Animal or Rock?

[Dignrocks]

Hi, here's a real mystery, is this a fossil of a small animal or just a sandstone rock.  I think is looks like a small alligator or a baby dinosaur but I'm no expert.  Anyone have any idea what this is.   I was sorting through a box of rocks and found this in it, I don't think anyone ever displayed except for me.  I let my imagination take over and found space in my cabinet for the last 20 years.

 

Thanks for looking

Dignrocks

[Kane]

The last piece gives me a sense of it possibly being an oreodont jaw impression. 

[JohnJ]

Where was it collected?

[Dignrocks]

Hi, I got it in a box of rough rocks at an estate sale, I don't think they knew it existed.

[digit]

I'm not seeing any bone texture on this but I do like the suggestion of an impression of something with teeth. Without decent provenance to indicate what types of fossils are possible at the surface it will be tough to get a solid ID on this one unless someone here on the forum has encountered similar rocks and has more experience to share.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[JohnJ]

@Randyw

@ParkerPaleo

@jpc

 

I'm wondering if it is a matrix mold left when a mandible decomposed.

[DPS Ammonite]

Get some molding compound or Silly Putty and create a cast from the possible jaw mold. We may be able to give you a better ID then.

[Randyw]

39 minutes ago, JohnJ said:

 

I'm wondering if it is a matrix mold left when a mandible decomposed.

I agree with that. I’d have to see into where the teeth chewing surfaces were though to decide if it’s oreodont or not.. it does remind me of that though. Heres one from a skull i prepped out

[jpc]

I think folks are onto the correct answer except not so much from the mandible decomposed but rather when the rock it was in split, leaving an oreodont (?) smile in one face of the rock, and an empty smile in this other face.

[fossilhunter21]

I agree, this looks like an impression from a (probably oreodont) jaw. I think that it fossilized in this matrix, and then popped out of it, leaving an impression of the jaw.

 

I found multiple parts of a single skull while fossil hunting in the White River Formation (probably where yours came from), and part of one of the jaws had popped out of the matrix, leaving something behind that looked almost like the one in the photo above. I decided to glue the two pieces together, as I thought they looked better like that.

 

-Micah

 

 

Edited September 1, 2022 by fossilhunter21