Specimen 109750 – myFOSSIL

Found at a beach long ago and finally want some answers as to how old this may be and what the organisms inside are. Any help on identification would be great! Wondering if there are actual shells in this rock or if what i am seeing is granite filling in imprints from mud beds long ago. I wetted the rock so you can see the features better. The rock is very smooth overall and has some slight glints of sparkle to it.

Catherine Bernal posted a new specimen in the group Beach Fossils from the myFOSSIL app 1 year, 7 months ago

1 year, 7 months ago

1 year, 7 months ago

Catherine Bernal has contributed specimen mFeM 109750 to myFOSSIL!
- Craig Ferguson replied 1 year, 7 months ago
  
  Beautiful piece. Can you date the rock? Those curved pieces look like dorsal and ventral brachiopod shells
- Catherine Bernal replied 1 year, 7 months ago
  
  I would love to but how does one date their fossils?
- Patrick Hsieh replied 1 year, 7 months ago
  
  Go to https://macrostrat.org/map/#/z=10.2/x=-121.9582/y=36.9845/bedrock/lines/, pan to where you found it and it should tell you what formation and date the bedrock is. You can internet search that formation and see if the rocks match up with what you have.
- Catherine Bernal replied 1 year, 7 months ago
  
  Keep finding things that say anywhere from 6 – 2 million years old! Thats wild.
- MacKenzie Smith replied 1 year, 7 months ago
  
  @catherine-bernal Lots of snails and clams! I don’t know the species though since I’m unfamiliar with Mio-Pliocene molluscs from California.
- MacKenzie Smith replied 1 year, 7 months ago
  
  @catherine-bernal To answer your question about how it formed though, yes, these are the actual shells. They are preserved in a course-fine grain sandstone. We would not find fossils associated with granite because that is a rock that forms from magma cooling underground.
- Catherine Bernal replied 1 year, 7 months ago
  
  @mackenzie-smith and @patrick-hsieh thank you!

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