Pitviper Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 Found this at Big Brook in NJ today. There's uniform striations, leading me to believe it's probably organic, but it doesn't look like a tooth. Any ideas?? http://bryandugganphotography.smugmug.com/...7_wR5xg-M-1.jpg "Nothing happens in contradiction to nature, only to what we know of it." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreekCrawler Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 We have a couple of Cephalopods like that from the Pennsylvanian of Texas.One is Michelinoceras and the other is Protocycloceras.Yours looks like Michelinoceras due to not having the ridges. The Protocycloceras differs from the Michelinoceras by having strong ridges around the shell in parallel layers. I'm sure someone from your area will chime in for a definitive answer.Here is a picture of a Michelinoceras from Tx. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoRon Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 It may be a phragmocone cast from a belemnite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamalama Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 Are the lines spaced equally and not spiral around? If equal it might be from a cephalopod, although I'm not sure. If spiral then it's a coprolite. I've found some shells that are just casts of the original that are of similar color to what you are showing, usually small too. However, and this might be a long shot, might it be a Paleozoic fossil (orthoceras or michelinoceras) that eroded out and was redeposited in the cretaceous sea? Get any good shark teeth? -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...
Guest solius symbiosus Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 I'm not much on Meso stuff, but since it was found at Big Brook, it is probably some kind of coleoid cephalopod. Did nautiloids even have orthoconic shells in the Cretaceous? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpbowden Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 A fish plate aka skate type Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pitviper Posted April 26, 2009 Author Share Posted April 26, 2009 Shark teeth and what I suspect to be an urchin spine?? http://bryandugganphotography.smugmug.com/...27_Aav8h-XL.jpg "Nothing happens in contradiction to nature, only to what we know of it." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pitviper Posted April 26, 2009 Author Share Posted April 26, 2009 Lines are equally spaced and not spiral. "Nothing happens in contradiction to nature, only to what we know of it." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 Shark teeth and what I suspect to be an urchin spine?? Cretolamna? ?? Fish spine? "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...
Shamalama Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 Lines are equally spaced and not spiral. hmm... and it tapers down in the photo..... it's "smooth" the whole way around, no teeth roots like a ray plate has? -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...
Auspex Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 Found this at Big Brook in NJ today. There's uniform striations, leading me to believe it's probably organic, but it doesn't look like a tooth. Any ideas?? What size is it? "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...
jpbowden Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 That lives a very precise shark poop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 That lives a very precise shark poop. Yeah, if the critter was that anal-retentive, it wouldn't poop at all "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...
Carl Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 PaleoRon has got it. I've collected Big Brook for over 20 years and it is definitely a steinkern from a belemnite phragmacone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 PitViper: The piece you thought was an urchin spine is actually the end segment of a crustacean leg or claw. My guess is it's hollow, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpbowden Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 Yeah, if the critter was that anal-retentive, it wouldn't poop at all Sharks scare me, no barin but know just what to do, ooouuu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pitviper Posted April 26, 2009 Author Share Posted April 26, 2009 Oh cool, so it is a fossil! I like these belemnite things, partially because I keep finding them! Thanks for the ID. For whomever asked, it is almost an inch long. For the urchin spine, I can't really tell if it's hollow, but I totally see what you're saying about it being some sort of crustacean. "Nothing happens in contradiction to nature, only to what we know of it." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pitviper Posted April 26, 2009 Author Share Posted April 26, 2009 Oh cool, so it is a fossil! I like these belemnite things, partially because I keep finding them! Thanks for the ID. For whomever asked, it is almost an inch long.For the urchin spine, I can't really tell if it's hollow, but I totally see what you're saying about it being some sort of crustacean. Oh wait.... if it's a steinkern, it's not a fossil but an impression of one?? Dangit. "Nothing happens in contradiction to nature, only to what we know of it." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 Oh wait.... if it's a steinkern, it's not a fossil but an impression of one?? Dangit. Steinkern are most definitely fossils! "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...
Guest solius symbiosus Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 ^^Yes they are. However, since I don't speak German, I prefer to call them either, positive, or negative, external molds. Of course, there are also internal molds(both + and -); some people call the negative a cast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamalama Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 PaleoRon has got it. I've collected Big Brook for over 20 years and it is definitely a steinkern from a belemnite phragmacone. Cool! now I know what to look for next time I am out there. Paleoron & Carl do you think it is a different species than the Belemnitella sp. that is so common at the site as Amber colored mini cigars? -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...
MOROPUS Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 It may be a phragmocone cast from a belemnite. I agree with you.A piritized phragmocone if the layer is Jurassic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 Oh wait.... if it's a steinkern, it's not a fossil but an impression of one?? Dangit. As a fossil is an evidence of ancient life, steinkerns are most certainly fossils. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 Cool! now I know what to look for next time I am out there. Paleoron & Carl do you think it is a different species than the Belemnitella sp. that is so common at the site as Amber colored mini cigars? Belemnitella americana is the only recognized species at Big Brook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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