New Members om fossil Posted July 26, 2009 New Members Share Posted July 26, 2009 Hey, I am excited to join the fossil hunting community, I thank you all for this wonderful resource. My first fossil to be identified is rather small, yet was easily pulled out of a a larger rock loaded with shells and other fossils. It was found hiking in my backyard in the Catskills in Ulster county, NY. Photos showing the fossil with a ruler are in centimeters. My friend thought it was an acorn or root from the forest, not believing a loose feature would be found on such a fossil. It appeared round at first, but upon further examination I realized it was certainly rock, and flat on the back side. By applying a small amount of force it slipped out. All these photos feature this fossil, Photo 5 shows the space left by the fossil, and photo 6 shows the fossil as it fit in the rock when found. From reading about fossils found locally in the Catskills, and after talking to a friend I believe it is part of the seabed from the Devonian age. The greater specimen it was removed from is full of brachiopods, bivalves and other invertebrates. I have attached a photo featuring the backside of the larger specimen, with 2 other unidentified parts labeled "?", feel free to comment. I first thought it appears to be an ancestor of the horseshoe crab, but this was just my guess. There are no legs at all visible in either the fossil or the rock it was removed from, so I am not sure what it might be. The lobes on the underside look like a nervous system and make me feel it's a animal, also just a guess. How common is it to be able to remove a fossil with no tools? It really just fell out with no effort. Thanks for your help, Foa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamalama Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 Welcome to the Forum! It looks like the internal mold of a Brachiopod shell. Mud filled in the empty space of the shell and hardened. I'm not sure what genus as it's much harder to ID from internal molds than exterior shells. The two oval shaped sections that you see in the first four pictures are the areas of the shell where the muscles were attached. These kinds of fossils are not uncommon and can be relatively easily removed as they are sometimes attached to the rock by very little. The rock you found the mold in is full of other Brachiopod shell impressions too, including the two you have arrows pointing two. Not a bad first find. -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...
jeepinthemud Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 What a find! What a piece to look at! If it were mine, I would be sitting there, turning it around, and around.... And Welcome! "To do is to be." -Socrates "People are Stupid." -Wizard's First Rule "Happiness is a warm Jeep." -Auspex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bishop54 Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 Yeah great first find man. You're finding stuff that i've been finding since my hunting site is not terribly far from the Catskills. Those rocks you're finding are the exact shade and texture of the ones I find. Keep going, you'll find some cool stuff. I have more to share with everyone. I'll post in the ID section later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 Welcome to the Forum! That kind of fossil is called a "steinkern", which means "stone seed". It is an internal cast: the seashell filled up with, and was buried in, sediment. After the sediment solidified, the original shell material disintegrated, and the steinkern was left loose in the matrix (this is why it was easy to remove). "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...
New Members om fossil Posted July 27, 2009 Author New Members Share Posted July 27, 2009 Thanks for all your help, It's greatly appreciated. I will post more pictures of the larger specimen soon. Wish us luck on our next hunts. -FoA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erose Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 Where exactly was this stuff found? The Catskills are a pretty big area. There is also a great deal of glacial drift material to be found in stream beds and often in old rock walls. It may be from a bit further north but still Devonian. But you are certainly correct that it is Devonian in age. The Silurian and Lower Devonian are exposed along the eastern and northern flanks: Shawangunks and Helederbergs but the Catskills themselves are mostly Middle and Upper Devonian. Your stuff looks like it may be from the Oriskany Sandsone. Often the fossils are just hollow molds or internal casts. The one that popped free is definitely a brachiopod. Might even be one called Costellirostra peculiaris. The State museum sells excellent maps and books. Go online. Also see if you can find a copy of Devonian Paleontology of New York by David M. Linsley. It's what I used to ID the brachiopod. PRI in Ithaca published it. Try the library too. The majority of the fossils in that rock are all brachiopods, including the ones you have arrows to. I hear it's been cool up your way this summer. If you put some of that cool air in a box and send it to me I'll pay the shipping.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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