# Strange fossil: any idea what it could be? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 27, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-fossil-any-idea-what-it-could-be/616977 "2012-03-27T20:23:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![xanthous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-fossil-any-idea-what-it-could-be/616977/1 "2012-03-27T20:23:59Z")
[Here’s a YouTube video of it.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjNZRYZ9UsI) Anybody have any clues? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-fossil-any-idea-what-it-could-be/616977/2 "2012-03-27T21:10:42Z")
First guess- a trilobite molt. That is, the preserved shed exoskeleton of a trilobite. ---
**Author:** ![xanthous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-fossil-any-idea-what-it-could-be/616977/3 "2012-03-27T21:19:30Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > First guess- a trilobite molt. That is, the preserved shed exoskeleton of a trilobite. Super cool- I’ll do some research. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-fossil-any-idea-what-it-could-be/616977/4 "2012-03-27T21:39:27Z")
I would guess it’s an endocast of an crayfish curled into a defensive ball. Basically what you are seeing is what the thing looked like without its shell. A couple of decent photos would be more useful than a low res video with the thing covered in shadows where the holder never stops moving the bloody thing. ---
**Author:** ![xanthous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-fossil-any-idea-what-it-could-be/616977/5 "2012-03-27T21:48:25Z")
I’ll post some photos. I figured not being able to see it turning in 3-D would make it harder to ID. My bad. ---
**Author:** ![Cromwell99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3be4f8/32.png) [@Cromwell99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cromwell99)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-fossil-any-idea-what-it-could-be/616977/6 "2012-03-27T23:09:23Z")
I reckon that’s a relative of that S. Palin woman. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-fossil-any-idea-what-it-could-be/616977/7 "2012-03-27T23:43:03Z")
Hey, Cromwell99, I know you’re knew here. so we should clue you in: political jibes are verboten in GQ. They cause too many arguments. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-fossil-any-idea-what-it-could-be/616977/8 "2012-03-28T01:43:45Z")
> [@Cromwell99](#): > > I reckon that’s a relative of that S. Palin woman. > [@Blake](#): > > Hey, Cromwell99, I know you’re knew here. so we should clue you in: political jibes are verboten in GQ. They cause too many arguments. As **Blake** said, General Questions is the one forum where politcal potshots just tend to derail a thread. No warning, go and sin no more. **samclem** , Moderator ---
**Author:** ![xanthous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-fossil-any-idea-what-it-could-be/616977/9 "2012-03-28T01:44:05Z")
[Here’s a link to an album of still shots I took of it.](http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v318/annewaldron/Snapbucket/) ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-fossil-any-idea-what-it-could-be/616977/10 "2012-03-28T01:48:52Z")
> [@xanthous](#): > > [Here’s a link to an album of still shots I took of it.](http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v318/annewaldron/Snapbucket/) This is a Private Album Please enter the password from album annewaldron to view this private album. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-fossil-any-idea-what-it-could-be/616977/11 "2012-03-28T01:49:46Z")
> [@xanthous](#): > > [Here’s a link to an album of still shots I took of it.](http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v318/annewaldron/Snapbucket/) Well, yeah. But for the rest of us, it’s a link to a private album requiring a password we were not given to access it. ---
**Author:** ![xanthous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-fossil-any-idea-what-it-could-be/616977/12 "2012-03-28T11:08:25Z")
Son of a b!tch. The universe is not on my side in this. Back in a bit with a different attempt. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-fossil-any-idea-what-it-could-be/616977/13 "2012-03-28T11:18:56Z")
Okay. That makes it likely to be an artifact or remnant of an Elder Thing, and so the Great Old Ones are altering probability to keep it from being recognized and invoked. ---
**Author:** ![xanthous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-fossil-any-idea-what-it-could-be/616977/14 "2012-03-28T11:51:02Z")
Here you go: [Fossil](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v318/annewaldron/IMG_1901.jpg) [Fossil](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v318/annewaldron/IMG_1899.jpg) [Fossil](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v318/annewaldron/IMG_1898.jpg) [Fossil](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v318/annewaldron/IMG_1897.jpg) [Fossil](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v318/annewaldron/IMG_1896.jpg) [Fossil](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v318/annewaldron/IMG_1895.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-fossil-any-idea-what-it-could-be/616977/15 "2012-03-28T12:01:50Z")
The first image resembles the underside of a crab - there seems to be a sort of tucked-under tail. The third image resembles the top carapace of a crab. The weird split structure may actually be an imprint of a burrow or depression that (if it’s a crab) it excavated to accommodate its legs (if that’s the case, the legs may still be very well preserved inside those paired structures, but I don’t recommend damaging it to find out) ---
**Author:** ![mutantmoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@mutantmoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mutantmoose)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-fossil-any-idea-what-it-could-be/616977/16 "2012-03-28T14:49:04Z")
That is a weird one. Why don’t you post the picture on a fossil identification site like [fossilweb.com](http://www.fossilweb.com/) so that a load of fossil geeks can have a look at it? I clicked on a few pictures on their [specimen list](http://www.fossilweb.com/fw_specimen_list.htm) but none of them seemed to fit apart from the [Coilopoceras](http://www.fossilweb.com/FossilPages/SpecimenFS276.htm) which is at least spherical. If that doesn’t work you could try showing it to a natural history museum (or emailing the pictures to them if you don’t live near one). I’d be interested to know what it is. ---
**Author:** ![xanthous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-fossil-any-idea-what-it-could-be/616977/17 "2012-03-28T15:10:14Z")
> [@mutantmoose](#): > > That is a weird one. Why don’t you post the picture on a fossil identification site like [fossilweb.com](http://www.fossilweb.com/) so that a load of fossil geeks can have a look at it? Just posted to FossilWeb- thanks! I also have a friend going to an upcoming Fossil/Rock/Mineral show and he might take it with him. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-fossil-any-idea-what-it-could-be/616977/18 "2012-03-28T15:26:56Z")
There wasn’t an ancient crashed spaceship near where you found it was there? ---
**Author:** ![xanthous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-fossil-any-idea-what-it-could-be/616977/19 "2012-03-28T15:29:10Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > There wasn’t an ancient crashed spaceship near where you found it was there? There _was_ just a tornado there! (Dexter, Michigan) :eek: ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-fossil-any-idea-what-it-could-be/616977/20 "2012-03-28T15:30:30Z")
[Internal structure](http://www.popcultureshocktoys.com/images/gallery/prototype/alienPredator/alienEgg/alienEgg_02.jpg). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-fossil-any-idea-what-it-could-be/616977.md?page=2)