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Bone or rock in NJ Cretaceous stream?


Fishinfossil

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I know its most likely not bone, but something looked different about this piece, like a socket. Found in NJ Cretaceous Stream. Concretion? Rock? Or any chance at dino bone?

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Looks like an iron concretion 

“You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one.” ― Mikhail Tal

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There are many stones in the New Jersey Cretaceous streams whose structure suggests bone. If it isn't totally obvious that it is bone, I toss it. I do bring a number of specimens home of which I'm not sure so I can scrutinize them in better light and magnification. Most turn out to be nothing, but once in a while I'll realize I made a great find.

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Curious as to what the best way, in NJ Cretaceous streams, to determine if something is bone or an iron concretion. Some of obvious, but in this case, it seemed there was some kind of patina still on the surface and compressed striations, plus what looked like a socket of some sort. A lot of the dino bone fossils found in NJ closely resemble a few of the finds I've come across.

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42 minutes ago, Fishinfossil said:

Curious as to what the best way, in NJ Cretaceous streams, to determine if something is bone or an iron concretion. Some of obvious, but in this case, it seemed there was some kind of patina still on the surface and compressed striations, plus what looked like a socket of some sort. A lot of the dino bone fossils found in NJ closely resemble a few of the finds I've come across.


Look for striations and/or porous structure. Compare with specimens that are definite bone in order to rule out stuff like slag that may appear like bone. Experience helps.

“You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one.” ― Mikhail Tal

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10 hours ago, Fishinfossil said:

Curious as to what the best way, in NJ Cretaceous streams, to determine if something is bone or an iron concretion. Some of obvious, but in this case, it seemed there was some kind of patina still on the surface and compressed striations, plus what looked like a socket of some sort. A lot of the dino bone fossils found in NJ closely resemble a few of the finds I've come across.

In this piece for example, a structure similar to bone is present, but the organization is sloppy and out of focus.

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On 12/10/2019 at 11:07 AM, The Jersey Devil said:

Looks like an iron concretion 

iron? Just asking; I don't know what to call it.

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38 minutes ago, Plax said:

iron? Just asking; I don't know what to call it.


I know that there is iron in it, so I called it an iron concretion, but now that I think about it I’m not sure if it would be called a concretion or not.

“You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one.” ― Mikhail Tal

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Sort of a cold metamorphosis in oxidation states involving dissolution and precipitation is how I envision it forming. 

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4 hours ago, The Jersey Devil said:


I know that there is iron in it, so I called it an iron concretion, but now that I think about it I’m not sure if it would be called a concretion or not.

I had partially filled pinna steinkerns from Blackwood lake that sorta looked like this. Apparently some creatures live in the empty shell and create burrow patterns in the sediment only partially filling the cavity. Not seeing an iron aspect to this but have heard the concretions at big brook called siderite which is an iron carbonate?

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8 hours ago, Plax said:

I had partially filled pinna steinkerns from Blackwood lake that sorta looked like this. Apparently some creatures live in the empty shell and create burrow patterns in the sediment only partially filling the cavity. Not seeing an iron aspect to this but have heard the concretions at big brook called siderite which is an iron carbonate?


Siderite does occur in the brooks, originally eroding from formation. The piece of iron above seems like it came from the “modern” sediments and not from the Wenonah or Navesink.

“You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one.” ― Mikhail Tal

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