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Dangerjudy wrote:OK what is a SWAG? I really don't know!
Although it is tempting (and romantic) to make it into some sort of critter fossil, with ribs, a head and a tail (bent back as reptiles and birds apparently commonly are when they die), I think it is actually an assembly of ichnofossils. The smaller "tail" to the left has a chevron pattern that is highly unlikely for an actual tail structure, but makes a lot of sense for a feeding trace. The coarser "ribs" look like a heavier-caliber feeding trace. The "head" is either a sitz-mark or may be even a vertical burrow penetrating the bedding plane (you can see some smaller vertical burrows near the "tail"). If you look, you'll notice a couple more of the "rib" marks beyond the "head"; in front of its "nose", if you will.
Larry E. Matthews wrote:People have a tendency to look at fossils, or FLR's (Funny-Looking Rocks) and see something that they are familiar with.
So, if it LOOKS like ribs, that is what they recognize, not the fronds of a bryozoan, since they have never seen a bryozoan.
But, I too would prefer to see the fossil up close and with my hand magnifier.
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