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 Just found, what to me, has the best resemblance (all characters) with the specimen in question. comparative picture from here 1 " We are not separate and independent entities, but like links in a chain, and we could not by any means be what we are without those who went before us and showed us the way. " Thomas Mann My Library Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 14 minutes ago, abyssunder said: Just found, what to me, has the best resemblance (all characters) with the specimen in question. OK, but what is it? Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeschWhat Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 1 minute ago, ynot said: OK, but what is it? Pisolites Lori www.areallycrappystory.com/fossils www.facebook.com/fossilpoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimTexan Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 @Fossildude19 like I said, I just googled the term and it came up in the group of images. Poor choice. I went back and looked to see where it came from. It originated in Pinterest which isn’t a reliable resource. Yes, it does look like beekite rings now that you mention it. It seems apparent that whatever it may be it is highly eroded. This is another pic of a stromatolite from Wisconsin. It may not look exactly like the OP item, but it does have some of the same qualities. This pic is from a reliable source. https://wgnhs.uwex.edu/wisconsin-geology/fossils-of-wisconsin/stromatolite-gallery/ It is the Wisconsin Geologic and Natural History Survey. These are stromatolite colonies from the Ordovician of Northwest Arkansas that I came across while fossil hunting. They are a some form of chalcedony. Looks a lot like flint. Here is one eroded colony. My toes for size comparison. Sorry best I could do in the field. Another colony One broken open. You can see a little of the layering, but it is more prominent than what is evidenced in the pic. Subsequent to me finding them and identifying them as stromatolites I found pics of colonies just like these in an Arkansas geological group weekly blog identifying them as stromatolite colonies. I would like to see a pic of the whole rock the item is on. In the 2nd pic of the OP it almost looks like there is additional layering on the surrounding rock. The targeted item could be part of a larger item we are not seeing. @Tomg May we have another pic of the whole rock the item is on? @abyssunder how big do pisolites get. How often do you find a solitary pisolite? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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