Fossil identification

[Royston]

I recently went fossil hunting with my housemate in Folkestone (Kent, south coast of England), and I was wondering if anyone could help in identifying this find. The period is Cretaceous, mid possibly lower Albian, and the fossil is embedded in gault clay.

 

At first glance it appears to be a fern, but the white coating is the same material as shell fragments found in the same slab, so calcite or possibly calcium phosphate. Note how the lower end curls round, and a series of smaller decreasing ridges can be seen on the right side, going back up. I've scoured a number of websites, but I can't find anything remotely similar. So, any ideas ?

 

 

 

[Mokele]

That is utterly bizarre; I've never seen anything like it. If I had to take a guess, I'd guess some sort of colonial mollusk or worm (possibly a colonial serpulid worm), though it may be a single fossil which has been broken along the ridges (I can't see well enough to tell).

[Royston]

Thanks for the suggestions Mokele, but I still can't find any similar examples. There's a couple of paleontology websites I've come across where you can submit photographs for identification, so I'll give that a go.

 

My housemate posted this is on our Uni forums, and one suggestion was a Hamite, but all the Hamites I've looked at have a threaded (like a screw) shell, and even if flattened, the symmetry of the ridges wouldn't be straight line segments. If I get any feedback, I'll be sure to post it.

 

EDIT: well my housemate has just shown me a Hamite that has symmetrical ridges (as opposed to a screw thread) but it doesn't explain the central divide, running along the length of the fossil, or the possible third segment that may have broken off (or if it does indeed curl round.)

Edited June 26, 2009 by Snail

[CaptainPanic]

Could it be part of a much larger animal? Are we perhaps looking at a tooth (molar)?

I just thought that this remark might expand your horizon a bit. I'm not an expert (not even an amateur) - I hope that was helpful.

[Royston]

Could it be part of a much larger animal? Are we perhaps looking at a tooth (molar)?

I just thought that this remark might expand your horizon a bit. I'm not an expert (not even an amateur) - I hope that was helpful.

 

Unfortunately, it remains a mystery, my friend studies the subject, and has been fossil hunting for some years. I haven't received any further feedback. Part of me quite likes the idea of owning a curiosity, but it would be nice to put a name to a face, albeit it has no face, or even a head for that matter.

[Mythranil]

Pretty sure this is an ammonite - there's a specific shell morphology (can't recall the term) that is almost columnar in appearance; my guess is that you're looking at one that was split open along the long axis before becoming fossilized.

 

I've hunted down a picture of the type of ammonite I had in mind - what are your impressions based on this?