I found a very interesting web site:
http://tapestry.usgs.gov
Pitter might be able to use this to identify the age of the rocks he/she found the sample in.
Here ya go. Its my best guess because the pictures needed some more section. My thinking:
The Ordovician limestones of Missouri have a number of fossils so I looked at something I could recognize. Fortunately your number 3 fossil was a typical brachiopod from the mid Ordovician . Its name is VALCOUREA.
Therefore, I assumed your other fossils came from approximately the same geologic section. So, number 1 and 1a are chunks of cephalopods, partly coiled. If they were mid Ordovician like the VAlcourea, then the genus would be OPHIOCERAS. Same thing with 1a.
Number 2 is probably a longitudinal section either ,
A a long section through an ophioceras, showing the little growth chambers (these fossils are ancient Nautilus -like cephalopods'OR
B Its a cross section through a crinoid stem. Its hard to tell. I have no idea what number 4 is because the picture is not-so-great
If you take pictures of fossils for your own hobby, I would reccomend you make up a small 3x5 card with a sharp black and white visual scale. Use a black sharpie and draw a double set of parallel lines and then draw a one inch black box, then a white, then another black, like a checkerboard pattern.Every time you take a picture, have your little scale in the view . (Of course most of us just use a quarter, cause its about an inch in diameter. That gives one a visual scale to compare stuff against.
No coprolites from the Paleozoic that Im aware.
Those were some neat sites Rosborne. I tagged the tapetry one, its a good quickie reference of geo ages from various areas of the country (US)
Hi Farmerman,
Yes, I liked the geotapestry site as well. It's kind of fun knowing how old the gound you're standing on is.
A lot of the rocks we see around Boston are glacial irratics, but I guess the foundation below us is pretty old.
Glad to see farmerman made it to this thread! I knew he'd come up with a better idea on the origin. I am glad to have the Tapestry USGS link, too, so thanks all for your contributions here. BTW, glad to see the farmerman comment about using a coin for reference with a fossil. In eBay (where I pick up my fav mineral specimens) it helps a great deal in making a decision to bid.
you can buy minerals and fossils on eBay? under which category are they?
I often visit eBay to look at antiques but I dont bid because I dont quite trust buying blanket chests from digital pix. They are so easy to fake
Collectibles -- Rocks, Fossils, Minerals
Thanks very much, I appreciate the input and feedback. Haven't studied fossils as such but always curious about the ones I find.
Pitter, I envy your living in an area where you *can* find fossils. The Boston area, where I live now, doesn't offer much along those lines unfortunately.
When I was a kid living in New Jersey, we used to find fossilized sharks teeth in the local creek. I loved that
Best Regards,
As a kid I lived in up state New York, Schoharie to be exact and that area too was loaded with fossils. In fact that's where the "sponge" like fossil in the photos came from. A month or so ago I was in Villa De Leva in Boyaca Department of Colombia and it has a couple of small fossil museums with lots of remains of large marine animals. The area was covered by ocean and there's a lot of fossil exploration going on. Most of the good ones end up in US collections for some reason.
