About Timothy Expertise I can answer all kinds of questions about the history of life on earth from single-celled organisms to plants to vertebrates, and a few about the earths geologic history. I am particularly knowledgeable about vertebrate paleontology (dinosaurs, reptiles, fish and mammals), archaeology and ancient human history. I also know more than I really should about Spider-Man and Ford Mustangs.
Experience I am from western Nebraska, which is a world-class site for mammalian fossils. I studied paleontology, archaeology and history at the University of Nebraska. While I did not become a professional paleontologist or archaeologist in the end I still study it extensively and have volunteered at several digs here in Nebraska.
Expert: Timothy Date: 9/4/2007 Subject: Questions about a fossil
Question Hello, Timothy. My name is Tracy. I have some questions about a shell I found. While wondering around my yard with a co-worker picking up pieces of old churns and possible artifacts, I came upon a shell-shaped fossil. Looking at it, it almost looks as if whatever lived inside never made it out. I live in Ashville, AL about 7 miles from a river. This isn't the first time I have found traces of fossils in the yard but the first time I found a shell and one that is in such great shape, too. Getting to my questions, 1. You stated that you were familiar with fish, reptiles, so on; are you familiar with any sites that could further assist me as to what kind of shell it is that I found? 2. This shell, how do I know what period of time it came from? 3. Many people in the area claim that at one point in time, the road we all reside on was once a river...are you familiar with any sites that would tell me about the area I live in and when there was once water here? Any information at all you can give me would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Tracy
Oh and one more thing...I recommend studying the Chevy Camaros rather than the Ford Mustangs. :)
Answer Tracy-
Sorry it took me so long to respond to your question - I have been having ISP issues. Anyway-there are a few sites that might possibly be able help you determine what kind of animal you have found: http://www.yale.edu/peabody/collections/ip/
Check the links under Paleobiology on this last one.
It looks like your part of Alabama was right on the coast of the inland sea that existed during the cretaceous period (145 - 65 million years ago). However, the entire Mississippi floodplain has had rivers, streams, estuaries, etc... criss-crossing it for millennia. Since you have found a marine animal, your area was definitely aquatic at one time or another. Most likely a river system in the last 10,000 years passed through the area.
The shell you have found might not be an actual fossil. It could only be a few thousand years old. The only way to find out would be to date the layer of earth that you found it in, and there are really no websites that can do that for you. Your best bet would be to take it to the closest university with a geology department and they might be able to find out how old it is, what species it is, etc... In the meantime, I can give you some rough estimates.
If you found the shell in loose soil, it is probably just a freshwater clam or snail (I obviously don't know what the shell looks like) and not a fossil. Fossils take hundreds of thousands of years to form, and since the area you found it apparently has "old churns and possible artifacts", it would stand to reason that human habitation existed there, so the shell probably isn't more than 10-20 thousand years old.
Also, while the 60's Camaros were cool in a wow-look-how-great-the-mustang-is-Chevy-needs-one-too kind of way, they are sadly just imitators of the original pony car. If you really must go for an F-body GM sports car, you would want a Trans-Am anyway. :)
