I was wondering what this is a snake fossil, amber stone, dinosaur fossil, or face art of some kind

[Connie sindt]

My boyfriend and I were walking along the railroad tracks down by the Mississippi river in Davenport,Iowa when my boyfriend happened to look down and see this rock or fossil whatever it may be were curious to find out we done some google lens searches a got a couple ideas but would like some help figuring it out

[Lone Hunter]

It's not snake or dino or amber don't even think it's fossil. Better pictures would help, try solid background so camera can focus better.

[Rockwood]

I'm not sure what kind of rock this is, but I'm pretty sure it's not a fossil.

[digit]

From what I can see in these images, you've got a bunch of suggestively shaped rocks and nothing more. None show signs of amber (I'm not sure amber has been reported from Iowa). Davenport on the eastern edge of Iowa has Silurian age rocks at the surface. These are much too old to contain dinosaur fossils.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silurian

 

As for snake fossils or face art (not quite sure what that would be), I think the phenomenon of pareidolia is at work here allowing you to think you are seeing recognizable shapes and forms.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareidolia

 

In the right conditions snake bones do fossilize--mostly the more solid vertebrae and occasionally a rib or piece of the very delicate skull may be found. People new to fossils often imaging that animals "petrify" with all of their flesh and skin in place resulting in fossils that look just like how the animal appeared in life. This is not the case. The only fossil animals that look just like they did when they were alive are unusual types like insects (or other small animals) trapped in amber or animals (like woolly mammoths) that were frozen in the permafrost (ice). In general, only the harder parts like bones and teeth are preserved as fossils.

 

None of your rocks are what you were hoping they might be but they could possibly contain Silurian age fossils--though it is unlikely that random rocks collected only because of their suggestive shape might contain fossils. If we did see interesting signs that might indicate possible fossils we would ask for better lit and focused images. Photos are best taken outdoors with brighter light which helps us see details better and helps your camera take photos that are in focus. I don't think we need to see more images of these rocks as additional images won't make any of these snake, amber, dinosaur or "face art". If you look at the Wikipedia link above for the Silurian period and scroll down to the "Flora and fauna" section, you will see the types of fossils you might find in your area. Keep an eye out for rocks that have these type of shapes in them and you might be able to find some nice fossils in your area.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken