chabbysdad Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 Hi I found this rock I thought could be a tooth its very heavy and about 9cm long any help would be much appreciated thanks Link to post Share on other sites
Ludwigia Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 I'm afraid that this is not a tooth. The shape is all wrong and there is no sign of enamel. I'm seeing quartz or calcite there. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Troodon Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 Agree not seeing anything pointing towards a tooth. Definitely geologic. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites
chabbysdad Posted February 18 Author Share Posted February 18 Yeah mite not be a tooth but it is to heavy to be quartz it is definitely petrified something I thought tooth because it kinda looks like it Link to post Share on other sites
Ludwigia Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 It's a rock and not a fossil. Link to post Share on other sites
chabbysdad Posted February 18 Author Share Posted February 18 Well what ever it is its petrified and looks like opal on the top if it's not a fossil what could it be? im a prospector and have found lots of opal ,gold and gems and it is as heavy as petrified wood it's not quartz it's way to heavy. Any ideas what it could be? Link to post Share on other sites
Sagebrush Steve Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 32 minutes ago, chabbysdad said: Well what ever it is its petrified and looks like opal on the top if it's not a fossil what could it be? im a prospector and have found lots of opal ,gold and gems and it is as heavy as petrified wood it's not quartz it's way to heavy. Any ideas what it could be? Most petrified wood is made up of quartz or similar silica-based materials, so I’m not sure I understand what you mean. Link to post Share on other sites
chabbysdad Posted February 18 Author Share Posted February 18 Well I have been fossicking for gold for months and have been around lots and lots of different quartz and it doesn't look or feel like quartz it's very very heavy there are little holes all over it and is hollow and has little rings or layers inside it doesn't look like any quartz I've seen that's why I thought it wasn't quartz and I have found lots of petrified wood and it looks or feels nothing like it but I'm far from an expert and was just wondering what it is thanks for your comments Link to post Share on other sites
Coco Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 Hi, There are other minerals that have a higher density than quartz, such as barite, but I don’t recognize it there. Coco 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Mahnmut Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 Hello chabbysdad and welcome to the forum! As others have mentioned, most fossils are of the same density (=weight per volume) as the surrounding rocks. Fossil bone or wood is usually heavier than fresh bone or wood, but not heavier than most rocks. Thats why weight is often mentioned when its not clear if something is a fossil. To me your find looks very much like an agate or chert or flint nodule, which is chemically the same as quartz, and even the same as precious opal, just with a different structure. Density is also about the same. The flint nodules found in my corner of the world often form around fossils like sponges or sometimes sea urchins, also there are many kinds of layered mineral nodules, so that could explain your layers or rings. You say it feels heavier than quartz, if you want to know for sure, here is what to do: put your find in a measuring cup half full with water to find out its volume (measured volume after putting in the stone minus volume before), divide the weight of the stone by the volume. (for example 50g /20 cm³ =2,5 g/cm³). Quartz ,agate, opal, flint (and many other minerals) have densities between 2.5 and 3 g/cm³. I´ll bet thats what you will find. If its really much denser, its another mineral and an interesting one maybe, but that says nothing about it being a fossil. Best Regards, J Link to post Share on other sites
chabbysdad Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 Thanks mate for your help I will do that thanks again Link to post Share on other sites
chabbysdad Posted February 20 Author Share Posted February 20 Hey I've done what you said and it's density is 3.125 Link to post Share on other sites
MrR Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 Perhaps that 1/8 difference is within the margin of error for the "Quartz, agate, opal, and flint (And many other minerals..."? I'm not sure what that .125 means, composition wise, but it might be impressive that you can feel that kind of difference in weight. I'm not being facetious here. Cheers. Link to post Share on other sites
chabbysdad Posted February 20 Author Share Posted February 20 Thanks mate I have lots of quartz that are very close to the same size so I used them for comparison Link to post Share on other sites
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