Flower Mound Fossils

[TXHunter]

Hey Gang,

Here are a couple of finds i picked up in a catch basin in Flower Mound. I believe the first is a nodule, then a gastropod, and then a part of a turtle shell. I also found an echinoid there (my first ever).

[TXHunter]

Anyone else ever had any luck in Flower Mound? I also found some nice pieces of pyrite and couple of fossilized shells with the critters still in them.

There were lots of the turtle shell pieces closer to the bottom of the pit along with clam shells and gatropods.

[tracer]

well, i had thought maybe you'd get more feedback by now. i'm not sure that your identifications on the things you found are exactly correct. the first, large thing looks like hard clay with septa (cracks) in it that filled with aragonite/calcite. the second thing kinda looks like a horn coral, but i'm not positive without more views of it, preferably close up ones. it might be a filled vug of some kind. the "turtle shell" - not sure. fossil turtle shells don't usually fossilize like that. there are some very strange mineral formations in sedimentary rock, and i never get tired of seeing them, but a bunch of them can fool you. they're called "pseudofossils", because they look like fossils even though they're not.

but you're getting around some, and you're in a great part of texas for finding lots of cool things, so you'll learn more and more as you go. wade through as many pictures and information online as you can to speed up the learning curve.

good hunting...

[makoken]

I agree with Tracers id. The 3rd pic does look like horn coral. Keep hunting. Your finding some good stuff, and it will only get better!!

[Dave Bowen]

The first ID you said was a "nodule" which I assume you meant septarian nodule, in which you would be correct. The second looks like a horn coral, but again it's hard to tell. It's shaped like a turitella so without better pics, it's tough. Can you get a pic of the large end looking inside? If it looks like a wagon wheel and kind of spoked, it's probably coral. The last 2 look like some kind of iron formation, but with the pics it's again tough to tell. I personally haven't seen anything like it that was that big.

Anyhow, very cool finds indeed!