Fossil found in brick at Lutheran church

[Kingz Profile]

Fossil found in brick at Lutheran church
May, 20 2010 - Reporter News

A fossil was discovered this week when a construction worker split a limestone brick at Zion Lutheran Church.



The limestone was quarried from the Edwards Group, which contains the Edwards Aquifer, in South Central Texas.

"I just happened to come across it," said Steven Henderson, one of the first to notice the fossil. "It was so obvious that everybody on the job site was talking about it."

Joe Satterfield, associate professor of geology at Angelo State University, identified the find as an ammonite of the cephalopod class. Only having seen a photograph of the fossil, Satterfield said he cannot be certain. Considering its Edwards Group origin, Satterfield said the fossil could be 98 to 110 million years old.

"These ammonites went extinct at the same time the dinosaurs went extinct at the end of the Mesozoic era, also known as the Age of Reptiles," Satterfield said. "They are scarce, but not rare. They're a lot more common than finding dinosaur bones."

Many species are included in ammonites, and can range from a half-dollar in size to a truck tire in size. Being cephalopods, Satterfield said ammonites are closely related to squids and octopus and likely contained a carnivorous animal with tentacles inside its shell. This also indicates that water covered large portions of prehistoric Texas.

"That area was definitely covered in water at some point," Satterfield said. "In order for something to be preserved as a fossil, it must get covered with sediment before it has a chance to rot."

Despite the creature's scarcity, Satterfield doubted it could lead to any scientific breakthroughs. The fossil will remain at Zion Lutheran Church until arrangements can be made for its transport.

http://www.archaeologydaily.com/news/20 ... hurch.html