Potential Coral found in Alabama

[Steph]

Found in yard after heavy rain storm.  The last photo is prior to cleaning off thick clay -like coating. I may have overdone it. 
Thanks for looking:) 

Edited June 16, 2022 by Steph
Typo

[Misha]

This is a very interesting object, I'm not exactly sure what it is, it is however, not a coral. Corals tend to have finer, more regular structure to them which doesn't appear here.

[Rockwood]

Could be pholad bored rock.

[Steph]

Thanks for the replies! I had been considering a section of type like Lublinphyllum fllaccidum - with  branching  (pic added). At least now I know I don’t need to spend more time cleaning it up! During the process, I was thinking I was spending way too much time on potential coprolite. .. then it started to take shape (at least in my imagination).  ‘Interesting rock’ is ok with me too. And I learned a new term - pholad bored rock.  

[Rockwood]

This looks like a clear indication the boring/chiseling process to me.

[JohnJ]

11 hours ago, Steph said:

I may have overdone it. 

 

It looks like you used wire brushes or a Dremel to "clean" this...yes?

[Steph]

Yes, first soaked in soapy water and then scrubbed with a brush which didn’t work well after the initial debris was off.  I tried vinegar, but that didn’t do much. The last photo in the original post shows what it looked like at that stage. I let it dry and then used a dremel to follow the grooves of the rock. Dry, it was powdery  and fairly soft. I stopped kept going until the texture sounded and felt different (hard). I will include the original photo before any cleaning.  This rock is so different from the usual sandstone in my yard, I was super curious. It looked like a giant fortune cookie with multiple folds. Should I have left it alone? Did I morph the original shape? This was a learning and practice exercise so I welcome feedback. 

[JohnJ]

3 minutes ago, Steph said:

Should I have left it alone? Did I morph the original shape? This was a learning and practice exercise so I welcome feedback. 

 

The good news is that I don't think you destroyed a fossil.  

 

However, wire brushes and fossils rarely play well together.  Vinegar should always be used cautiously.  A Dremel should only be used when you know exactly what you are trying to remove and what part is fossil...even then, it must be expertly handled to avoid damage to your fossil.

 

Try stiff toothbrushes and water first.  Identify what you have, then plan future preparation.  

[Steph]

1 hour ago, JohnJ said:

 

The good news is that I don't think you destroyed a fossil.  

 

However, wire brushes and fossils rarely play well together.  Vinegar should always be used cautiously.  A Dremel should only be used when you know exactly what you are trying to remove and what part is fossil...even then, it must be expertly handled to avoid damage to your fossil.

 

Try stiff toothbrushes and water first.  Identify what you have, then plan future preparation.  

Sounds like solid advice. I will try to curb my enthusiasm for unlocking secrets of strange objects I find in my yard.  Thanks!  

[Steph]

22 hours ago, Steph said:

Sounds like solid advice. I will try to curb my enthusiasm for unlocking secrets of strange objects I find in my yard.  Thanks!  

Ok, I hope you will indulge me on this topic a bit further. I have several rocks that may have trace fossils, but likely of no value (educational or otherwise) to anyone but me and I would really like to see if I can get them to a point of something I can ID.  Before the above post, I felt I did have some potential success with at least one of them. There were a couple of ‘lumps’ (pic 3, bottom right) I thought might be a gastropod. I better defined with the engraving tool and continued to follow any grooves that were already present, outlining any protrusions and relied heavily on any change in the tactile sensation of the bit against the stone.  It was kind of neat how when the rock vibrated, grains just fell out of grooves and shapes emerged.  However,  when finished, I thought I had ruined the specimen (and maybe I did) as it didn’t resemble anything. Later, flipping through a reference book later, a pattern clicked.  See photo 1. 

1)  Could this be a fragment of a Nautiloid? or  Is my imagination working overtime? 

2) I don’t want to inquire about every rock (contrary to what it may seem so far ). I really want to get as far as I can and then ask for help - (unless of course I think it is a unique find ) 

3) Is this a reasonable approach? I do want to be careful not to change the underlying structure which seems feasible at least for the type of rock below. 

[JohnJ]

49 minutes ago, Steph said:

1)  Could this be a fragment of a Nautiloid? or  Is my imagination working overtime? 

2) I don’t want to inquire about every rock (contrary to what it may seem so far ). I really want to get as far as I can and then ask for help - (unless of course I think it is a unique find ) 

3) Is this a reasonable approach? I do want to be careful not to change the underlying structure which seems feasible at least for the type of rock below. 

 

3)  Dremels and fossils usually end up fighting each other and have the wounds to prove it.  Again, using a rotary grinder/bit is best used with a clear understanding of the fossil being prepped and a lack of better tools.  

 

2)  Ask about any finds you want.  Try to apply what you learn to the next inquiry.

 

1)  I don't see a nautiloid fragment.  Try to determine the formation; then, research the fauna found within it.  

[Steph]

5 hours ago, JohnJ said:

 

3)  Dremels and fossils usually end up fighting each other and have the wounds to prove it.  Again, using a rotary grinder/bit is best used with a clear understanding of the fossil being prepped and a lack of better tools.  

 

2)  Ask about any finds you want.  Try to apply what you learn to the next inquiry.

 

1)  I don't see a nautiloid fragment.  Try to determine the formation; then, research the fauna found within it.  

1)  Yes, working on identifying local rocks & fauna.  I love this book Lost Worlds in Alabama Rocks - helping tremendously.  Both areas that I have access to are in Paleozoic Era from Ordovician to Mississippian and maybe a sliver of Pennsylvanian).  From what I can tell, Gastropods & Nautiloids would be reasonable finds, no? 
2) Much appreciated.   Even if one is researching and reading a lot, sometimes only other fellow humans can point you in the right direction (or pull you out of the rabbit hole).  
3) Sad and a little relieved.  Study more, get better tools & then I can potentially utilize the tools. 
4)  Here are a few of the ones I collected today with some prelim guesses.Is this the point when I would post to ID section?   Several have stalk/stem like structures - potentially,  crinoid, worms? 

The purple arrows could be pointing at a gastropod?  The smooth object in the upper left - something manmade? 
5) There are so many more rocks I couldn’t carry - it would be nice to know if I should keep picking up similar ones. Once I find a few confirmed specimens, I think it will be easier. 

Thanks for your advice 

 

[Rockwood]

Sorry. I don't see fossils here. The one in the upper left is layered concretion. The color/texture patterns are likely caused by the concentration, and oxidation states of iron in the rocks.

[Steph]

4 minutes ago, Rockwood said:

Sorry. I don't see fossils here. The one in the upper left is layered concretion. The color/texture patterns are likely caused by the concentration, and oxidation states of iron in the rocks.

Well, at least the concretion will be a cool to add to my collection. I’m will look for the rest of it tomorrow.  And I guess, change the focus of the rocks I am picking up. It is the texture more than coloring that led me to think there were potential trace fossils - even if just burrows.  I am studying normal rock weathering patterns so that I can exclude those, but lots to learn.   I was thinking that Amphibian trackways may be my most likely find given that I am about in a region known for those. 
Thanks for the feedback. 

[JohnJ]

1 hour ago, Steph said:

Yes, working on identifying local rocks & fauna.  I love this book Lost Worlds in Alabama Rocks - helping tremendously.  Both areas that I have access to are in Paleozoic Era from Ordovician to Mississippian and maybe a sliver of Pennsylvanian).  From what I can tell, Gastropods & Nautiloids would be reasonable finds, no?

 

Looks like a good reference book.  @Rockin' Ric should be familiar with your local geology and fossils.