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Father Son Wintertime Texas Desert Manventure


Uncle Siphuncle

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Heteraster, Coenholectypus, Tetragramma , and Macraster echinoids along with Eopachydiscus, Idiohamites, and Mortoniceras ammonites from a West Texas exposure of Walnut and Boracho formations. Good times. Any ideas on the weird looking bunch of tubes? Pseudofossil of some sort?

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Grüße,

Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas

"To the motivated go the spoils."

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"Any ideas on the weird looking bunch of tubes?"

yeah, those things aren't very well known from the fossil record, but they're referred to as "rock suspenders". sometimes when litificationality occurs in a vertical plane, some social discord occurs between adjoining rocks, and when there's later subsidence, the rock which had the good fortune of being highest in the first place chooses to simply deploy rock suspenders for the subsiding peers below rather than join them in their descent.

i guess you could say that finding a locality with the presence of rock suspenders is the paleo equivalent of saying, "these rocks didn't get along well".

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Dan, you must have one heck of an ech'y collection!!! Cute kid too. Ive got 3 grown boys now that all used to be cute, but the good thing is they all still want to go fossil hunting. Not much better in this world than being with your kids in the great outdoors diggin in the dirt together!

RB

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I bet it's a good trip with your son even when no fossils are found. So it looks like you scored a few "bonuses"! Keep hunting.

-HZJ

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Guest N.AL.hunter

Your son will have a collection bigger and better than mine by the time he is 12. Would you adopt me?

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Guest bmorefossil
"Any ideas on the weird looking bunch of tubes?"

yeah, those things aren't very well known from the fossil record, but they're referred to as "rock suspenders". sometimes when litificationality occurs in a vertical plane, some social discord occurs between adjoining rocks, and when there's later subsidence, the rock which had the good fortune of being highest in the first place chooses to simply deploy rock suspenders for the subsiding peers below rather than join them in their descent.

i guess you could say that finding a locality with the presence of rock suspenders is the paleo equivalent of saying, "these rocks didn't get along well".

ah thanks tracer see we have these things along the river and i always thought they were trees because of their shape, the ones i find here are the size of trees and seem to have branches, but now that i know they are are not fossils i wont be bringing any home.

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You guys did good! Looks like it was a great "manventure"! I love hunting with my 6yr old son. He has had some great finds and always seems to come home with the find of the day. I think it's because he's lower to the ground....LOL I won't be able to use that excuse in a few years.

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I stepped over Weston's Mort and missed it. Weston won't let me forget it either! There were so many broken ammonites around that I was afraid his too was just a broken half jutting up keel first. But when he had to struggle to wrest if from the ground, I knew there was more of it unexposed. This was his first Mort. Also his first Mac and Coen - good times, several things for his Riker mount.

Grüße,

Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas

"To the motivated go the spoils."

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Guest N.AL.hunter

I can't ID those tubes for you, but a good story you could tell is that they are a fossil carpet (AKA blanket) anemone. That is what they actually look like to me, but I have never heard of a fossil anemone before. Doubt they are, but would be neat.

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They look a lot like the worm tubes seen so often in the Fort Worth formation.

Could only find one pic of a fossil anemone and it was in really poor shape so

have nothing to visually compare it too..

Weston is really growing into a true hunter... be careful or he might out fossil you! :D

Welcome to the forum!

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I can't ID those tubes for you, but a good story you could tell is that they are a fossil carpet (AKA blanket) anemone. That is what they actually look like to me, but I have never heard of a fossil anemone before. Doubt they are, but would be neat.

N.Al Hunter,

Yes, there are fossil anemone. Do a Google Images search, they have several pictured from China. I have one in my Coelenterata collection. Since anemones are soft tissue animals their fossilization is like that of a fossil Scyphozoa.

Dan, I don't no what that is that you pictured but its different. Great trip with your son. I enjoyed the photo's.

JKFoam

The Eocene is my favorite

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JKFoam

Is your fossil handy for a pic on here or hidden away?

Roz,

I'll go out in the barn and try to find it. I have just got to get all that stuff organized again but I just can't seem to get past my Eocene micro's.

JKFoam

The Eocene is my favorite

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Roz,

Below is a picture of what I have labeled as a sea anemone. It is Bergaueria sp. and is from the Cambrian.

I purchased the specimen years ago from Mallicks Fossils of Baltimore, MD, when I was putting together a collection of the Phylum Coelenterata.

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This fossil is considered a trace fossil, a burrow generally attributed to an anemone.

"Wyoming specimens of the trace fossil Bergaueria

DONALD W. BOYD Department of Geology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming 82071

Pages

11-16

Keywords

Bergaueria, sea anemone, Wyoming, burrow

Abstract

A specimen of Gros Ventre Shale (Middle Cambrian) from north-central Wyoming contains several distinctive burrows referable to Bergaueria. This trace fossil, thought to represent the burrow of a sea anemone, is known from Cambrian and Ordovician strata in Europe and North America. The Wyoming specimens, the first reported from the Rocky Mountains of the United States, closely resemble material previously described from Lower Cambrian rocks in Alberta. Burrow casts from both places exhibit a basal depression but lack surrounding radial ridges. Mud containing artificially constructed "burrows" similar to Bergaueria was deformed experimentally, confirming the expectation that shape and dimensions of burrow casts are subject to change during compaction of sediment."

JKFoam

The Eocene is my favorite

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Mallicks Fossils of Baltimore, MD...

40 years ago, I slept with their catalog under my pillow...

"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!

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Good stuff, Dan! It looks like the adventure was worth the drive.

The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true.  -  JJ

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Oh heck yeah, especially when there is another dude to split driving and expenses with. I enjoyed closing my eyes for the last leg of the trip (no, I wasn't still driving!)

Grüße,

Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas

"To the motivated go the spoils."

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Dan,

Congrats on a solid trip. Sounds like Weston brought his A-game!

O

What is geology? "Rocks for Jocks!"

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Roz,

Below is a picture of what I have labeled as a sea anemone. It is Bergaueria sp. and is from the Cambrian.

I purchased the specimen years ago from Mallicks Fossils of Baltimore, MD, when I was putting together a collection of the Phylum Coelenterata.

post-8-1235940517_thumb.jpg

This fossil is considered a trace fossil, a burrow generally attributed to an anemone.

"Wyoming specimens of the trace fossil Bergaueria

DONALD W. BOYD Department of Geology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming 82071

Pages

11-16

Keywords

Bergaueria, sea anemone, Wyoming, burrow

Abstract

A specimen of Gros Ventre Shale (Middle Cambrian) from north-central Wyoming contains several distinctive burrows referable to Bergaueria. This trace fossil, thought to represent the burrow of a sea anemone, is known from Cambrian and Ordovician strata in Europe and North America. The Wyoming specimens, the first reported from the Rocky Mountains of the United States, closely resemble material previously described from Lower Cambrian rocks in Alberta. Burrow casts from both places exhibit a basal depression but lack surrounding radial ridges. Mud containing artificially constructed "burrows" similar to Bergaueria was deformed experimentally, confirming the expectation that shape and dimensions of burrow casts are subject to change during compaction of sediment."

JKFoam

Thanks so very much, JK for the pic and the info. I don't think that is what Dan has the, do you?

Would have never guessed that is what it would look like either (the anemone)...I always like to see what things look like I have never seen!

Welcome to the forum!

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Wait till yall see some of the echies prepped in my upcoming Feb report!

Grüße,

Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas

"To the motivated go the spoils."

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Perhaps they are "tire tracks" from one of those morts rolling along the bottom. The "messy" side is where it spun out after running over that urchin. (a feeble attemp at humor :faint: ).

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Awesome finds, it looks like ya'll had a great trip. Memories that will last a life time, is the best find of them all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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