ID my fossil

[Robert Halvorson]

Again I just want to stay thank you for everybody's comments I love this forum I'm brand new at this this is like my 5th day 6 day maybe and I'm hooked already I need all the help I can possibly get I don't know what this is can you please help me as far as I know it's nothing could be a rock looks like a tooth to me any help I can get will be deeply appreciated thanks in advance everybody have a wonderful day

[Robert Halvorson]

Sorry everyone I'm just trying to get used to this system I'm brand new to this game I've been digging in the ground now for maybe 6 days total so that goes to show you how much experience I have LOL it's still a guessing game to me and on my last post I have forgot to say that I'm from the Harrisburg area of Pennsylvania thanks for your patience love this form everybody have a wonderful night

[ClearLake]

This does not look like any recognizable fossil to me and it certainly does not look like a dinosaur tooth. If you are digging in the Dauphin Pa area, your rocks are Silurian-Devonian in age according to the geologic map I looked at. This is much to old for dinosaurs, you are more likely to find marine invertebrates if fossils are present. 

[Robert Halvorson]

Thank you so much everyone . Like I said this is all new to me and I'm learning but one way to learn in that study and listen to The experts thank you everyone

[Rockwood]

I'm virtually positive that it is a fossil. Probably a trace fossil, but it could also be something like bryozoan. One would need a close look at the texture inside the holes to determine that though.

[RJB]

I'm just gunna call this a rock.  Dont give up though.  Ya gotta start somewhere.  Best of luck

 

RB

[Rockwood]

16 minutes ago, RJB said:

I'm just gunna call this a rock.  Dont give up though.  Ya gotta start somewhere.  Best of luck

 

RB

And the holes in it ? How were they formed ?

[ClearLake]

2 hours ago, Rockwood said:

And the holes in it ? How were they formed ?

Those certainly could be molds of something that was there, but they seem too large and irregular to be bryozoan (if you were suggesting the whole piece is a bryozoan). Of course, I’m just estimating the size since we don’t have any scale. The pictures are sort of dark, so I might be missing something but I’m still not seeing fossil, just rock texture. 

[Rockwood]

8 hours ago, Rockwood said:

Probably a trace fossil,

Come on people. This isn't April fools day. I checked. 

[Rockwood]

29 minutes ago, ClearLake said:

I might be missing something

The holes in it.

[Robert Halvorson]

Sorry to the whole community again this is new to me trying to follow all the rules the best I can next time I send pictures I will definitely have a tape measure or something for scale it's about three and a half 4 in Long patience people LOL I'll get better as I go

[Rockwood]

I think cardboard works fine as a scale. 

[Robert Halvorson]

sorry guys is that a little better I'll get better as I go everybody have a great day I think I'm going to go out in the yard and dig some more I'm addicted LOL

[JohnJ]

Try taking some photos in natural light.

[Rockwood]

3 minutes ago, JohnJ said:

Try taking some photos in natural light.

Am I seeing the same thing as the rest of you ? How much more could you possibly need to see ?

[JohnJ]

13 minutes ago, Rockwood said:

How much more could you possibly need to see ?

 

More surface texture, photos at right angles, and an end view image of the larger end.   A general location would also be helpful.

[Brandy Cole]

35 minutes ago, Rockwood said:

Am I seeing the same thing as the rest of you ? How much more could you possibly need to see ?

This piece bears a resemblance to worn fossil bones I've found.  Particularly the second photo seems to show texture that could be consistent with worn trabecular bone.  Pictures in better light could help confirm or dispel that possibility.

[Rockwood]

[Robert Halvorson]

Well I've given the location now at least three times it's been raining here for about 3-4 days now so there is no natural light think I'm just going to kick back and watch for a little while and I ain't showing nothing else we'll get back with it got a date with the history museum in Harrisburg tomorrow they'll tell me what I need to know thanks everybody have a great day

[cngodles]

Pennsylvania (the type location of the Pennsylvanian age of rocks) has little to no dinosaur material. While there was deposition here for hundreds of millions of years (Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous, Permian, and more), the opposite has happened mostly since the Permian. While dinosaurs certainly tracked over all of Pennsylvania, their remains were (almost) never buried for long. As new deposits form, water, wind, and more wash them down river and out of the state. As you get Southeast in the state, there are some dinosaur-aged rocks, but I believe they have produced very little, with a few teeth and a handful of tracks.

 

Geologic Age Map for Pennsylvania

https://pittsburghgeologicalsociety.org/uploads/3/4/1/4/34142091/map7_4.pdf

 

A 2015 article about dinosaurs found in Pennsylvania

https://www.pennlive.com/wildaboutpa/2015/06/jurassic_world_in_pennsylvania_1.html

 

Neighboring New Jersey has many dinosaur fossils, which were buried and preserved by rocks washed away in Pennsylvania.

 

I also read once that there may be some to be found under Philadelphia, but unfortunately there is a giant city preventing them from being discovered.

 

Edited March 26, 2023 by cngodles

[JohnJ]

14 hours ago, Robert Halvorson said:

I'm from the Harrisburg area of Pennsylvania

 

12 minutes ago, Robert Halvorson said:

Well I've given the location now at least three times it's been raining here for about 3-4 days now so there is no natural light

 

So, I suppose you are implying that you found this in the same area?  Sorry, that wasn't understood.

[Brandy Cole]

23 minutes ago, Robert Halvorson said:

Well I've given the location now at least three times it's been raining here for about 3-4 days now so there is no natural light think I'm just going to kick back and watch for a little while and I ain't showing nothing else we'll get back with it got a date with the history museum in Harrisburg tomorrow they'll tell me what I need to know thanks everybody have a great day

Natural lighting often works best, but sometimes just changing to a room in the house with brighter lighting can help.

 

Looking online, it does seem that Pleistocene fossils may be possible in your area even if dinosaurs are not.  I do think certain features in the shape and texture of this piece bear a strong resemblance to darkly mineralized trabecular fossil bone, but as I said before, I think a brighter, more detailed picture of the side you show in your second picture would be very helpful.

 

Good luck at the museum. Please let us know what you find out.  I personally don't think your piece is an ordinary rock.  But I could be wrong.  I'm very curious to see what it could be.

[Brandy Cole]

This is the angle I'm most curious about that reminds me of worn bone.  I tried to brighten it and improve contrast, but I think a photo better focused on this area using a flash or different light would be helpful.

[fifbrindacier]

22 hours ago, Rockwood said:

And the holes in it ? How were they formed ?

Hi, those holes might, and i insist on might, be the result of lithophagous pelecipods, or, if this is bone, and i insist on if, the lumen necessary for blood vessels or ligament insertions. 

Edited March 27, 2023 by fifbrindacier

[Brandy Cole]

I'm providing pictures of a mineralized carpal bone from my collection that has a similar look and led me to think this might be bone.  The holes in it appear to be formed from natural processes as @fifbrindacier described.

 

I would also say that if @Robert Halvorson does have a piece of fossil bone here, then some of the holes may still be explained by borings.  I have a couple of different pieces of mineralized bone and shell that show signs of boring damage before mineralization.