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devlincdev1997

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Recently I took a trip up to central New Jersey in the US with my sister for our 2nd trip fossil hunting; at a place called “big brook preserve”. As I was sifting through looking at some fossils that I could identify such as shark teeth and fossilized poop with my very basic studying from the Internet and stuff I’ve seen on tv. She calls me over at something she had found while sifting through the dirt in the brook. Thinking that I’d be able to identify it for her I was stumped. it looks like it has characteristics of a fossil from what I think but with my limited knowledge and understanding I keep going back to the idea of “nah it can’t be”  And thinking it’s just a cool rock. Either way the water seemed to do a number on this this find eroding it over the years. Also the finds in this brook are usually Cretaceous period specimens and the occasional dinosaur fossil is rare, and reptile fossils are a tiny bit rare too here I think. I have a couple pictures that I took that night when we returned home. I’ll take better lit pictures if these aren’t adequate enough, but the main question I have that’s been bothering me is; is it a rock or a fossil from something once living? Side note the front is slightly smoothed/curved and the back is mostly flat. Please and thank you to anyone willing to help. I’ve also taken the time since then to email 2 local universities for assistance too if that’s even possible. 

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1 hour ago, devlincdev1997 said:

“nah it can’t be”

There are folks with far more experience who may disagree, but I'm afraid the texture indicates this to be the case.

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Looks like one of the pesky ironstone concretions the Brooks are famous for. 

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darn, cool find none the less and much appreciated for the help! what would be one major tip going forward for me to distinguish between rocks/geological formations from fossils in your opinions to avoid confusion like i had here?

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9 minutes ago, devlincdev1997 said:

what would be one major tip going forward for me to distinguish between rocks/geological formations from fossils in your opinions to avoid confusion like i had here?

Notice how this looks as if it were formed from a ball of clay. The dough like texture inside. Fossils tend to look more as if they were composed (carved or cast from) of a solid substance.

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"When in doubt, carry it out." 

The brook concretions are really tricky, but better to bring them home and find out they are nothing, than to leave a fossil behind. 

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1 hour ago, Fossildude19 said:

"When in doubt, carry it out." 

The brook concretions are really tricky, but better to bring them home and find out they are nothing, than to leave a fossil behind. 

There is a good saying buried in there that sort of rings a bell: no fossils left behind. TFF: where no fossils are left behind!

Edited by DPS Ammonite
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7 hours ago, Fossildude19 said:

"When in doubt, carry it out." 

The brook concretions are really tricky, but better to bring them home and find out they are nothing, than to leave a fossil behind. 

Ah ! But how sure does one need to be that it is indeed a fossil to include it in the count toward the reserves daily limit ? :)

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You mean the posted 5 fossil limit that everyone adheres to?

Well then, it is just a concretion, not a fossil. ;) 

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    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

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__________________________________________________
"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."

John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~   ><))))( *>  About Me      

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have another find that I need help with figuring out again, and I have a hypothesis that it could be a bone but it has some weird texture over it; maybe it just had weird circumstances that caused it, who knows, would it be ok to continue it in this thread and post the pictures of it? I will take measurements of it in the morning, that’s to say if I can find my tape measure/ruler. Then I’ll  post those pictures as well to help with more information. 
It was found in the same brook as well. 

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1 hour ago, devlincdev1997 said:

would it be ok to continue it in this thread and post the pictures of it?

It happens, but I think it would be better to start a new topic.

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