Unknown Fossil Species

[TJE]

Hello, These are two quite large fossils from my Silurian age collection. Has anyone seen any species from this fossil period resembling them or any info?
They have yet to be seen or studied professionally.
Thanks
TJE

 

[Harry Pristis]

Can't say for sure from these images, but these objects remind me of Diplocraterion, an ichnofossil. The rings would be "spreiten" which are layers of backfill at the bottom of the burrow. No one know what sort of soft-bodied animal made the burrow.

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[old digger]

Quite an interesting find!

 

[TJE]

Thanks H.P. Will check into it. These fellas were discovered and chiseled-out of a flat stone layer 5-6" thick, laying perfectly flat (horizontal in the stone)?
I was guessing possible 'gills'...instead of rings. They remind me of the plentiful smaller cephalopods I have.(especially the squid family of 430-million yrs ago).
Thanks for the tip.
TJE

 

[TJE]

Thanks old digger, Yes...these have "stumped" me for a few years now!

 

[old digger]

Almost like giant worm castings?

 

[TJE]

The bottom of both (2 separate specimens) is the bottom of the perfectly flat layer of stone, so if they were round and 'soft bodied' when alive...they 'flattened' somewhat on the sea floor in death, (guessing!) from their 'half oval' shape?
But if they were 'hard bodied' (shell armor)?? HA!!

 

[TJE]

Had a 'look-see' into the diplocraterion burrows H.P., but they seem quite different, plus being 'upright' through the stone layers.

 

[Harry Pristis]

Thanks H.P. Will check into it. These fellas were discovered and chiseled-out of a flat stone layer 5-6" thick, laying perfectly flat (horizontal in the stone)?
I was guessing possible 'gills'...instead of rings. They remind me of the plentiful smaller cephalopods I have.(especially the squid family of 430-million yrs ago).
Thanks for the tip.
TJE

Did you chisel these out of the matrix, TJ? They appear to be stream-worn.

Can you say with certainty that, when discovered, the fossils were in the original life-position? Indiana/Ohio(?) prehistory is not marked by radical crustal movements, but stream-bank breakdown, road-cut breakdown, and quarry-face breakdown can be misleading. Orientation may be misinterpreted.

 

[TJE]

Yes H.P., In the pics you can see a distinct wave line running the length of the shorter, 12" (darker colored) specimen, all that was visible was its 'clearest part' protruding, the rest (backside) was hidden, the stone layer from bottom of fossil to the top of the stone layer was about 5-6" thick.I had to 'pop' (chisel) the back matrix to reveal what you see here!....This was the only one I'd discovered....then, about 7-8 years later...hunting through a pile of 'garbage stone' that my grandfather had already quarried 40-50 yrs ago...I discovered the longer (light colored) specimen! Which has been open to our sun and weather elements for that amount of time. That is why the longer of the two are different. So..yes, I know exactly how they laid at death. I've some fossils which where 'vertical' in the layers...but not these fellas.
Hope I explained it ok and you understand what I mean in what I've wrote.
TJE

 

[TJE]

An example of what I mean about "stone layers" where these fossils are in....this pic is of 7-8" thick stone steps layer.(the flat bottom of these fossils would be at the bottom of these step layers)

 

[Harry Pristis]

Well, if they were horizontal in life-position, perhaps they represent Zoophycos, another ichnofossil which leaves spreiten in its burrows.

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[Ninjafossils]

Kind of looks like an internal mold of a straight shelled nautaloid

 

[TJE]

Well H.P., Viewed every 'Zoophycos' I could find and personally feel..no resemblance at all, (just my opinion!)

 

[TJE]

Can you elaborate a bit N.F.? (curious as to these... an Internal "half moon" mold?)....shouldn't it (they) be 'circular'?

 

[TJE]

Honestly don't believe these are life-position..(trace fossils)

 

[TJE]

Maybe a possible type of gaint squid Cephalopod ?? (guessing) from the flattened shape from possible laying on the sea bottom after death before fossilization! ?

 

[Ninjafossils]

That is what i said

 

[TJE]

Right.