[Matthew Downing]

Can you provide a clearer close-up image? And a close-up of the edges of the specimen.

[Matthew Downing]

Welcome to MyFossil. Fossils are easier to identify if you know the following — Where the fossil was found, both geographically (state, and specific locality)and stratigraphically (different organisms lived at different time periods; higher up in the  cliff = younger, lower down = older).  I am unfamiliar with Alabama fossils, so I’m attaching a geologic map of your state to help you determine the approximate age of your find.

The specimen you are holding appears to be a chunk of coral with impressions of crinoid stems in it.  Hope that helps get you started — good luck!

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[Matthew Downing]

One more time = GENUS

[Matthew Downing]

That word should be <span style=”text-decoration: underline;”>genus</span>. Not sure where all that other stuff came from 🙂

[Matthew Downing]

The giant clam is the largest shelled mollusk living today, but squid and octopi are also mollusks, so the size prize goes to Architeuthis, a g<span class=” fw-n lh-22 fz-14 fc-obsidian”>enus of deep-ocean dwelling squid.  They can reach a size of 33 feet (roughly the size of a school bus) and weigh more than 400 pounds!</span>

[Matthew Downing]

The shells get buried in the mud and the shell often gets remineralized or altered. The mud hardens and often splits along bedding planes which have the fossilized shells in them.  I’ve attached a plate of drawings of some common brachipods.

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[Matthew Downing]

It appears to be a lower jaw with two teeth. Without a scale bar it’s hard to say but my guess is horse or cow.

[Matthew Downing]

 

 

The m two pix remind me of a scallop shell, but the specimen appears very altered and calcified. Could be a mollusk.

Matt

[Matthew Downing]

Hi Paul,

 

Those are very nice mold/cast fossils of brachiopods, which superficially look like mollusks but belong to a different phylum. They have different symmetry and internal organs. Nice specimens!

 

Matt

[Matthew Downing]

It looks like a water-worn piece of fossiliferous limestone (?) — maybe pieces of crinoid stem in it

[Matthew Downing]

It looks more like a fragment of a geode.

[Matthew Downing]

Can you provide a more close-up picture showing the texture clearly?

[Matthew Downing]

I found a PDF of the paper and I think I was right about Pachydiscus — check for yourself.

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[Matthew Downing]

I can’t download the paper, but the species listed includes <span style=”text-decoration: underline;”>Pachydiscus</span> which is my bet.

[Matthew Downing]

Try this journal article:

 

https://www.jstor.org/stable/1306030

[Matthew Downing]

It looks like a river-worn quartz pebble.

[Matthew Downing]

It looks modern, because it looks mostly made of bone, with little of no mineralization.  If it was from a fossil fish, you might expect it to have more of the bone replaced with rock minerals like silicates.

[Matthew Downing]

I agree with the bullfish predentary bone from a modern fish. It is definitely NOT from a sea urchin. That must’ve been a good size fish!

[Matthew Downing]

My best guess is a badly worn shark tooth

[Matthew Downing]

I think you need to post a picture with a little more detail, especially of the head region in order to attempt an ID.  Did the specimen come with a note telling where it was from by any chance?

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