Link Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 Here's something I found today: To me, it looks like a cast of a gastropod shell, perhaps Volutidae. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamalama Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 Could you post a sharper picture? Maybe a little more light on the subject. Thanks. -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...
Link Posted July 21, 2009 Author Share Posted July 21, 2009 Here ya go. The first photo has been enhanced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron E. Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 Here ya go. The first photo has been enhanced. Still pretty blurry. But your rock looks a lot like the Fayetteville Shale, in NWArk. I recently cracked open some rocks there and found an abundance of little gastropods (tentative identified as bellarophon sp.) in some rock just a bit more uppper Mississippian than what I have closer to home. Try manually focusing your camera. Check the manual, if unfamiliar. My kid just showed me how to do it, suddenly, clear pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 Shed some light on the subject; lots o' lumens! And, use the "Macro Mode". if your camera has it; look for the tulip: If it doesn't, back off, and then crop the pic on the 'puter. In any case, shoot both sides and a couple angles. "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...
Link Posted July 22, 2009 Author Share Posted July 22, 2009 Here're some macaroni macro images. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Well, it has the external shape (sort of) of certain gastropods, which would mean that (if it is a snail fossil) it is a in-fill of an external mold (as opposed to an internal mold, which would be something of a cork-screw). "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...
Link Posted July 22, 2009 Author Share Posted July 22, 2009 So do you think it's a fossil? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traviscounty Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 I can't tell from the pics that it is anything other than an interesting shape. What makes you think this is a fossil? (this is one thing I have had to ask myself) Please remember that I am on the lower end of fossil identification. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Link Posted July 22, 2009 Author Share Posted July 22, 2009 Besides the shape being extremely similar to certain gastropod shells, at the spire there is slight evidence of spiraling; there are two parallel slanted line protrusions. It not easy to see in the photo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traviscounty Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 I see the shape you are talking about. The definition of said shell (if that's what it is) is quite encrusted. Perhaps a dip in some crust remover? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Link, you have a good eye for shapes. Is this sandstone? It looks pretty "gritty". Maybe you could take another pic of the edge because based on your current photos, it's hard to definitively say you have a fossil. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Link Posted July 22, 2009 Author Share Posted July 22, 2009 I think it's shale. What do you mean by the "edge"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 I think it's shale. What do you mean by the "edge"? Could you take another "macaroni" pic of the larger curved side.....in outdoor light? The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Link Posted July 22, 2009 Author Share Posted July 22, 2009 I'll see if I can do that later today. In the meantime, here's some information about the subject. The aperture appears to be concave. The shell is dextral. The body of the shell appears to match the expected shape of a shell; it has a very organic curve. There is evidence of spiraling on the spire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Link Posted July 22, 2009 Author Share Posted July 22, 2009 I think this might be a specimen of a volute from the genus Scaphella, although there are other candidates. If you do a Google image search for Scaphella, you'll see what I mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Link Posted July 23, 2009 Author Share Posted July 23, 2009 OK, I'm not going to be able to add any more pictures tonight, but until I can, I would appreciate any opinions based on the current photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 OK, I'm not going to be able to add any more pictures tonight, but until I can, I would appreciate any opinions based on the current photos. While you're at it, you may try to provide some idea of the geologic formations in the area you found it. If you don't know, then at least a general location would help if it is "native" to the area. At this point Link, any ID response is just wild conjecture.... With clearer pics and a geological context someone here will get you close to the ID. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Link Posted July 23, 2009 Author Share Posted July 23, 2009 Actually, at the moment I just wanna know if it's even a fossil! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Actually, at the moment I just wanna know if it's even a fossil! No worries. Someone will know when you get the better pics and context. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Link Posted July 23, 2009 Author Share Posted July 23, 2009 I believe that it may have come from the Potomac Group. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Link Posted July 23, 2009 Author Share Posted July 23, 2009 OK, if the sun comes out sometime today I'll be able to take an outdoor light shot. But I'm pretty sure it came from the Potomac Group. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Link Posted July 23, 2009 Author Share Posted July 23, 2009 Pictures! They're in the sunlight, but some still needed some brightening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Link Posted July 23, 2009 Author Share Posted July 23, 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Link Posted July 23, 2009 Author Share Posted July 23, 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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