RescueMJ Posted August 21, 2020 Share Posted August 21, 2020 I am sharing this very unusual fossil from Inland Venice, FL. I recovered this item from 3 feet below surface in gray clay. It is 25 mm high, 16 mm wide, and 5 mm thick. Fossil is perfectly smooth. This type of fossil is an outlier. I would believe it if it was in a rock tumbler for a long time. I'm very sure that didn't happen. Curious to see if anyone has recovered this type of item before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePhysicist Posted August 21, 2020 Share Posted August 21, 2020 This looks like a weathered stone to me - not a fossil. "Argumentation cannot suffice for the discovery of new work, since the subtlety of Nature is greater many times than the subtlety of argument." - Carl Sagan "I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there." - Richard Feynman Collections: Hell Creek Microsite | Hell Creek/Lance | Dinosaurs | Sharks | Squamates | Post Oak Creek | North Sulphur River | Lee Creek | Aguja | Permian | Devonian | Triassic | Harding Sandstone Instagram: @thephysicist_tff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RescueMJ Posted August 21, 2020 Author Share Posted August 21, 2020 I'll do a scratch test on it at work in the morning. The fossils in this fossil bed have mostly iron and are red compared to another area where they are mostly black. The matrix I found this in is moist clay. Thanks for your read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePhysicist Posted August 21, 2020 Share Posted August 21, 2020 A scratch test doesn't do much for telling if it's really a fossil. It can however help you identify the minerals the thing is made of (as you know). You may be indeed right that the fossils in one area may be red because of iron compounds (I'm not very familiar with FL). However, fossils get their minerals from the surrounding material, so there will be rocks from the same formation made of the same stuff. To tell if this is a fossil, the best thing to do is to look at the discernible form and structure rather than what it's made of. Its composition is itself an interesting question and absolutely worth pursuing, but I don't think it will lead to the answer we're looking for here. If you can get a better picture of the surface, we may be more helpful. I almost thought it was bone - but I'm not convinced. 1 "Argumentation cannot suffice for the discovery of new work, since the subtlety of Nature is greater many times than the subtlety of argument." - Carl Sagan "I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there." - Richard Feynman Collections: Hell Creek Microsite | Hell Creek/Lance | Dinosaurs | Sharks | Squamates | Post Oak Creek | North Sulphur River | Lee Creek | Aguja | Permian | Devonian | Triassic | Harding Sandstone Instagram: @thephysicist_tff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted August 21, 2020 Share Posted August 21, 2020 I agree. Looks like an eroded mineral to me. Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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