I am posting two pictures of my latest fossils. There will be no explanation. This is the second time an error message rejected a posting, and would not accept it. But when I posted it again, some really strange software rejected it as a duplicate posting. The first time even major rewrites would not get the posting in. That is very demotivating. So, pictures but no attempt to explain them because it will be rejected.
I got these two fossils last week. The fish is around 4-3/4 inches tip to tail. The rock with the small plants is two inches across the base. They are most likely cretaceous era fossils, and are embedded in flagstone.
I am in rural Mexico. These area was at one time under the sea, it is now at around 6,000 feet above sea level.
I also have a 4 inch rock which looks like a snail.
And, I will see if I can post a picture of camel tracks in a sheet of rock, not far away from where I live. The locals thought they were cow tracks, but external experts came and said they were camel tracks. Strange for the heart of Mexico at 6,000 feet, er, below the sea.
I was told by a guide at the fossil museum near the camel tracks I can possess the fossils legally, but it is illegal to take them out of the country without an expensive permit probably not available to private individuals.
Here is the snail, though I think I read somewhere that some mollusks are confused as snails. Naturally, if anyone can properly identify any of these fossils, I will not complain.
I remeasured and this fossil is closer to five inches at the longest dimension.
The camel tracks are awesome - that must be cool visiting that site. Makes you wonder what else can be found around there. As for the top picture, it almost looks like a turtle rather than a fish. My eyesight must be going!
I see your point. He told me fish are very rare, but the fish he said he'd give me had part missing at the back, but was otherwise perfect. It broke while he was cutting it to size, and he gave me another one, which seems to preclude his claim of rareness. So, this one has some damage, those white spots around the fish.
The problem is the head is very shiny, almost like a fish scale, and that did not scan very well. So, the head is not visible in this scanned image. But, it is a fish. The tail, a very good fish tail, also may not be as obvious as I'd like, again due to the white spots. It looked to me like a mullet. In the museum there was a similar fish, and I wrote down it's Latin name, and now I can't find it. Sigh.
You asked what else might be here. It is known that the Moctezuma family owned property in this area, as in many parts of Mexico. And, my wife is known to be a descendant of the Moctezuma family. We know who the woman was from the family, who married the local chief before Cortes, and we know some of them in the 1700's. then we know my wife's great-grandma was of the Moctezuma family, born 1866. But, at this point in time, there are long gaps over that 500 years.
There are only two of that family still here, as far as I can tell.
I just posted on another thread of a finding of six bodies near here, with ceremonial cups. Since the church was running by 1620, and all deaths were buried there, these must be very old. No, these were not reported to the government, but reburied due to lack of trust in the government. Alas, I did not see them.
There are other historical places as well, including one called the Tetele of Moctezuma. Local legends, based on oral tradition is that not only Moctezuma II was buried here, but so is his treasure. These are indeed legends with hair on their chest.
If you are at all interested, I have posted plenty on the Aztec Gold thread, including a small "cave" we found just this week on our property.
Fish? I couldn't swear to it. The snail is a steinkern, a cast of the interior of a gastropod.
Here's an example from Germany of the manganese dendrites on your flagstone. These dendrites appear widely around the world where geological circumstances allow.
“A man should keep his little brain attic stocked with all the furniture that he is likely to use, and the rest he can put away in the lumber room of his library, where he can get it if he wants it.”
--Sherlock Holmes (Arthur Conan Doyle) in "The Sign of Four"
Yes, it is a fish. There is clearly damage to the rock around the fish, and the head which is of a strange shiny nature, did not photograph well. It is a fish. The museum has one just like it, though bigger. Somehow I lost the paper I noted the scientific name on. When/if I find it I will post it.
Thank you for the identification of the two fossils. My grand-daughter will be delighted to know.
I guess the word pseudo fossil speaks for itself. Still, I will use Google to learn as much as I can.
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