Tips for beginner on recognizing fossil vs rock

[Cmt88]

Hey guys. Pretty new to finding fossils. I have grown up looking for sharks teeth but recently started looking for fossils that wash up on the beach. In the area I am in there are a lot of black rock that I sometimes have trouble figuring out if it is a fragment of a bone. I am just looking for any pointer, tips or tricks that would making figuring out if its a fossil or rock. Also if you guys have any info on how you all started to figure out how to figure out what the fossils are (how to figure out where to start my search on identifying the fossils). Much thanks

[Lone Hunter]

Do you have any pictures?

[Cmt88]

Not so much one any particular piece I have at the moment. Just trying to get any tell tell signs on identifying a fragment. I just feel like I miss some because I think its a rock and also I pick some up thinking its a fragment but it really is a rock maybe an example I have would be some of these in the pictures. Is the porousness a sign it was bone at one point?

 

  

  

[JamieLynn]

Teaching yourself to "see" is crucial to successful fossil hunting! What I always tell people is to look for "regularity" - geometric shapes, repetition of line or pattern or surface texture.  That does not always mean its a fossil because Mother Nature and geology can be very tricky and does sometimes have that regularity.  But learning to see those things will help you pick up less random rocks and more fossils. 

[Lone Hunter]

I am by no means an expert,  if all the rocks look similar to that prob not bone. Volcanic rock is porous, that looks similar to scoria. Just a guess.

[hemipristis]

@JamieLynn is correct.  I'm a geologist and an old fogie at that, and every once in a while I still pick up the stray rock and go hmm.... Mother Nature does like to play tricks. Ironstone is probably the worst in looking like a fossil when it is not.

 

A few general pointers:

1. Grab a field guide on rock identification. If you can decide that a rock is granite, then the questionable pattern that you're looking at in the rock won't be a fossil.  Rock ID isn't an easy skill to learn, but you can pick up the basics; i.e., igneous rock vs sedimentary rock.
2. Figure out where you geologically from geologic maps, websites, other collectors, etc., and what kind of fossils there are from that era.  If where you're hunting is  known for trilobites, then you're not going to find a dinosaur bone.
3. Familiarize yourself with what can be found in the area that you are going to. Study the images, either in a field guide or website, so you know what to look for.
4. Look for repeated patterns.
5. Join a local rockhounding group
6. When in doubt, keep it and ask for help later. Fossils don't require refrigeration.  If it turns out to be nothing, meh, just toss it. But you don't want to toss a specimen that you later learned was XXX.   I have done that twice that I can recall, early on in my collecting, and still regret it.

 

 

[Lone Hunter]

I'm curious what are all the black rocks he is seeing and maybe someone can answer better than I can how to tell if it's bone.

[ClearLake]

@Cmt88 Welcome to the forum. It is a good place to ask questions and learn some new stuff. On the SC (and nearby areas) beaches there will be many small black fragments, as you have noticed, and indeed it does take some practice to tell the fossils from the phosphate nodules or just other pieces of black rock. Of the four you posted, from what I can see, one and four definitely look like pieces of bone. Yes, the porous texture is a good indicator, but is not absolute. The other two might be bone, I just can’t tell for sure from the pictures. Of course another clue would be the shape.  If you can see that it looks like a bone you are familiar with or some fragment of it, that is a good sign. The ones you posted are just small fragments and often you can say they are bone, but not have any clue what bone they are or what animal they are from. You usually need a more complete bone to be identifiable. Of course, experience helps there also. 

 

Bones are not the only thing that are fossils of course. You are already familiar with sharks teeth. Shells are another common fossil, especially on the beach along with other types of marine life. As @hemipristis mentioned, familiarize yourself either through posts on the forum, books, or the internet with what can be expected in your area and that will go a long way in helping you distinguish treasures from the background noise. Most of all, have fun!!

[FranzBernhard]

Be also aware of all the man-made stuff rolling around at a beach: Slags, bricks, insulating materials, fillers, LECA, cables, coal and many more. Over the years, we had a great selection of that stuff for ID here. And these are often the items evoking the most diverse opinions!

Franz Bernhard

[Ludwigia]

Helpful Link

[GeschWhat]

Keep an eye out for coprolite too. I don't think it is real common in your neck of the woods (or should I say shore). So if you see something black that looks like poop, it may just be the fossilized variety.