BobC Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 Hey Guys-- First of all thanks for getting the forum back up. Now--here are some screen shots of some worm-like creatures that I found while hunting with MikeD and Owen in a quarry in Salado, Texas. Even though they look like worms I am sure they're probably some sort of sea plant or relative thereof. Can anybody help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobC Posted June 21, 2009 Author Share Posted June 21, 2009 And here's another shot of the same guy (s) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobC Posted June 21, 2009 Author Share Posted June 21, 2009 One last shot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roz Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 It looks a lot like what I found once and was ID'd as tabulate coral, Cladochonus texasensis. Mine is pennsylvanian though Welcome to the forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicholas Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 I would say coral but I'm not sure what kind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobC Posted June 21, 2009 Author Share Posted June 21, 2009 Yeah--I was kind of thinking something along those lines but I never found anything like that before Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommabetts Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 cool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 well, i don't know much about that kind of thing, but i'd kinda lean toward guessing it's bryozoan in nature. definitely not plant material. doesn't look like worm tubes i've seen, and in particular doesn't seem appropriately shaped for worm tubes. not sure, but there are a bunch of different kinds of bryozoa, then and now... bryozoa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashcraft Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 It is one of three things, 1)tabulate coral (Most llikely, see some parts that looks like a link in a chain) 2)crinoid stem pieces, don't be fooled by the size, I have some crinoids that can be completly covered by a dime. 3)Bryozoa, never seen any segmented like that however. Brent Ashcraft ashcraft, brent allen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 if i may, a link to an old post by roz and replies that are relevant to the discussion. older posts upon reflection, why not tabulate coral? makes sense... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkfoam Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 Since they came from Salado, Texas, we can be sure they are Cretaceous in age so that eliminates tabulate corals. When I look at the opening in one of the tubes I can't see any septal patern so it doesen't suggest a sclaractinian coral either. I don't know if they are bryozoans because I cannot see any zooeciums in the photographs. I am tending to think they are worm tubes. The Genus Serpula exhibit a very wide variety of morphological forms. Whoops, wait a minute,when I enlarged the photo I think maybe there are zooecium shown. Um, I'm not sure what this is. JKFoam The Eocene is my favorite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 <sigh> it's heck not knowing stuff. look, take this medicine and rub on 'em, just in case. and if they're not worms, it still won't hurt ya... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobC Posted June 22, 2009 Author Share Posted June 22, 2009 JK--I don't think they are worm tunnels. I see those all the time and these look nothing like them. If you look really closely, the structures look like little balls strung together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkfoam Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 BobC- You are probably right, they don't look like typical Serpula worm tubes. This a.m. I remembered an article I had read and a fossil program I had once attended presented by Paleontologist Dr. Richard Zingula, on fossil crab feces (coprolites). If I remember correctly from the article I read your photo's resemble what I recall as the coprolite from the Cretaceous crab, Dakoticancer sp. This is something to consider anyway. Now that I think about this, it is highly amusing to me to think about people doing scientific study on fossil crab feces and even more amusing when I remember how highly ornamented some of the fossil crab feces could be. JKFoam The Eocene is my favorite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobC Posted June 22, 2009 Author Share Posted June 22, 2009 Interesting. I would never have thought of that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Inyo Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 Hey Guys--First of all thanks for getting the forum back up. Now--here are some screen shots of some worm-like creatures that I found while hunting with MikeD and Owen in a quarry in Salado, Texas. Even though they look like worms I am sure they're probably some sort of sea plant or relative thereof. Can anybody help? Some random thoughts: First off, if the specimen came from the Cretaceous, it can't be what in a Paleozoic context would certainly be called a Tabulate "spaghetti coral"--genus Syringopora, or some such other variety. They could still be some odd ball type of Mesozoic coral, though. I wouldn't discount that just yet. If it's Paleozoic--or a reworked Paleozoic cobble in a Cretaceous deposit--it's most probably a spaghetti tabulate coral. Over at http://inyo.110mb.com/dv/tinmtcorals.htm is an image of a typical Paleozoic spaghetti Syringopora coral spotted in the Lower Mississippian Tin Mountain Limestone, around Death Valley, California. Then, too, they also mildly resemble Devonian "spaghetti" stromatoporoids--a widespread, extinct strand-like variety of calcareous sponge--I've seen in the mountains bordering Death Valley National Park. Take a look at http://inyo.110mb.com/dv/lostburrostromatoporoids.htm . Again, if the matrix is not Paleozoic...well, the fossils can not be stromatoporoids, obviously. Superficially--and given the fact that they came from likely Cretaceous rocks--they might appear to resemble poorly preserved bryozoans, but such specimens are rare in Cretaceous rocks, as opposed to their extreme abundance in Paleozoic strata, and quite frankly I've never encountered bryozoans of such distinctive physical appearance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilshk Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 it is not a worm Dinosaur Fossil Lab http://www.fossilshk.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobC Posted June 22, 2009 Author Share Posted June 22, 2009 The quarry I found these guys in was only maybe two to three stories deep at it's deepest. And it seemed like it was solid limestone, with the exception of maybe a four ft top layer where the workers said most of the large ammonites came from. This fossil was in a pile of rubble so I don't know for sure how deep it originally was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobC Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 So are we declaring this one unsolved? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grampa dino Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 How about it's: Sponge Bob Square Pants long lost relative from Texas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobC Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 SOLVED!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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