small patterned fossil?

[Rowboater]

Like most of what I find these days, this is small (the scalemarks are mm).  A small cylinder with diagonal pattern of markings.  Seems too solid for fossil cartilage or skin?  Any ideas?

[Pemphix]

Crocodylian scute as it seems (very blurry fotos). With location, strata etc. probably more to say...

[Al Dente]

Maybe a segment of a bryozoan. Any chance we can see a cross section?

[digit]

Agreed that the blurry photos make identification more difficult. From the description it is a cylinder and the two photos I'm assuming are showing both sides. In my experience crocodilian osteoderms tend to have a smooth side (bottom) and a very patterned side (top) and are never cylindrical. My thoughts leaned toward a very worn coral branch or more likely, as mentioned above, a worn section of a branching bryozoan showing the zooid chambers.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Pemphix]

I agree - if it is a cylindrical piece it makes croc-scute unlikely....

Better pics and strata/location, pls...

 

 

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

+1 for bryozoan fragment. 

[Rowboater]

@Pemphix, @Al Dente, @digit,@Tidgy's Dad, Wow, thanks everyone for the quick responses!  I don't think it's a scute, it's a tiny, nicely patterned cylindrical "stone".  It's inside is plugged, but looks like it could have been patterned , chambered on the inside as well? Both ends are rounded so hard to say.  Al, what should the cross-section look like?

 

I had recently found a "film" of bryozoans on several shells on the beach, thought they might be some type of fine coral, but people were helpful then also.  Learned something today, thanks everyone! 

[Tidgy's Dad]

From springer.com 

And a cross section in some areas of one of my own Hirnantian Pachydictya. (Yours is not this genus). 

 

[digit]

1 hour ago, Rowboater said:

Learned something today, thanks everyone! 

That's what we strive for.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Rowboater]

@Tidgy's Dad  Thanks for the illustration!  Looks very similar and with just a little imagination I can see something similar at the inside of the ends!