Very Rare Fossil Sponges I found : BRACHIOSPONGIA DIGITATA

BRACHIOSPONGIA DIGITATA

Here's a video i took of a very rare find of BRACHIOSPONGIA DIGITATA... Fossil Sponges.... These were found in a friends steam bed located in TN.. These were found in a layer of Lexington Limestone dated to the Ordovician age of 500 million years old.

These Fossils have only been found twice before.

reply to post by RocksFromSpace


I've always been fascinated by fossils, especially when I get the chance to see them still in place. These would be interesting under any circumstances, but it's the knowledge of what they are that makes it such an awesome find, isn't it? Just sitting there for all that time, waiting for someone to come along & recognize them...

Thanks!

reply to post by BuzzCory


I had some paleontologists come take a look, they said it was probably a live bed of sponges that was buried by a underwater slide as all are in the upright position, and not in a jumbled heap as they would be if they had died and were washed up somewhere.

reply to post by RocksFromSpace


Yo, nice work. I see the vid is from 2007. Were the fossils moved somewhere for safekeeping? It looks like the elements will eventually wear them down if kept in their natural state. Then again, excavating them would have to be done so carefully so as to not crack the rock.

reply to post by Aleister


A paleontologist removed one, 2 went to a couple museums... others are still in place. The further we dug into the steam bank the more were found so I'm sure there's many others yet to be uncovered.

RocksFromSpace
reply to post by Aleister

 

A paleontologist removed one, 2 went to a couple museums... others are still in place. The further we dug into the steam bank the more were found so I'm sure there's many others yet to be uncovered.

Nice. Please go grab me a couple. Christmas has passed but all gifts still gratefully accepted.

My favorite fossil is a very large piece of blue petrified wood, all the bark markings in place and perfectly seen. Ummmm, blue petrified wood.

What a great find! Do they know at what depth these sponges lived or when they died out? I'd be interested to learn more about them.

500 million years. I don't feel quite so old now.

reply to post by RocksFromSpace


Nice find and very impressive video since they are so easy to see. I'm glad they found nice homes. Thanks for sharing.