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Is this bone or wood


Corey.haysom

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I dug this up out of a riverbed and it looks like a tree stump but it also looks very much like bone 

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No animal (on this planet :P) with bones shaped like this. It is however shaped just like the root structure of a tree. From photos it appears to be mineralized but looks can be deceiving. When tapped with something solid does this piece have the sound of stone or wood? If it sounds dense then it appears to be a nice section of fossilized (petrified) wood. Possibly more where that came from. Cool find.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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1 hour ago, Corey.haysom said:

I dug this up out of a riverbed and it looks like a tree stump


I think you have the right idea there. Looks to me to be a tree stump that has been weathering something akin to driftwood. My parents have a similar bone white stump from an eastern red cedar tree decorating a flower bed. 
 

Still, as @digit suggested, a tap with a hammer, or maybe a knife/hatchet cut in an inconspicuous area would help you confirm if it is fossilized wood or not.

 

My experience with stumps like these is that they are very hard (when compared to other wood). Especially after they dry.  However, it should be fairly evident if it’s hardened dried wood or mineralized.

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Moved to FOSSIL ID.  ;)

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

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If it's petrified wood, a piece that size would also be extremely heavy compared to a similar modern chunk of wood.  I agree that the general shape is very suggestive of petrified wood, but the obvious hollow spaces, like the ones seen in the last photo, make me wonder if it isn't a very suggestively shaped piece of limestone.  Maybe the type of wood Corey's location mineralizes differently than it does here in Texas. But all the petrified wood I've found over the years was mineralized all the way through.   I've never seen petrified wood that had substantial hollows like that.

I will say the shape is very fascinating though.

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This item does appear worn and a bit tumbled so I think the possible cause would be a piece of driftwood that was smoothed and tumbled (possibly with voids like seen at some of the tips) before it was buried in some nice high-silica sand and mineralized.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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On 12/11/2022 at 1:21 AM, FossilNerd said:


I think you have the right idea there. Looks to me to be a tree stump that has been weathering something akin to driftwood. My parents have a similar bone white stump from an eastern red cedar tree decorating a flower bed. 
 

Still, as @digit suggested, a tap with a hammer, or maybe a knife/hatchet cut in an inconspicuous area would help you confirm if it is fossilized wood or not.

 

My experience with stumps like these is that they are very hard (when compared to other wood). Especially after they dry.  However, it should be fairly evident if it’s hardened dried wood or mineralized.

How do I tell if it’s fossilised? 

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On 12/11/2022 at 2:46 AM, Brandy Cole said:

If it's petrified wood, a piece that size would also be extremely heavy compared to a similar modern chunk of wood.  I agree that the general shape is very suggestive of petrified wood, but the obvious hollow spaces, like the ones seen in the last photo, make me wonder if it isn't a very suggestively shaped piece of limestone.  Maybe the type of wood Corey's location mineralizes differently than it does here in Texas. But all the petrified wood I've found over the years was mineralized all the way through.   I've never seen petrified wood that had substantial hollows like that.

I will say the shape is very fascinating though.

It’s not limestone I’m from Australia and it is about the same weight as a normal piece of wood probly 150kilo or so

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I dug this up on a riverbank in Australia where I live, after we had some huge flooding, yes it looks like a tree stump but it also looks like a bone in some places 

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You already posted this on Saturday and you got some answers, if it’s not the same specimen it’s the same thing anyway. A post is enough for the whole to follow the conversation and deductions :Wink1:

 

Coco

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----------------------
OUTIL POUR MESURER VOS FOSSILES : ici

Ma bibliothèque PDF 1 (Poissons et sélaciens récents & fossiles) : ici
Ma bibliothèque PDF 2 (Animaux vivants - sans poissons ni sélaciens) : ici
Mâchoires sélaciennes récentes : ici
Hétérodontiques et sélaciens : ici
Oeufs sélaciens récents : ici
Otolithes de poissons récents ! ici

Un Greg...

Badges-IPFOTH.jpg.f4a8635cda47a3cc506743a8aabce700.jpg Badges-MOTM.jpg.461001e1a9db5dc29ca1c07a041a1a86.jpg

 

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15 minutes ago, Coco said:

You already posted this on Saturday and you got some answers, if it’s not the same specimen it’s the same thing anyway. A post is enough for the whole to follow the conversation and deductions :Wink1:

 

Coco

I got told to repost it on this with more pictures hence why I’m doing it 

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51 minutes ago, Corey.haysom said:

I got told to repost it on this with more pictures hence why I’m doing it 

It would be better to add photos by responding to the original post. 

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Topics Merged.

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    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

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"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."

John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~   ><))))( *>  About Me      

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6 hours ago, Corey.haysom said:

It’s not limestone I’m from Australia and it is about the same weight as a normal piece of wood probly 150kilo or so

Will it burn ? Not does it want to, will it ?  :) And does it react to a drop of weak acid such as vinegar ?

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6 hours ago, Corey.haysom said:

How do I tell if it’s fossilised? 

 

Just to simplify things a bit… A fossilized piece of wood will essentially no longer be wood but rock. Your specimen should not only be as hard as stone but actual stone. It should not cut like wood and should be very dense and heavy (when compared to wood) Basically think of a rock that looks like wood. It should essentially have the same properties as rock and act like it rather than wood.

 

My suggestion of hammer tap or knife cut was to determine if it’s literally rock or wood.

 

When you tap it with a hammer are you literally hitting wood or stone? If you try to cut it (in a conspicuous area)  are you cutting into wood or literally attempting to cut rock?

 

6 hours ago, Corey.haysom said:

It’s not limestone I’m from Australia and it is about the same weight as a normal piece of wood probly 150kilo or so

 

As @Brandy Cole mentioned, If it is fossilized it would be very heavy compared to a piece of wood of the same size. If you think it’s a normal weight that is a good indicator of it being a normal piece of wood.

 

9 minutes ago, Rockwood said:

Will it burn ? Not does it want to, will it ?  :) And does it react to a drop of weak acid such as vinegar ?


:DittoSign:


 

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The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.  -Neil deGrasse Tyson

 

Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. -Bill Nye (The Science Guy)

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You can also tell if it's mineral instead of wood if it makes a pinging sound when you tap it with metal.  If it's wood it should make a duller thud sound.

 

The new pictures to me look even more like geologic features than your previous pictures did.  They show the alternative porous and smooth texture that I associate with limestone or sandstone.  Also your seventh picture has round grooves around the end. I commonly use those types of grooves to help me differentiate fossil from suggestively shaped shaped limestone or sandstone because these erosion grooves are so common in sedimentary rocks but not in petrified wood.

 

I know nothing about the geology in your specific part of Australia but a Google search indicated that limestone naturally occurs in Australia and is quarried there.   https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamala_Limestone. 

Maybe it doesn't occur in your particular region?

 

If you narrow your general region down, maybe someone familiar with geology in your region can chime in with their thoughts.

 

 

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It's probably worth noting that a normal piece of wood that size is definitely NOT 150kg/330lbs, and would be significantly lighter, especially when hollow. I'd be going with limestone for this, though. 

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Fossils? I dig it. :meg:

 

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I have no doubt that it was a stump at one time. I think the question is whether this is petrified or just mineral soaked. The latter would likely weigh nearly the same. The stone hat trick of mineralization in a pan comes to mind.

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On 12/12/2022 at 10:59 PM, FossilNerd said:

 

Just to simplify things a bit… A fossilized piece of wood will essentially no longer be wood but rock. Your specimen should not only be as hard as stone but actual stone. It should not cut like wood and should be very dense and heavy (when compared to wood) Basically think of a rock that looks like wood. It should essentially have the same properties as rock and act like it rather than wood.

 

My suggestion of hammer tap or knife cut was to determine if it’s literally rock or wood.

 

When you tap it with a hammer are you literally hitting wood or stone? If you try to cut it (in a conspicuous area)  are you cutting into wood or literally attempting to cut rock?

 

 

As @Brandy Cole mentioned, If it is fossilized it would be very heavy compared to a piece of wood of the same size. If you think it’s a normal weight that is a good indicator of it being a normal piece of wood.

 


:DittoSign:


 

What does vinerger do if it was bone or wood

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4 hours ago, Corey.haysom said:

What does vinerger do if it was bone or wood

It would indicate subsequent impregnation or replacement by carbonate minerals. 

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5 hours ago, Corey.haysom said:

So if it was bone what would vinerger do to it

Just a modern bone, or the typical fossil bone. Nothing.

.

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On 12/12/2022 at 5:59 AM, FossilNerd said:

 

Just to simplify things a bit… A fossilized piece of wood will essentially no longer be wood but rock. Your specimen should not only be as hard as stone but actual stone. It should not cut like wood and should be very dense and heavy (when compared to wood) Basically think of a rock that looks like wood. It should essentially have the same properties as rock and act like it rather than wood.

 

My suggestion of hammer tap or knife cut was to determine if it’s literally rock or wood.

 

When you tap it with a hammer are you literally hitting wood or stone? If you try to cut it (in a conspicuous area)  are you cutting into wood or literally attempting to cut rock?

 

 

As @Brandy Cole mentioned, If it is fossilized it would be very heavy compared to a piece of wood of the same size. If you think it’s a normal weight that is a good indicator of it being a normal piece of wood.

 


:DittoSign:


 

 

On 12/21/2022 at 2:36 PM, Rockwood said:

Just a modern bone, or the typical fossil bone. Nothing.

.

 

On 12/21/2022 at 2:36 PM, Rockwood said:

Just a modern bone, or the typical fossil bone. Nothing.

.

So look, can you put it in as straight forward as you can, if I put vinerger on it, if it’s wood it reacts? And if it’s bone it doesn’t? 

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3 hours ago, Corey.haysom said:

 

 

So look, can you put it in as straight forward as you can, if I put vinerger on it, if it’s wood it reacts? And if it’s bone it doesn’t? 

Neither wood or bone will react noticeably to vinegar. Vinegar reacts to different degrees, depending on the form, to calcium carbonate. This is a soluble mineral which could be involved in the preservation of either.  It's presence is one indicator used to determine the probable identity of the piece.

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