Professor of Geology and his student at Rogers State University (RSU) made a remarkable discovery just before the spring vacation.
Dr. Chris Shelton and Student Colby Duling found a rare, well-preserved ammonin fossil on-site in Oklahoma and was no ordinary fossil. This particular find shone with the colorful shine of the gem.
“Just before the spring vacation, I took one of my students, Colby Duling, to a site where I had taken other students before, one who has always been a good place to research,” Shelton explained.
“We had previously noticed these fossils, but this time, Colby brought me a very large iridiscent piece. It was clear that he had discovered something extraordinary with this ammonite fossil.”
According to Shelton, the fossil shows signs of preservation that give it a pearl iride, a characteristic that is rarely found in the fossils of this old one. These species of fossils are called amolite in Canada, where they are more known. Amolite is a rare gem that is formed by the fossil shells of the ammonites, a disappearing group of accused marine animals associated with squid.
Amolite: a rare biological gem from the ancient seas
Shelton believes that the fossil they have discovered is a real amolite, although it is found far from known rich in ammo regions such as Alberta, Canada. He explained that these species of fossils were made of mineral aragonite, which retains dazzling iride because of its microscopic structure.
“The amolite is very unique because it is a biological gem, similar to the pearls, formed by the fossilized shells of ancient cephalopods – offices connected to modern squid – which show alive, iris colors and patterns due to the microstructure of the original Aragha.
What makes this discovery even more significant is the age of fossil. It dates back to the carbon period, which was more than 300 million years ago – long before dinosaurs circled the Earth. Most iridiscent ammonite fossils, known today, come from the Mesozoic era, the dinosaur era.
There is only another place in the world where the Aragonite of this era was found intact – in the asphalt asphalt Buckhorn a camp in the Arbuck Mountains in Oklahoma. This site is known for keeping some of the most Aragonite fossils ever found. This new discovery contributes to the rarity and importance of the find.
More fossils, more tests and scientific paper forward
After the initial discovery, Shelton and Duling returned to the same site and collected additional samples. These include the remains of fossil shark and other ancient invertebrates. The goal now is to conduct more research and analysis to better understand the fossils they have found.
“We plan to make more expeditions, more trips to collecting the site to collect more samples,” Shelton said. “From there, we will conduct many more analytical fossils tests to confirm our faith and, based on the findings, the flasks and I will write and send a reviewed document to recognize our discovery in the scientific community.”
Dooling, who is still a student, was excited about the experience and the ability to contribute to real scientific work.
In the press release, Shelton said: “This will be a significant discovery. It is important for Kollby to deserve it that it helped me do it, and it is always good to take out students from the classroom and in the field, from the theoretical practice, to find fossils for myself and to reveal their own part of history.”
Shelton hopes the scientific document will describe his discoveries in detail by the end of this year. If confirmed, this discovery may offer a new idea of the preservation of fossils and add to the limited number of known ammonite carbon fossils, which exhibit iride with the quality of precious stones.