What is it ??

[kris]

My daughter is very interested in this fossil that I found.. I Know next to nothing about such things.. Could anyone help us to identify what the organism was..

Thanks..Kris

[Knarf]

Hi Kris,

I think you need to post a larger picture, the details are hardly visible.

[kris]

Thanks Knarf.. Ill take another shot and place something to scale the object..

[kris]

I\'ve attached a larger image , however it appears the same size on the forum. Ill have to investigate how to put it as an attachment..

[kris]

Looks very clear now!

[Knarf]

To me they look like Brachiopods (perhaps Spiriferids?), but don\'t take my word for it because I\'m an amateur.

Maybe someone else can shed some light on this?

[FossilDude]

definitely brachiopods.
In the upper one you can see the interior of the brachiopod. The imprints of the muscles are nicely visible.

I am not good at brachiopod taxonomy, so I can\'t help you with that.

greatings,

Johan

[kris]

Thanks Knarf and Fossil dude , thats got me in the right direction.. Note.. I found it on Australias east coast, I surpose these things had a world wide range?

[Knarf]

Brachiopods were common and they still are, but what species of brachiopod these are and whether that specific species had a global distribution is unknown to me.

You could try searching the internet for images of brachiopods and then comparing them to yours. Some more info can be found here: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/brachiopod ... opoda.html