abaloney Posted June 3, 2013 Share Posted June 3, 2013 This fossil is from a family collection. Someone had written out a card for it that had the identification info, but it appears that silverfish got to it... Can anyone fill in the blanks where the words were eaten off the card... :-) It looks to me like it reads: Fossil _______dsMioceneSc_____ts PointChesapeak BayMaryland The silverfish chewed off just the most important words! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squalicorax Posted June 3, 2013 Share Posted June 3, 2013 Looks like a piece of Coal Slag My Flickr Page of My Collection: http://www.flickr.com/photos/79424101@N00/sets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted June 3, 2013 Share Posted June 3, 2013 There is a Scientists Cliffs on the bay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted June 3, 2013 Share Posted June 3, 2013 There is a Scientists Cliffs on the bay Specifically, "Scientist's Point". I do not recognize this object as any fossil I ever saw there, and I collected the area for 25 years. Are you sure the card goes with this specimen? "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...
abaloney Posted June 3, 2013 Author Share Posted June 3, 2013 Thanks for ID-ing Scientist's Point and Cliffs - interesting stuff about it on the web! Googling 'fossil coal slag' is not giving me anything similar so far... Was thinking it was describing a crinoid chunk that was packaged with it, but the description on the card doesn't look like it starts out with a 'C'. Hmmm... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamalama Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 The coal slag is not a fossil but a recent form of industrial waste. Your Crinoid slab looks exactly like some I have seen from the Mississippian of Kentucky at lake Cumberland. -Dave __________________________________________________ Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPheeIf I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPheeCheck out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abaloney Posted June 4, 2013 Author Share Posted June 4, 2013 So - who knows what the card was referring to... :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 So - who knows what the card was referring to... :-) How 'bout "Fossil Pelecypods"? Any clams in the collection? "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...
Batty Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Can you rub test the card? Put a piece of paper on top and lightly rub with a pencil tip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abaloney Posted June 5, 2013 Author Share Posted June 5, 2013 Thanks Auspex! Maybe it's this specimen - about 1/3 of a larger fossil filled rock... ? The silverfish ate the paper, so couldn't get a rubbing. This big specimen was packed separately, but maybe fossil clams...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abaloney Posted June 5, 2013 Author Share Posted June 5, 2013 Shamalama - still have not found any coal slag photos online that look like mine, but there is a UK site ( http://www.muddyarchaeologist.co.uk/diary%20archive.htm ) that has a photo and description in 'Episode 2' of iron rock slag that bears a resemblance...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 Thanks Auspex! Maybe it's this specimen - about 1/3 of a larger fossil filled rock... ? The silverfish ate the paper, so couldn't get a rubbing. This big specimen was packed separately, but maybe fossil clams...? These are Paleozoic Brachiopods, much older than the Calvert Fm. You'd be looking for something that resembles a Cherystone clam, probably free of matrix. "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...
abaloney Posted June 5, 2013 Author Share Posted June 5, 2013 Thanks for ID-ing the Brachiopods - will look those up! Is this the clam...? There is only one in the box... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abaloney Posted June 5, 2013 Author Share Posted June 5, 2013 Auspex - I looked up Calvert Formation - and wondering if this Brachiopod chunk may be the fossil that the card (mistakenly) was referring to, since the Calvert Cliffs are on Chesapeake Bay? If these are older than Calvert - any idea where these Brachiopods came from or how old? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 Looks like a scallop that is found throughout the Calvert formation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abaloney Posted June 5, 2013 Author Share Posted June 5, 2013 Thanks Troodon - It does look like a scallop afterall... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 Thanks for ID-ing the Brachiopods - will look those up! Is this the clam...? There is only one in the box... It is, I think, an oyster, but that is still a pelecypod. I don't recognize it from the Calvert Fm., but it could be, I suppose. Looks a bit more like a Mesozoic Lopha... Auspex - I looked up Calvert Formation - and wondering if this Brachiopod chunk may be the fossil that the card (mistakenly) was referring to, since the Calvert Cliffs are on Chesapeake Bay? If these are older than Calvert - any idea where these Brachiopods came from or how old? These are over 300 million years old, more than 12 times older than the Calvert Fm. at Scientist's Cliffs. "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...
Mr_ed Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 The note likely says Fossil Records Scientists point.... Nice Crinoid plate! Cheers Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abaloney Posted June 5, 2013 Author Share Posted June 5, 2013 Thanks for everyone's help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now