This is a middle Devonian brachiopod, species undetermined (by me, anyway), collected in western New York shales, in an area with lots of Mucrospirifer and other Spirifer genera.

1. 
   Anne 2005 03 04 at 12:53:43 pm

   how VERY cool!

2. 
   tost 2005 03 04 at 2:34:19 pm

   I’d guess that would make it, oh, maybe 1400 years old for the biblical literalists among us.

3. 
   Chris Clarke 2005 03 04 at 2:55:42 pm

   Which would make it slightly older than the formica it’s resting on. (Becky’s hoping to redo our kitchen this summer.)

4. 
   beth 2005 03 04 at 6:23:31 pm

   Cool! And it looks pretty familiar to me. How about some more fossil pics?

5. 
   Craig 2005 03 04 at 6:31:36 pm

   there’s probably dozens of those still in dad’s basement.

6. 
   tost 2005 03 04 at 9:46:54 pm

   I don’t intend any disrespect, but that’s not formica in the photo’s background, it’s the Shroud of Turin.

7. 
   Chris Clarke 2005 03 04 at 9:50:43 pm

   Sorry, tost, you’re wrong. I thought so too at first, but it failed the Turin test.

8. 
   tost 2005 03 04 at 11:29:16 pm

   I’m probably going to hate myself for this, but what exactly is the Turin test? 

   And if it wasn’t the Shroud of Turin, was it some sort of pre-fabricated formica tunic?  Or Belushi’s toga from Animal House?

9. 
   Chris Clarke 2005 03 04 at 11:34:41 pm

   It’s a bad joke.

10. 
    the_bone 2005 03 05 at 10:27:50 pm

    Any day where I stumble upon a random Turing test joke is a fine day indeed.