these are

[jmfg222]

i know nothing about fossils but guessing these are flowers or at least a plant.

 

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[Harry Pristis]

i know nothing about fossils but guessing these are flowers or at least a plant.

The details are obscure in the images, but I can see the plates that suggest it is a "sea lily." A sea lily is an animal - a crinoid - not a plant. Nice finds!

 

[ohio]

Yup, definitely crinoid cups or calices. They look awful similar to Eucalyptocrinites (one of the many species) from the Waldron Shale. Where were they found?
Chuck

 

[jmfg222]

they were found in southern Tennessee.

 

[jmfg222]

here is one that has a little more detail to it.

 

[allen]

awesome looking finds !

 

[ohio]

I have collected Waldron Shale in Indiana many times and have countless examples of this fauna. This link shows some more examples from Indiana

http://www.weekstrilobites.com/waldronshalefossils.htm

The Waldron has awesome preservation and you really should take a second look at where you came up with those calices. There is a huge variety of fossils in the Waldron and you are definitely on the right track to come up with some trilobites as well as other crinoids. Nice stuff.
Chuck

 

[ohio]

Here is a Eucalyptocrinites that I had posted a while back.

 

[ohio]

Here are a couple of Flexicalymene breviceps that I collected in the Waldron of IN and posted a while back.

 

[Tnmountains]

I need to find the waldron shale. Those are all very nice fossils.

 

[Harry Pristis]

Re: these are crinoids

Ya' gotta' love 'em! They are so strange. They are so fragile-looking, but here they are - durable remnants of an undersea garden.

​

 

[Tnmountains]

Re: these are crinoids

Ya' gotta' love 'em! They are so strange. They are so fragile-looking, but here they are - durable remnants of an undersea garden.

​

Looks as if the water just drained away and there they lie,ummm lay.
Is that from your collection and a picture you took?

 

[Harry Pristis]

Re: these are crinoids

Ya' gotta' love 'em! They are so strange. They are so fragile-looking, but here they are - durable remnants of an undersea garden.

Looks as if the water just drained away and there they lie,ummm lay.
Is that from your collection and a picture you took?

Yes, I have a chunk of this matrix. Here's another image of the same surface:

​

 

[Tnmountains]

Are fossils like that found around any of the old coal strip pits ?

 

[Harry Pristis]

Are fossils like that found around any of the old coal strip pits ?

Someone else will have to answer that, 'TnMountains' -- I don't have any experience hunting coal pits.

 

[LanceHall]

Are fossils like that found around any of the old coal strip pits ?

I don't think the conditions that produce coal deposits (swamps) would have any crinoids because they are more open water creatures.