Rock with strange markings on it - what is it?

[Nat006]

I found this in Germany. 3 cm long.

 

Any idea what this is? I was thinking chert nodule, but what are the markings on it? Are they fossils of some sort? Thank you!

 

[Ludwigia]

Please tell us exactly where and how you found it.

[Nat006]

34 minutes ago, Ludwigia said:

Please tell us exactly where and how you found it.

I found it in Odenwald, Germany. I've read this area used to be sea floor. I found it in the woods, and I dug a little bit for it but it was still pretty on the surface. I found other similar egg(kinda) shaped rocks, and I opened them and chert is inside. However, the markings on this one are unlike anything I found. So I was wondering if there are fossils in this one from marine life. Please let me know if you need more information.

[Ludwigia]

Thank you for the info. Those markings could very well be from fossil remains, but it's hard to tell for sure from the photos. I'm also not familiar with the stratigraphy of your area, so I wouldn't know what to expect. Perhaps you could take it to your nearest natural history museum for analysis. You could also ask about it in the Steinkern forum (use the link at the bottom of my signature) if you understand the German language. It certainly is an interesting find at any rate.

[digit]

Really interesting rock--see why you picked it up (I would have too).

 

I'm even less familiar with the stratigraphy where this came from but if the pattern on this specimen is not purely of geologic origin my initial idea (unencumbered by the thought process) was of a hash of crinoid columnals--lots of small rounded pieces. The fact that I'm not seeing any star shapes in the cross sections makes me lean toward geologic origin--rounded features are common in items of both biologic and geologic origin. Looks to have a high silica content (shiny) and has been nicely water tumbled and polished for you. A nice addition to a curious rock collection if nothing more.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken