Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'il'.
-
I have been freezing and thawing this concretion since the end of July and it opened this morning. Initially it seemed to look like some type of insect with wings folded on top of it. I thought the bulbous parts on one end might be a head. However, after I turning it another direction I began wondering if it was a jellyfish. The fossil extends beyond the mineral deposits.
-
Another nodule I found already split. I thought it might be plant matter because of the dark color but the shape reminds me of a lamprey picture that I can no longer find. Probably wishful thinking and imaginative viewing.
-
I collected some small nodules last week and when I tried to open this one the top split to reveal this. I decided to hit the larger part one more time to see if I could uncover the rest. Instead the larger piece split in half and this is what was inside the same nodule. Are these annularia? They are very different from the other fossil I found in the right picture which I am pretty sure is annularia.
-
I found this nodule already open and thought it was a fossilized piece of wood. However, it is not the usual black color of most of plants I have found. Could this be a bone fragment?
-
I have some nodules I found already opened that have rounded raised or flat curved lines that go against the rest of the directional patterns of the nodule. They seem to be found in oblong or curved shaped nodules. I didn't know if these were actually fossils or just geologic formations. Again, I am afraid to get rid of anything for fear of rejecting an actual fossil in ignorance.
-
I noticed some interesting rocks in the railroad bed while walking along some tracks in Illinois. I thought they looked like obsidian but one side of them has a porous, bubble looking surface that made me wonder if it was a piece of someone's countertop with old grout on the back. Most of the other rocks in the bed seem to be shale and quartzite. I also found other rocks that look like they could contain the holes made from volcanic gases. I am about to teach a unit on plate tectonics and one lesson has students compare eruptions of volcanoes with gassy and less gassy magma. If that is what these are, I thought they would be good examples for my students to examine. What do you think?
-
This one has the black coloring of some of my plant fossils but the shape suggests an insect to me. Could just be my imagination. Any suggestions?
-
I've noticed some black material in some of my findings. Is this plant material, maybe pieces of twigs or wood? I'm not sure if the bottom picture contains a small leaf or just has dirt impersonating a leaf.
-
I found one half of a worn open nodule with asterisk-like grooves crossing the surface. This is a cleaned up version. Is it a fossil or just strange weathering?
-
These are some open specimens I found at Mazonia Lakes. I think the set may be a crayfish. The other two seem to be some type of plant. I didn't know if I should soak these in vinegar. I am afraid if I do I may not be able to see the detail.
-
After freezing and thawing, I broke open some nodules from Mazonia Lakes that have some interesting patterns inside of them. These are nodules that did not show any signs of opening along any natural cleavage. The first nodule broke in half vertically when the shape (oblong oval) suggested it would open horizontally. The white material seems very thin and reflective, it reminds me of a plastic decal..Any ideas of what they could be?
-
Any ideas? It is hard to see in the pictures but the body seems segmented and seems to have little dots in each segment. I wasn't sure which way to orient the pictures, I lost detail depending on the tilt towards the light.
-
Two halves of the same nodule.
-
I found some already opened nodules that I cleaned up. I wasn't sure if these were fossils or just mineral deposits.
-
My daughter and I took our Husky down to the river (more like a creek in the summer) to play earlier today. The river is so low right now you're basically walking on a rock bed. I found what looks to be a small petrified walnut. I tried searching the net but couldn't find anything similar. The closest I found someone said it could be a type of sponge? The lines on it kind of curve around to the back to where it looks like it could have hung on a branch. I know nothing about fossils but we have found a few from just being out hiking. We found what we think is a petrified deer tooth a few years back. I was able to id it online. This little nut thing is definitely wierd and I can't seem to id it. I guess it could just be a rock that's grooved up from wear. If I had to guess it's some kind of fossil though. Any ideas? Thank you for the help.
-
I went fossil hunting again Tuesday and, while I think I am getting more discerning about what I pick up, I still do not know if what I found is a fossil or just an interestingly weathered rock. This is the condition in which I found it. If these are not fossils I think I may change my name to Dud-ley Do Wrong.
