transcendental
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2014
Posts: 459 
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Post by transcendental on Mar 5, 2016 21:46:33 GMT -5
Picked this little specimen up at a show held by the local gem and mineral clubs. Fish vertebrae from Morocco. I was very hesitant to buy it but it seems genuine. Theres lots of little bits of what look like fossil all over the matrix, possibly a tooth on the back and some larger bits semi exposed on the side.  Maybe a tooth bottom right  Larger bits semi exposed  Thanks for taking a look, i was pleasantly surprised at how well done the show was and the variety of materials that were for sale. Good day I'd say  |
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller 
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,718 
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Post by Fossilman on Mar 5, 2016 23:49:56 GMT -5
That is a cool fossil.................Thanks for sharing.....
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timloco
has rocks in the head
Member since April 2012
Posts: 545
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Post by timloco on Mar 6, 2016 8:13:17 GMT -5
Neat! I wonder what kind of fish or how old it is.
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inyo
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since September 2014
Posts: 85
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Post by inyo on Mar 6, 2016 10:41:10 GMT -5
Yes. Those associated fish vertebrae from Morocco are Cretaceous in geologic age, from what's called the Khouribga phosphate deposits. Probably they came from the fanged fish, Enchodus whose teeth occur quite commonly in the paleontologically rewarding Mesozoic Era rock formation.
On a related note, some years ago, before the area became off-limits to unauthorized fossil prospecting, I ran across some articulated fish vertebrae in the upper Pleistocene Manix Lake Beds, Mojave Desert, California--from an area that's currently part of the recently established Mojave Trails National Monument; they belonged to a Mojave Tui Chub (called scientifically Gila bicolor mojavensis), approximately 60 to 19 thousand years old.
Associated Tui Mojave Chub Vertebrae From The Upper Pleistocene Manix Lake Beds |
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transcendental
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2014
Posts: 459
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Post by transcendental on Mar 6, 2016 20:30:11 GMT -5
Thanks for that info! I hadn't had a chance to google it yet. Very cool
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Post by jakesrocks on Mar 6, 2016 22:15:46 GMT -5
In the second pic, that appears to be a shark tooth.
The Moroccans are getting quite good at reconstructing fossils. One way to tell if you have an original fossil is to heat a sewing pin to red hot & stick it into the back side. If you get the smell of burning plastic, it's a reconstruction using epoxy mixed with local sand & fossil bits.
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transcendental
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2014
Posts: 459
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Post by transcendental on Mar 7, 2016 11:40:36 GMT -5
Good way to test, tried it out. No smell, no discoloration, nothing. Looks to be real. Woohoo
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