Discussion
We had a walk on the Yorkshire coast yesterday and picked up a few fossils, mainly ammonites etc. but there is one that is flummoxing us a bit and I can't find anything like it online. Anybody here know anything about fossils and have any idea what it could be? It's about the length of a finger but obviously a fair bit thicker.
What type of deposits did you fin the fossil in?
The rock formations in which fossils are found are a strong indicator of the landscape that existed when the specimen was alive. As you mention ammonites, that would indicate that the deposits are from an ancient sea bed so it is most likely that the fossil you have found will be of a sea creature of some sort.
On that basis it could be a sponge or a sea cucumber - or failing that, an ichtyosaur's todger
The rock formations in which fossils are found are a strong indicator of the landscape that existed when the specimen was alive. As you mention ammonites, that would indicate that the deposits are from an ancient sea bed so it is most likely that the fossil you have found will be of a sea creature of some sort.
On that basis it could be a sponge or a sea cucumber - or failing that, an ichtyosaur's todger
Lapsed geologist here, but not a specialist in palaeontology... That said it appears to be in a fine silt or clay (or possibly marl - limey clay basically) - stuff some 10% hydrochloric acid on it and tell me if it fizzes. The 'fossil' itself seems to be coarser grained. That could be because of replacement mineralisation during the fossilisation process, or possibly because it reflects a different nature to the sediment in this area as the rock formed.
Given the lack of any kind of structural definition on the surface and the material it's found in, I'm wondering if it might be a 'fossilised' burrow rather than an animal itself. Burrows are often backfilled with different sediment (or at least different grain sizes) which might well fit with what we can see.
Given the lack of any kind of structural definition on the surface and the material it's found in, I'm wondering if it might be a 'fossilised' burrow rather than an animal itself. Burrows are often backfilled with different sediment (or at least different grain sizes) which might well fit with what we can see.
Thanks; I did toy with the idea of it being a burrow which would explain it being shaped like a worm but without the ridges. I don't have any HCL kicking about I'm afraid but it's from the cliffs on the North Yorkshire coast which are clearly composed in the most part of layers of sediment mixed with sandstone.
Why don’t you contact the Yorkshire Geological Society. I am sure they wouldn’t mind helping.
https://www.yorksgeolsoc.org.uk/
https://www.yorksgeolsoc.org.uk/
Can anyone shed any light on what exactly this is.
It looks rather phallic, and I'm not sure if it's naturally worn to this shape or what.
It was given to me in 1989 by a lass I was living with in Amiens, France. It wouldn't surprise me if it isn't a nob or finger broken off a statue.
Any ideas?
(Oh and before you ask, yes, she did use it).
(Why oh why oh why does every single photo I take come out wrongly oriented? It's doing my head in).
It looks rather phallic, and I'm not sure if it's naturally worn to this shape or what.
It was given to me in 1989 by a lass I was living with in Amiens, France. It wouldn't surprise me if it isn't a nob or finger broken off a statue.
Any ideas?
(Oh and before you ask, yes, she did use it).
(Why oh why oh why does every single photo I take come out wrongly oriented? It's doing my head in).
If you look at about nine o’clock on the broken end you can see a conchoidal fracture. Shaped like a shell. That’s a giveaway that it could be flint, which commonly fractures this way. Flint also forms within chalk into nodules with rounded and often elongated shapes.
I like the way your girlfriend was thinking though.
I like the way your girlfriend was thinking though.
Roofless Toothless said:
If you look at about nine o’clock on the broken end you can see a conchoidal fracture. Shaped like a shell. That’s a giveaway that it could be flint, which commonly fractures this way. Flint also forms within chalk into nodules with rounded and often elongated shapes.
I like the way your girlfriend was thinking though.
That's fascinating - I had no idea that it could form like that - I felt sure that her and her mate had broken it off some priceless statue.I like the way your girlfriend was thinking though.
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