Strange Arthropod tail from Bertie Lagerstatte

[pleecan (Peter Lee)]

Found this weird looking fossil at Bertie Lagerstatte.... what could it be... some sort of arthropod tail....

The photos were taken prior to extraction. I have never seen anything like this before... the fossil was uncovered by someone else in the Williamsville Formation of teh Bertie Group.... exposed onthe floor of the quarry....
Contrast was poor saw water was used dampened the fossil...






Sadly the fossil shattered into hundred pieces upon extraction with a rock saw....
PL

[Joe Botting]

Not a clue, Peter - sorry. To be honest, there's not enough in the images to even convince me it's fossil, especially with all the similar staining along the fractures at the top. If it is (was...) a fossil, then there are too many options from this range. I guess we'll never know, on this one.

[ammocarbsteve]

It seems a bit symmetrical to be nothing or just simply mineralisation...well spotted anyway Peter....

[pleecan (Peter Lee)]

Hi Joe and Steve: Thanks for your insight. Dave Rudkin id the fossil as "Ceratiocaris acuminata " shrimp tail Biggest phyllocarid tail that I have ever seen..... I still have most of the fragments perhaps at some point in the future I may attempt to glue the jigsaw puzzle back together. coin is 1" diameter for scale. PL