Concreation Fossil Ohio

[jhenry]

Found this in the Huron River, Ohio. Devonian age fossil, any idea what it is?
Thanks for your help!

 

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[IronSpike]

Welcome to Tnet jhenry

That's a big fossil. Maybe some more pics would help (the whole fossil/different views etc.). Also the Fossils forum here on Tnet may be able to help. Interesting fossil with the two different colors

 

[Cappy Z.]

Thanks for posting. You might try to make your photos much smaller so we can can a better idea and might be able to help you. Try sending the photo email..the computer always reduces the size prior to sending..you then can save the same pic by just changing the file 'name'. This way it will all 'fit' on the screen. Then again I could be wrong.

Good Luck

just realized there is a photo tutorial in this thread! use it.
Good Luck.

 

[nhbenz]

Hope the size reduction helps, but I have no idea what it is:

 

[Mackaydon]

Reminds me of a flounder, including the center line --as seen here:
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...mage_result&resnum=2&ct=image&ved=0CA0Q9QEwAQ

 

[IronSpike]

Reminds me of a flounder, including the center line --as seen here:
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...mage_result&resnum=2&ct=image&ved=0CA0Q9QEwAQ

I can see the flounder suggestion. Almost has more of a diamond shape.

 

[Mackaydon]

If it is a fish, that brings down the number of candidates to about 165 known fish that lived in the Devonian period.
Good luck,
Don....

 

[Cappy Z.]

Yes! Great job on the photo!

 

[johnnyi]

Henry, it is a fascinating specimen what ever it is. I assume this is adhering to limestone? Some things are curious about it, one being the lack of any trace of bone structure. The formation of the limestone, as well as the visible edge of another gray layer several inches beneath this one seem to suggest this might be mineral rather than animal?

 

[Michaelangelo]

Looks to me like a skull of some kind of animal.

 

[Buck Bagaw]

I'm guessing you found some critter's flipper.

 

[Sorroque]

I see a Flounder or a Fluke .
Perhaps a Stegasauras radiator fin.

Two ghost towns come to mind here. "Sinclair", Tennessee, and, "Prestone", Tennessee.

 

[traderoftreasures]

looks like a prehistoric cow patty that some one rode a bicycle thru

 

[goldie1959]

think maybe its a complete trilobyte if so a complete one(to my knowledge) has never been found. they come in all sizes. dont disturb the layers and contact a university state level if possible

 

[Breezie]

I agree with Goldie; here's a pic of a repro. Breezie

 

[baspinall]

Looks like a plate off of a Stegosaurus, towards the tail would be smaller. Not sure if they were in that area or not though?

Brian

 

[artzstuff1]

From the look of it it looks like a birds head!!! with the nostril holes?


arthur

 

[Monty]

Dang, this is like the Rochart test in psychology! Everyone sees someting different. Some of us must be crazy! M nty

 

[johnnyi]

"Concretions are commonly misunderstood geologic structures. Often mistaken for fossil eggs, turtle shells, or bones, they are actually not fossils at all but a very common geologic phenomenon in all types of sedimentary rock; including sandstone which is made up of compacted sand grains, shale which is made up of compacted mud, siltstone which is made up of a fine grained silt, and limestone which is made up of calcium carbonate precipitated by many marine invertebrates." http://images.google.com/imgres?img...?q=how+are+concretions+formed&hl=en&sa=N&um=1

This definition seems to fit your example, which appears to be a non-fossil secretion. If you look carefully at what at first appears to be a fossil you'll see that similar deposits of black mineral exist throughout this entire formation which happen not to be exposed. As well, carefully looking at the left hand side of the apparent fossil shows a spreading of black mineralization, rather than an original shape which was preserved within the surrounding rock.

 

[jhenry]

Hi TNETTERS I took the concreation to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. This is what the man in charge of fossil restoration said.....It's a piece of the skull and thoracic shield of dunkleorsteus terrelli. This ferious arthrodire fish was a preditor in the Devonian Seas of Ohio. The skull of this fish is nearly 1.4 meters long. This is a plate or part of the thoracic shield, approximately 360 million years old. The museum wants me to donate this and several other pieces of the skull. This skull is pictured on the front cover of 'Fossils of Ohio'. Thanks for the input!