Is this dinosaur skin?

[Daniel's]

Is this dinosaur skin

 

[LordTrilobite]

Sorry, this doesn't look like it's dinosaur skin impressions. This looks like it's geologic in origin.

But yeah, upon first glance they do look a bit similar.

[Daniel's]

Thanks been trying like no other to find out 

 

[minnbuckeye]

The location of your find would substantiate Lord Trilobite's opinion (and mine). If it was NOT in NW Iowa, dinosaur finds are impossible. If it was in the northwest, Look at the black dots of the FEW known dino finds in Iowa. They are RARE finds. Map is from the Iowa Geologic Survey.

  

 

Mike

[Shamalama]

I think the biggest clue is the round shape of the rock along the edges and then the flaky nature of the surface as well. It's a neat rock I would keep in my garden though.

[Daniel's]

[dhiggi]

It wouldn’t be the other side of the rock in your other thread would it? 

[Pterygotus]

This is the same side as the post before. I think the answer was geologic in origin.

[JohnJ]

Topics merged.

[Ludwigia]

Nice rock.

[Michele7]

I find many rocks that have the impressions of cracks in other rocks thst cracked or split and I disagree.  Thise rocks or concretions are generally one color- they look like concrete and they have protruding ridges where they molded against  the crack and those vary in size depending on how deep the cracks were..  This is the opposite.  You don’t get indentation from on a rock molded by one with a crack.   Also the color of yours is too blended.  You have multiple colors that fade into each other.  This might happen with certain rocks but rarely. If two or more minerals filled a crevice they would have layers.  The next factor is the rounded shape of what looks to me like scales.  Again if molded via cracks formed in other rocks besides having the crack area extending, the shapes would have sharper corners and not smooth and rounded. 
 

As for the shape? Looks like part of a tail.  I’d ask a museum of paleontology.

Edited January 13, 2023 by Michele7

[Randyw]

Sorry @Michele7 and @Daniel’s but it’s a cool rock but not a tail or fossilized skin. The colors are coming from iron and other mineral staining. There is no evidence of bones that would be showing on the ends, the shape is wrong etc. it is a very cool rock and i’d add it to my collection of imitations but its isn’t skin.

and since daniel’s hasn’t been back in 2 years I imagine he figured out the same thing

Edited January 13, 2023 by Randyw

[Michele7]

Possibly since it been awhile but I don’t think it should’ve been dismissed so quickly by a photo.  Maybe if he had included microscopic photos for more info.  The Royal Tyrrel Museum of Paleontology in Canada has skin fossils that look identical.  I’ve been told by geologists and archeologists that unless an example is a very common rock it is impossible to tell if could be a fossil without close examination and at least a magnifying glass.  So very surprised to see everyone write it off so quickly.  
 

Do you have a link to photos of rocks that look similar to Daniel’s?   We get a lot of staining on rocks with the iron ore so I can see that but the shape of what look to be scales and the uniformity does not fit w concretions I’ve ever found so I’d be interested to know more. 

[Phos_01]

On 3/14/2020 at 11:37 AM, Daniel's said:

So where did you find it? IT does look very interesting . Definitly one of the coolest rocks I have seen  if its not skin. On the first picture it really looks like a thic reptile skin. 

 

4 hours ago, Randyw said:

The colors are coming from iron and other mineral staining

I agree, the color is from ironization , it does make it appear very cool in this case.
 

[Fossildude19]

5 hours ago, Michele7 said:

The next factor is the rounded shape of what looks to me like scales.  Again if molded via cracks formed in other rocks besides having the crack area extending, the shapes would have sharper corners and not smooth and rounded. 

 

You fail to take weathering or erosion into consideration for the smoothness.

 

Pictures and location information  are all we have to go on, here.

No location information was ever provided, so we can only go on what we see.

 

Iowa is listed as the OP's location. A total of 3 dinosaur fossils have been found there, making the probability of this being a dinosaur skin imprint very small.

 

People should always take their items to a museum to be studied in hand. There is only so much we can do via photos.

 

But given the amount of experience here on the Forum, I'd say our ID's are probably pretty good. 

[jpc]

I speak here as a guy who has collected a fair few dinosaur bones as well and at least three examples of dinosaur skin.  As well as seen a lot (a very big amount) of ironstone concretions, which is what I would call this one.  In some places where I collect, they tend to exfoliate like this one has, in small polygonal shapes, leaving the cracked looking surface that can be mistaken for dinosaur skin.  Notice that on yours, there are still a few pieces of the outer layer of the concretion that have yet to fall off.   Here is some dino skin found with a pile of ossified tendons and a few other bones of a hadrosaur, as well as more skin impressions. This one is part and counterpart and is Tate Museum specimen v1974.