is this a fossil

ManFromAtlantis

my youngest son was keen to look for ammorite? fossils along the coast of mayo. we ended up near old head outside louisburgh.

not knowing what to expect or indeed what really we were looking for, we found (see attached photo).

i told him i dont know what the hell it is but i might know someone (you) that does

anyone know if this is a fossil or just a piece of marked rock. thanks

Rubecula

A bit hard to tell from the photograph but it looks like a quartz inclusion rather than a fossil. However I am no expert.

bogwalrus

looks like quartz to me where water eroded bits of the rock around it to leave that exposed shape.

Guyett

As said above it looks like quartz vein but it really depends on what rock it was found in, if its a limestone it's probably not a quartz vein. do you know where you found it? if so post the location and you should be able to tell if you'd get fossils in that area.

ManFromAtlantis

thanks .

this is the location. between devlin nortn and devlin south near louisburgh
see this map http://maps.osi.ie/publicviewer/#V1,473883,773551,5,3

if not a good location, would anyone know where would be good in and around mayo/galway thanks a mill.

ps i'm looks like limestone rock to me

Guyett

yeah that area there is a bit of a mess. I actually mapped out that area last year and that area is very near a pretty large granite pluton, the area south of there is all dalradian rock (precambrian to early cambrian) that is quite heavily metamorphosed. You'll be very lucky to find any nice fossils there and if you do they'll probably be not in situ.
If you want to go fossil hunting I'd advise you to head a bit north, most of the northern coast of mayo has nice exposure of carboniferous limestone. here's a link to a nice place full of fossils not far from where you are.
https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Unknown+road&daddr=Unknown+road&hl=en&sll=54.289479,-9.395199&sspn=0.028406,0.084543&geocode=FYdUMwMdTPVo_w%3BFZuGPAMdBK5w_w&mra=ls&t=m&z=9

ManFromAtlantis

hey thanks for the reply. appreciate it. will make a point get there before summer holidays over.

would it be a case of walking the shoreline looking at rocks/cobbles on the ground or cliff/rock face. and in your opinion what would the chances be of finding an ammorite fossil. thanks again.

Guyett

well if you follow the western side of that bay around and look at the rocks you walk over you will see alot of fossils. there are plenty of brachiopods corals and gastropods. there is even a bed of fossilised tree trunks. make sure to go at low tide though as you will see a lot more.

ManFromAtlantis

will do (in few weeks) and will take some pics and report back. thks

fieldfossils

Hi ManfromAtlantis, reading your post. I am a fossil preparator and based in Ireland. My facebook page is field fossils, if you'd like I can send your son an ammonite for free just email your address to fieldfossils@hotmail.com, regards Paul