If it smells bad - I beg to differ.  I don't collect fossils -
but if a rock is sitting there - it can have dead xxx in a hole.

I figure a fossil can have the same if a surface find.  "Any port
in a storm" as they say.  Might be spider lair or slug hideout.

If dug from a rock face - that is another story.  I used to live
on limestone and coral.  Cen-Tex to Kwaj.

Martin

David Campbell wrote:
>> how do you tell a shell is a fossil?  <
>>
>
> If it still smells bad, it is not a fossil.
>
> Good preservation of colors is probably Recent, though fossils can
> preserve remnant color patterns (usually as brown markings) and may
> generally show a color either from mineral deposits (e.g., black or
> rusty) or else as calcitic shells (often brown or gray).
>
> A sun-bleached or otherwise aged-looking Recent shell can be hard to
> tell from a fossil just by looking at it.  If there's a scientific
> need to find out, there are various dating methods, more or less
> destructive to the shell, that can help (amino acid racemezation, 14C,
> etc.)
>
> --
> Dr. David Campbell
> 425 Scientific Collections
> University of Alabama
> "I think of my happy condition, surrounded by acres of clams"
>
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--
Martin H. Eastburn
@ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net
TSRA, Endowed; NRA LOH & Patron Member, Golden Eagle, Patriot's Medal.
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder
IHMSA and NRA Metallic Silhouette maker & member.
http://lufkinced.com/

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