jmmpurplesky Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 I should start by saying that I'm new to the forum and fossil finding as of today. I've always been fascinated by them, but never actually gone out looking for any, and didn't today either, actually, it was just a happy accident. We were paddling on the Suwanee River in FL, and looking at all that limestone I thought "There HAVE to be fossils in there." So, today when we stopped for lunch, I took my 2 kids over to the base of a cliff and told them to just start looking around. I found a large rock with a miniscule impression that looked likely, so we looked around a little more and my 8-year-old came up with this: To which he immediately said "Oh look! A sand dollar!" I told him it looked more like a sea biscuit of some sort, and I knew just enough to look it up on the internet as "fossil echi" and let Google tell me they're echinoids. We ended up finding 13 of them in various states of disrepair. This is some of them after a quick brush with warm water: I'm going to follow the advice given on other Topics and try to remove some of the matrix on the rest of them, since right now they're almost impossible to identify. Now, on to the other interesting bit we picked up. It was the last thing I found, and at a guess I'd call it some kind of coral maybe, but I really haven't a clue: Two pics, from slightly different angles. Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 You certainly hit a home run your first time at bat! Those echinoids are very attractive As for the mystery, I'm stumped (not a rare occurrence...). Maybe someone here with experience in the Suwanee will recognize it right off. Welcome aboard! "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...
jmmpurplesky Posted December 2, 2012 Author Share Posted December 2, 2012 (edited) You certainly hit a home run your first time at bat! Those echinoids are very attractive Thanks, I'm really happy with them! After a little more digging around the net this morning, I feel pretty good about labeling them as Rhyncholampus gouldii specifically. Once I get them cleaned up, they're definitely getting a display case. Hopefully someone will be able to identify the other. I don't really even know where to start with that one. Edited December 2, 2012 by jmmpurplesky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herb Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 Nice find! If you soak them a few minutes in diluted white vinegar and brush them it will help get rid of the matrix. Repeat as needed. If they smell fishy like some I have found a soaking in diluted bleach will kill the smell. Of course you have to get rid of the bleach smell then "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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmmpurplesky Posted December 2, 2012 Author Share Posted December 2, 2012 Nice find! If you soak them a few minutes in diluted white vinegar and brush them it will help get rid of the matrix. Repeat as needed. If they smell fishy like some I have found a soaking in diluted bleach will kill the smell. Of course you have to get rid of the bleach smell then Thanks Herb! I've been working on them a little today doing the vinegar and brush thing along with a pick. None of them smell fishy, but a lot of them are discolored and I thought about a little bleach, but can't decide if I want to risk damaging them any more. Like a newb will, I broke one already with a little over-vigorous picking at a large piece of matrix, and am gun shy about doing too much to them now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bev Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 Welcome to the Forum from MinnesOta! Awesome Finds! Whatever you do, get the kids involved in the learning of it all! There are some great websites out there for fossiling and kids. Down in your area there are also lots of sharks teeth. These may even be older than the dinosaurs, which should interest them! Bev The more I learn, I realize the less I know. BluffCountryFossils.NET Fossil Adventure Blog Go to my Gallery for images of Fossil Jewelry, Sculpture & Crafts Pinned Posts: Beginner's Guide to Fossil Hunting * Geologic Formation Maps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmmpurplesky Posted December 5, 2012 Author Share Posted December 5, 2012 (edited) Thought I'd post an update after cleaning off the echs as much as I intend to. These turned out to be the best 8 of the bunch: I've also done some cleaning around the mystery item, and taken what I hope are some somewhat better photos. Cheers! Edited December 5, 2012 by jmmpurplesky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullsnake Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 Just a guess, remnants of a burrow. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 The echinoids are great! The other thing is kinda' 'mineral-looking' to me... "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...
ckmerlin Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 maybe very worn ech spine shaft ?just a guess "A man who stares at a rock must have a lot on his mind... or nothing at all' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmmpurplesky Posted December 6, 2012 Author Share Posted December 6, 2012 @Bullsnake I'd considered that it might be burrow remains of some sort. I've got a couple of other pieces of rock that have parts of a similar structure, and one of them is almost completely filled in with matrix. @Auspex I've done some looking through minerals, and can't find any that make a tubular structure like that. The closest I came was fulgurite, but I don't THINK that's what I'm seeing. Of course, I could be wrong. The material itself is very porous-looking, and sort of fragile. Almost comes apart in woody layers. I broke some while I was trying to clean around it, and fiddled with it a bit. @ckmerlin I hadn't thought of a spine shaft, but maybe it's just because I didn't see any spines in any of the rocks I picked up. If it is, it's a huge one compared to the echs we found. Thanks everyone for the input! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 The somewhat fractal knob-on-knob-on knob pattern reminds me of the growth habits of some crystalline minerals. "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...
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