Anyone know of a good web-site where I can have some fossils identified? I've got a good collection of fossils I've picked up over the years, I've tried to identify them myself, but I'm not an expert on identifying fossils. I have taken pics of at least five of them, and whould really love to find out exactly what they are fossils of. I know I have a coral fossil, but what kind of coral? I do know that they are all invertebrate fossils and are marine animals. One rock in particular is very strange, I don't know what it is, or if its anything.
You may want to try these links: http://www.exploringthepotteries.or...ock_minerals_and_fossils/pages/irmf_intro.htm http://www.uky.edu/KGS/fossils/fossilid.htm#k
Thanks for the links. I can, but it may take a while, because I have dial-up. I will post them though.Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
The websites are good, I might find what I'm looking for. I will probably post the fossils when I get 20 posts.
Cool, be sure to mention what they are if you have found it already by then Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
You could try posting the pictures on www.geologyrocks.co.uk someone there might be able to tell you.
Okay now that I have 20 post, I can put some of my pics up. At first I was'nt even sure if this was a fossil, I found it buried halfway on the mudbank of a river. Now I know its Tufa, read more - [ENC]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tufa[/ENC] Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! This one is kind of unusual, I always knew it was not a fossil. I believe its a result of concretion. read more - [ENC]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concretion[/ENC] Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! This one I never got a clear answer for. They said if its a fossil its a badly preserved one, or it could just be a strange shaped rock. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Here are the other two. Its clear that this one is a fossil, as a matter of fact this rock has fossils all over it. However, this is the only intresting fossil on the whole rock. Its probably a coral or a sponge. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! This one is a colonial coral I believe. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Awesome Star-gazer, thanks for the pictures ! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! I can not help you with their identification however.. I do have a rock similar to the one shown in the first picture in post 11. Do you know what the texture in the upper right corner is from ?
I'm not sure what it is, it could just be another type of coral. Never considered any other fossils on the rock. I'll get a better pic of the whole rock.
the specimen circled in red is a bryozoan or moss-animal they're colonial filter-feeding animals not related to corals check wikipedia for bryozoan, i'm not allowed to post links yet en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryozoa
Thanks for the input. I believe that it is, now that I've looked it up. It looks as though some of the fossil is going into the rock even further. How can I expose more of the fossil without damaging it?
assuming that the matrix is limestone, a weak acid like acetic acid or very diluted hydrochloric acid might do the job, although if the fossils are substantially made of the same substance you might want to cover exposed parts of the fossil with some sort of lacquer after you take out he sample at regular intervals and rinse off the acid if you haven't done it before, it might be worthwhile to try it out first on some pieces where it doesn't matter if it goes wrong (i once accidentally left a sample in a 10% hydrochloric acid solution over the weekend to find that at the end of it there was no sample left at all)
this jellyfish fossil is for sale on ebay. I think someone is seriously deluded. Or am I just missing it?? Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
surely he's having a laugh ? the "tentacles" he refers to are just the way the cobble has cracked open as for any evidence that this is a jellyfish, the photograph doesn't show it - all i can see is some bulge near the centre that could be anything i'd rather see the specimens from various angles, so you can tell whether the brown rim is due to pre-existing cracks or not, and whether the specimen really is raised 3.5 inches "fossils" like these are the reason why so many people are disappointed when they bring one of their specimens to a museum, only to be told it's nothing but a funny shaped rock to be really convincing despite the photograph, i'd like to see some details of its geological origin, and some attempt at classification beyond "jellyfish", preferably by a knowledgeable paleontologist for pics of real jellyfish of Mazon Creek, this one looks far more distinct than the example below fossilmall.com/EDCOPE_Enterprises/Mazon-Creek/MC28/MC-fossils-28.htm (sorry still not allowed to post links, just place 'www' in front of the address + the link should work)
It would be rare to find a jellyfish fossil, soft bodied animals are hard to come by in the fossil record. If you came across a real jellyfish fossil it whould probably be a little more expensive then what that ones going for. How about this one- http://cgi.ebay.com/RARE-UNDESCRIBED-JELLYFISH-KRUKOWSKI-QUARRY-WI_W0QQitemZ280193451054QQihZ018QQcategoryZ3214QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQtrksidZp1638.m118.l1247QQcmdZViewItem
