Just started fossil hunting need help knowing if I found anything special

[Tommy gun 1978]

I recently visited a friend that lived by Austin tx. He had lots of rocks in his yard and looked different from ones where I'm from so I started picking so up I thought were interesting or colorful. So I get home later set the rocks aside and few weeks later i go to move them out the way and one catches my eye. To me it looks like a snake head then another it looks like a lizard head I take closer look at them and out of maybe 30 rocks I brought home I see half that really look like its possable they could be but if so they were somehow really preserved and just didnt seem like a fossil I'm use to seeing just the bones.. these appear to have skin fossilized over the bones and I do see what appears to be bones as well these look to much like real lizards to just be a rock that happens to look like one here are some pics please let me know if I have something awsome here or something else also including my collections from friends place near austin and another near San Antonio but these are from those  2 times. Please let me know if there is something I should get excited about here. Thanks for looking and any comments I will be reading right away

[Top Trilo]

Unfortunately they're just rocks. I do see the resemblance to reptile heads in a few of them however they just have a general shape. It's really easy to recognize faces, if you think about it, all you really need for snake/lizard heads is a flat, triangle shape with two holes about the same size, and maybe nostrils. This is called pareidolia.

11 minutes ago, Tommy gun 1978 said:

I'm use to seeing just the bones

For most vertebrate fossils, they are just bones such as most dinosaur fossils, occasionally things other than bones fossilize but that is really rare and when that happens it is almost always flat and 2D. Keep searching for fossils though, Texas has tons of fossils for you to find.

[Fossildude19]

I see lots of rocks.   

[Tommy gun 1978]

Ok maybe I should have limited number of items and taken better pictures cause these cant all be just rocks I clearly see a broken tooth  and maybe a foot print and not sure about this other one but these are not just rocks guys, really 'please have a second look if none of these are anything thing but just rocks then I feel alittle dumb 

[Top Trilo]

I'm afraid they are just rocks.

Take a look at actual lizard and snake fossils, actual fossil teeth and footprints. Look at the differences and you will become much better at recognizing fossils.

Don't feel dumb, all of us at one point didn't know how to tell the difference between bone and rock. If you want to find actual fossils, research local geologic formations and fossils found in your area so you can start finding your own. good luck on future finds.

[FranzBernhard]

4 hours ago, Tommy gun 1978 said:

but just rocks then I feel a little dumb

No need to feel dumb! We all started somewhere.

Your state is full of fossils, start with the most abundant ones: Cretaceous "Oysters" or ammonites, for example. Sooner or later you may find teeth and a bone here and there.

 

Note: You have picked specimens from a random pile of rocks. Consider the sheer a mount of pseudofossils in your rocks. So nearly every rock would be a vertebrate fossil then. Ever heard that they are so super-abundant? No? Well, even the Texan "oysters" are not super-abundant everywhere, only in some spots.

 

Try googling or searching this forum for fossils of your area!

 

Franz Bernhard

[Coco]

Hi,

 

I agree with what was said above, rocks.

For your future photos, do not take your specimens in your hands because it promotes blur (already very present on your photos), and read my last link in my signature. The size and provenance of the specimens are of great assistance for identification requests.

 

If you don’t have a ruler, print out my handout and put your fossils on it before taking your photo, making sure to leave one of the size boxes visible

 

Coco

 

[Gareth_]

Welcome to TFF!

Just like we see shapes in clouds, we can do the same thing with rocks (and a lot of different inanimate).... sometimes you see it because you want to see it! That's good though, your eyes are focused and one day you will find that hidden gem!

 

This is a footprint..... 

Podokesaurus holyokensis

 

 

[Fossildude19]

Not seeing any enamel for teeth.

Not seeing any bone texture.

Chert and limestone are what I am seeing.

 

 

 

[tombk]

No need to feel dumb. Just two days ago, I got rid of about a gallon of rocks I had found a few years ago in driveways that I was sure were fossils. None of them were. You can find interesting-shaped rocks in driveways. That plus some imagination and wishful thinking can lead to misidentification. 

[Tommy gun 1978]

On 9/29/2021 at 4:32 AM, Gareth_ said:

Welcome to TFF!

Just like we see shapes in clouds, we can do the same thing with rocks (and a lot of different inanimate).... sometimes you see it because you want to see it! That's good though, your eyes are focused and one day you will find that hidden gem!

 

This is a footprint..... 

Podokesaurus holyokensis

 

 

Actually I was being sarcastic when I said  feel dumb when I look at these pictures you sent I just see rocks but when I show my pictures you say yall just see rocks sorry I just dont see details in your rocks like I do I'm mine so I'm going to keep them and get another opinion 

[Tidgy's Dad]

1 hour ago, Tommy gun 1978 said:

Actually I was being sarcastic when I said  feel dumb when I look at these pictures you sent I just see rocks but when I show my pictures you say yall just see rocks sorry I just dont see details in your rocks like I do I'm mine so I'm going to keep them and get another opinion 

 

That last photo would appear to be a partial valve of a bivalve. 

[Tommy gun 1978]

I have also pulled some nice pieces of petrified wood that looks like it's just off a tree