Have you ever seen Archimedes?
Contrary to what people might think, what I'm about to show you is
not Archimedes the Greek mathematician. Though I would love to meet him for myself, we know that's not possible because... well, he's
dead. That's why I'm about to show you something
better.
Now you might ask: What could possibly be better than meeting the guy who shouted
eureka?
A lot of things, actually.
Let me show you!
If that doesn't amaze you, then let me explain. What you're seeing is actually a fossil of our very, very late ancestors. The
Archimedes specie (sp.) is under the phylum bryozoa, which is a classification of organisms that are distinguished from other groups by their colonial living habits, minute bodies, and U-shaped digestion tracks.
Falling under the class Stenolaemata,
Archimedes sp. is characterized by its long, tubular, narrow, and calcified body. When alive, many small organisms called
zooids actually encircled around the fossil you see in the picture. Only the central stalk was attached to the sea floor, and it is the only one preserved because it is not as brittle as the zooids.
What makes
Archimedes sp. notable is that it can be an index fossil for the Mississippian time. This means that, should you happen to find a similar looking fossil while you're digging through your backyard, you can automatically assume that the rocks around you are of Mississippian age. Age correlation is much complicated than that, though, but that's the general idea.
The
Archimedes sp. became extinct during the Permian, just like most of the marine and terrestrial species alive at that time.
This was just one of the fossils I've encountered in my micropaleontology class last semester. I'm planning to post more, featuring other types. There's actually quite a lot of very interesting ones which I would actually want to share here.
Oh, if you have any questions, I'll try my best to answer them! For now, I'd appreciate to know what you thought of this!
Picture taken by myself using my iPhone 6S. The fossil sample belongs to my university.
Information from my Geology 130: Micropaleontology notes, as taken from Invertebrate Fossils (1952) by Raymond C. Moore, Cecil G. Lalicker, and Alfred G. Fischer.
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This is really cool, ive seen a lot of fossils and it is easy to get them mixed up. Check out my page and see the geology I do in my area.
Thank you! That's true, most fossils I've seen are very similar, sometimes differing only in morphology. Sure, I'll take a look at your blog. :)
Can I ask, how did you get so many people to upvote your stuff and you just started out, what’s your secret haha
Oh, I'm not entirely sure as well! I don't have as many followers (although I'm grateful for each and every one of them). And I actually don't always get a lot of upvotes on all of my posts. I guess people just really saw my post and decided to upvote it!
I guess the only thing I can share is to just keep posting quality content! So when people look at your profile, they see someone worth following. :)
Thank you for sharing with us this amazing fossil. I definitely want to see one of those samples in person. :)
You might find some in history or geology museums! My college is quite strict with their samples, so we can't bring them out.
Great thing you stopped by my blog. Hope you dont mind me lurking in yours.
I have always considered geology and paleontology as a rather luxury course. I believe I crossed that off the list when I was taking the UPCAT as i feared the fees and the test of acadamic performance that comes along with the degree.
I believe you will make great blogs here in steemit with your photos of magnificent land forms and geological samples. Follwng you as i am excited to see more
Not a problem at all! Perhaps the most costly things I've bought for my course are my field shoes and pants, but that's it. And they're good investments for me since I hike, even outside of class. The fieldworks are subsidized by the university, so the payments are way lower than usual. What did you end up taking in college, if I may ask?
And thank you, I'm also excited to share more about geology here in Steemit!
I ended up in nursing coz I decided that I wanted to be a doctor haha. Change of plans, though. Now that im almost through with my degree, im fine with it. Its underrated sure but I do love my work. Just sad how low our work compensation is. I guess its all the more reason why I stick to steemit 😊
Oh, I see! I'm glad you ended up loving your chosen career, though. More than the pay, I think what's more important is that you enjoy what you're doing. We can always find ways in how to make extra cash (thank you, Steemit!), but finding a job you like is an entirely different thing. I wouldn't want to end up doing something I don't want for the rest of my life!
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Thanks a lot,
your @treeplanter
www.kedjom-keku.com