Look at the next four images and imagine how the entire fossil might look. This type of fossil is not as common as the spiral-shaped fossils at the library but the brown color is very distinctive.
All four of these images are from the same fossil. The first three images represent slices down the long axis of the fossil, as if it were split in half along its length. In most cases, the fossil looks like flying saucers or cigars. This, however, is only part of the fossil. In the third image, you can see that the “cigar” part of the fossil is only half of the original fossil. Many organisms have parts of their skeleton or shell that are more easily preserved than others. Only when you find a complete fossil do you see the part that you are missing. The half of the fossil that is missing in the first two images is elongate and contains chambers. The chambers are similar to the spiral-shaped fossil, except that this fossil is straight rather than spiral. The last image is a slice through the brown part of the fossil, oriented across the elongate shell so that you can see what the shell looks like in cross section. Can you guess the original shape of this fossil from the pictures?
This type of fossil is the state fossil of Delaware .
Skip fossils 3 and 4. Go directly to the fact sheet to identify the fossils. http://www.uky.edu/KGS/education/YoungFossils-11.pdf
Leave this website to see the state fossil of Delaware http://www.udel.edu/dgs/Education/stfossil.html
Back to the beginning of the extension activity.