Herkimer, NY - what is it, please?

[LTLOL]

Good evening,

 

First of all, I apologise that there’s no ruler in this particular photo. My phone battery died as I was taking the photos and then it got dark, so I couldn’t get a good photo. I can update tomorrow if there’s anything here.

 

I went to the Herkimer mine in NY this week and I found this rock. It interested me because of the lines and I didn’t see anything else like it in the 5 hours (!!) we were mining.

 

Do you have any idea what the lines are, please? 
 

Thank you. 
 

L. 

[Darktooth]

This may be from a stromatolite. They are the only fossil found in the Herkimer Diamond mine. They are a layered sedimentary formation created by a type of bacteria. They are one of the oldest fossils known. 

[minnbuckeye]

I would guess this is not a fossil but a geologic mimic. I forget the name of similar finds in my local area. We will see what is said and I will try and figure out the name.

[Kane]

1 minute ago, minnbuckeye said:

I would guess this is not a fossil but a geologic mimic. I forget the name of similar finds in my local area. We will see what is said and I will try and figure out the name.

Stylolite.  

[Tidgy's Dad]

Yes, I also think this is not a fossil. 

Either a calcitic structure or something mechanical such as a slickenside or stylolite. 

[minnbuckeye]

I was  copying this picture when everyone beat me to the punch

 This is a fulgurite. No it is not! Just teasing  @Tidgy's Dad. Styolite is the word that could not be remembered. By the way, this picture is from a Fossil Forum member, Kehbe.

Edited October 17, 2021 by minnbuckeye

[doushantuo]

Slickensides.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

1 hour ago, minnbuckeye said:

 

 This is a fulgurite. No it is not! 

[minnbuckeye]

How does one tell Slickensides from Styolites visually. Do each form under different conditions? My search for answers shows others appear confused too.

[Kane]

15 minutes ago, minnbuckeye said:

How does one tell Slickensides from Styolites visually. Do each form under different conditions? My search for answers shows others appear confused too.

From what I gather, they may be (debatably) interchangeable terms. There are even slickolites as a type of stylolites. In some of the literature, slickensided features describe the vertical planar surface of styolites, rendering it a descriptive attribute as opposed to a geo-structural type. 

 

I do not have a rough and ready answer to the question, though. I just know when I encounter them, I need to shift my attention above or below them to find fossils.  To my eye, the difference between the two may not be the same musical notes, but we'd be humming in the same scale range. 

 

Arxiv.org has a review of stylolites by Touissant et al (2018) that likely provides more than anyone might ever want or need to know about them.  LINK