#Fossil Melting Pot
6 messages in this thread
I live in New Mexico. I went on a field trip where we found some paleozoic
crinoid stems. This was in sanstone. sandstone. Some other members told me
the rock was Quaternary, and the crinoids redeposited. Of course, other junk
was in the sandstone. Also, I found a road cut with brachiopod casts in the
asphalt. The rock nearby was rich in brachiopod shells. When the hot asphalt
was laid down, it obviously was imprinted on the it obviously imprinted
brachiopod shells. This was near Albany, NY. More proof that the earth is only
30 years old!
Hi, David–
I'll wager those "Quaternary" crinoids showed signs of weathering (as opposed
to decay before fossilization) even when broken out of solid sandstone, or that
they were inside other lumps of rock within the sandstone. I am a bit
surprised to hear of so much redeposition within a small area as to make a
fossil collecting site worth a field trip; I have heard of such where geodes
are concerned, but chalcedony is tougher than many fossils. Were these crinoid
fossils of chalcedony/agate/quartz perhaps?
What makes you so sure that brachiopod-bearing asphalt was only 30 years old?
Perhaps the construction workers uncovered a Paleozoic road and claimed they
had built it…
–Doug
The biggest uncertainty in the age of the crinoids was the fellow members who
told me it was quaternary. There wasn't that much junk in the rock, come to
think of it. The crinoid stems did seem weathered, but I have seen worse. I
always thought that sandstone usually came from nonmarine sources. Maybe that
is why they said the rock was quaternary. I am not even sure now it was
sandstone. The only professional geologist in that field trip had gone home
when we came to the outcrop, and we were all amateurs. Some of these guys are
clever, but they do make mistakes. Both rock and sandstone seemed to be
equally soft, and made of similar material. The map did say Permian rock. Near
Albany, there were free brachiopod shells near the highway, coming out of the
rock. Did our paleozoic friends build it underwater? Maybe it was the same
race as "Creature from the Black Lagoon,". Remember, in the movie, the
paleontologists dates one of his ancestors as being Devonian. I have always
been suspicious of upstate New Yorkers.
Hi, David–
I expect some sandstones are marine deposits. Being an amateur, I can not
think of any sure examples in rock, but one certainly can find sandy areas
undersea. I don't know if a crinoid would be caught dead in such a sandy
area…
–Doug
Sandstone is, or at least can be, a rock depending on how well cemented
(indurated) it is. A lot of it is marine.
That highway in upstate New York was NOT built in the Devonian. It was created
at 3:06 am (EDT) August 22nd, 2043BC along with the rest of the universe.
It is indeed prudent and prescient of you to be suspiscious of upstate New
Yorkers. They are plotting against you.
I have evidence that the upstate New Yorkers have formed an allegiance with the
Eastern New Mexicans, a group that I have had recent dealings with. And I
think the city of Carlsbad was created 2043 BC.