New Members Wilco65 Posted December 13, 2017 New Members Share Posted December 13, 2017 I found this along the Fox River in Elgin, IL. At first I thought it was a stromatoporoid fossil (I find them everywhere in this area), but upon closer inspection I couldn't see anything that looked like pillars or laminae. Someone suggested chaetetid sponge, or a stromatoporoid that was distorted by silicification. I can't find any photos that look like my spec. except dino bone and we don't have those in northern Illinois. Is it a natural formation, crazy looking oolites? I'm totally stumped! More pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Members Wilco65 Posted December 13, 2017 Author New Members Share Posted December 13, 2017 Surface Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted December 13, 2017 Share Posted December 13, 2017 Looks like a stromatolite, to me, with the wavy layers. Maybe someone else will weigh in, though. Regards, 1 Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 IPFOTM -- MAY - 2024 _________________________________________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Members Wilco65 Posted December 13, 2017 Author New Members Share Posted December 13, 2017 A few more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Members Wilco65 Posted December 13, 2017 Author New Members Share Posted December 13, 2017 51 minutes ago, Fossildude19 said: Looks like a stromatolite, to me, with the wavy layers. Maybe someone else will weigh in, though. Regards, As far as I know (which is very little), stromatolites don't have these kinds of cell-like structures. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted December 13, 2017 Share Posted December 13, 2017 I agree. However i am not clever enough to suggest what it is. Stromatoporoid? 1 Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeschWhat Posted December 13, 2017 Share Posted December 13, 2017 Not my area of expertise, but it reminds me of a tree fern. 3 Lori www.areallycrappystory.com/fossils www.facebook.com/fossilpoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimTexan Posted December 13, 2017 Share Posted December 13, 2017 Looks like a biomat or stromatolites to me, but it also looks like it might have a higher silica based mineral content than some. It could be a cryptocrystalline form of silica along the lines of chalcedony. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arizona Chris Posted December 13, 2017 Share Posted December 13, 2017 Off hand Id say its a nice piece of banded agate, but what similar type fossils are found in this area? The idea is to find more specimens that have a better more definitive shape or pattern. We find a lot of zebra jasper in the Redwall here in Arizona mixed in with fossils, they are not fossils, but the silica in them is from a marine bio source originally. 1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arizona Chris Paleo Web Site: http://schursastrophotography.com/fossiladventures.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted December 13, 2017 Share Posted December 13, 2017 I'm not saying is that, but it looks close to an agatized Titea singularis. picture from here 1 " We are not separate and independent entities, but like links in a chain, and we could not by any means be what we are without those who went before us and showed us the way. " Thomas Mann My Library Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted December 13, 2017 Share Posted December 13, 2017 I agree with the agatized fern tree group. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Members Wilco65 Posted December 13, 2017 Author New Members Share Posted December 13, 2017 Thanks for all your responses! The fossils in my area are marine fossils, primarily silurian era. I live in NE Illinois about 40 miles inland of Lake Michigan. Lots of glacial topography and glacial till. Stromatoporoid fossils and fragments are everywhere and except for the layers, this one doesn't look like any I've seen. I've recently started to learn about chaetetid sponge fossils and realized that I have some but thought they were tabulate coral. They have some similarities to this fossil but I haven't seen any where the structures line up like mine. I was thinking it might be a random bone or plant fossil that happened to wash up from somewhere. Unlikely but not impossible; however, I'm pretty sure I spotted a piece of crinoid stem in my fossil. I'll have to check again. I've found all kinds of chert/jasper/chalcedony, etc. (often in the same rock, with druzy quartz and fossils too!) but not with these structures inside. I honestly don't know why I'm so captivated by this piece! Probably because it's beautiful and mysterious, lol. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilurianSalamander Posted January 12, 2023 Share Posted January 12, 2023 On 12/13/2017 at 1:57 PM, Wilco65 said: Thanks for all your responses! The fossils in my area are marine fossils, primarily silurian era. I live in NE Illinois about 40 miles inland of Lake Michigan. Lots of glacial topography and glacial till. Stromatoporoid fossils and fragments are everywhere and except for the layers, this one doesn't look like any I've seen. I've recently started to learn about chaetetid sponge fossils and realized that I have some but thought they were tabulate coral. They have some similarities to this fossil but I haven't seen any where the structures line up like mine. I was thinking it might be a random bone or plant fossil that happened to wash up from somewhere. Unlikely but not impossible; however, I'm pretty sure I spotted a piece of crinoid stem in my fossil. I'll have to check again. I've found all kinds of chert/jasper/chalcedony, etc. (often in the same rock, with druzy quartz and fossils too!) but not with these structures inside. I honestly don't know why I'm so captivated by this piece! Probably because it's beautiful and mysterious, lol. I’ve found a lot of fossils just like this. Scilicified with those layers and strange cells. I’m definitely thinking stromatoporoid or other sponge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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