Found possible fossilized fish / turtle head in S. Nevada.

[702gemologist]

Hi y’all I just visited an abandoned mine here in Nevada, and found a crystal covered rock, or so I thought. 
 

it’s from a local manganese mine and found at the shore of the lake . I 1/4 of this was sticking out of the ground. 
 

when I took it home and cleaned it up a bit I noticed weird “sockets” and what looks like either a fossilized fish fin or some sorts. 
 

maybe my imagination playing tricks on me . Maybe you can help. I also think I may have found a dinosaur egg that I first thought was a geode. 
 

 

[rocket]

hm, my opinion is that this is a rock looking like a skull, but not a fossil

[Tidgy's Dad]

Yup, the rock has just been broken / chipped in a couple of places to give the appearance of a mouth and eye. 

No bone structure present, just a rock, I'm afraid.  

[702gemologist]

I can go on forever but here’s a sneak peak at the dinosaur egg (to me it looks like an egg that was stepped on, and then it somehow fossilized, a little piece of it fell out and I used m. Acid to lightly clean it) but it is all quart replacement of bones. 
 

when the piece fell out it  felt and looked like a spinal fluid slime and also inside the egg still has what looks like a umbilical cord OR hair/fur. And when looking at the smooth side that fell out it reminds me of reptilian skin. . I’ll try to upload another photo of what oooks like the leg+”fingers” aka claw. ) and some other piece I found the black looks like a (Dino claw?) I would like to take to the Clark county heritage museum to get it inspected 

[702gemologist]

5 minutes ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

Yup, the rock has just been broken / chipped in a couple of places to give the appearance of a mouth and eye. 

No bone structure present, just a rock, I'm afraid.  

Thank you! I appreciate it!

[Tidgy's Dad]

Another rock, I'm afraid. 

What you describe is not how eggs fossilize, no spinal fluid and eggs don't contain umbilical cords. 

[jpc]

Sorry to tell you, these are not fossils.

You are Vegas... take it to the new national park (I forget the name) that was set up for the fossils in the area.  

[702gemologist]

23 minutes ago, jpc said:

Sorry to tell you, these are not fossils.

You are Vegas... take it to the new national park (I forget the name) that was set up for the fossils in the area.  

Tule Springs ?

[702gemologist]

24 minutes ago, jpc said:

Sorry to tell you, these are not fossils.

You are Vegas... take it to the new national park (I forget the name) that was set up for the fossils in the area.  

This one doesn’t contain fossils as well? 

[Thomas.Dodson]

9 minutes ago, 702gemologist said:

This one doesn’t contain fossils as well? 

This one does. Looks like some worn transverse sections across horn coral. There might be some other things as well but the image isn't in focus enough for me to say more than horn corals.

[702gemologist]

5 minutes ago, Thomas.Dodson said:

This one does. Looks like some worn transverse sections across horn coral. There might be some other things as well but the image isn't in focus enough for me to say more than horn corals.

Thank you! I will post detail photos of this one shortly. But back to topic at hand . Here are better quality images of main Dino egg and possible “chicken” fingers.

[Tidgy's Dad]

Yes, rugose corals. 

Maybe Pennsylvanian? 

 

(the previous post, not the rock above.) 

Edited May 25 by Tidgy's Dad

[digit]

4 hours ago, 702gemologist said:

I can go on forever but here’s a sneak peak at the dinosaur egg (to me it looks like an egg that was stepped on, and then it somehow fossilized, a little piece of it fell out and I used m. Acid to lightly clean it) but it is all quart replacement of bones. 
 

when the piece fell out it  felt and looked like a spinal fluid slime and also inside the egg still has what looks like a umbilical cord OR hair/fur. And when looking at the smooth side that fell out it reminds me of reptilian skin. . I’ll try to upload another photo of what oooks like the leg+”fingers” aka claw. ) and some other piece I found the black looks like a (Dino claw?) I would like to take to the Clark county heritage museum to get it inspected 

You'll have to reset your imagination which is leading you too far from the specimen itself. Please understand that it is generally bones that mineralize and soft tissues only are preserved in rare cases and not in the 3D nature that you are imagining. What you believe you are seeing in this specimen is only the result of the curious phenomenon known as pareidolia. This is the same pattern matching software that our brain uses to spot faces in a crowd but also imaging bunny rabbits and dragons in cloud formations. The specimen in question shows no signs of fossil material.

 

Your other item with the curious shapes and the black slate-like background matrix does appear to be fossils--likely rugose corals as mentioned but they are not clear enough to say with 100% certainty.

 

You might wish to check into geologic maps of Nevada to see the ages of the rocks where you are collecting. Knowing the ages of the surface rocks will inform you as to what fossil types are possible. For example, there are no dinosaur fossils in Florida as it was underwater during the entire age of the dinosaurs.

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

 

[702gemologist]

3 hours ago, digit said:

You'll have to reset your imagination which is leading you too far from the specimen itself. Please understand that it is generally bones that mineralize and soft tissues only are preserved in rare cases and not in the 3D nature that you are imagining. What you believe you are seeing in this specimen is only the result of the curious phenomenon known as pareidolia. This is the same pattern matching software that our brain uses to spot faces in a crowd but also imaging bunny rabbits and dragons in cloud formations. The specimen in question shows no signs of fossil material.

 

Your other item with the curious shapes and the black slate-like background matrix does appear to be fossils--likely rugose corals as mentioned but they are not clear enough to say with 100% certainty.

 

You might wish to check into geologic maps of Nevada to see the ages of the rocks where you are collecting. Knowing the ages of the surface rocks will inform you as to what fossil types are possible. For example, there are no dinosaur fossils in Florida as it was underwater during the entire age of the dinosaurs.

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

 

Thann you for taking the time to respond Ken. I will take a look at it. My background, I work work with construction sites and therefore a lot of the material I come into contact with is fresh and haven’t seen the day of light in hundreds maybe millions of years. 
 

they have there huge excavators digging up the material.

 

but yes here is a few more photos of the fossils you guys agree on

[Mahnmut]

I like that last one, erosion made the structures stand out nicely. I also think its rugose corals.

The first one is just a rock (with calzite or quartz crystals) that broke into a fun shape IMO.

I also do not see the egg/claw fossil. Interesting shapes, yes, but pure geology without fossil in my eyes.

bet regards,

J

[digit]

8 hours ago, 702gemologist said:

My background, I work work with construction sites and therefore a lot of the material I come into contact with is fresh and haven’t seen the day of light in hundreds maybe millions of years. 

Perfect opportunity to encounter lots of fresh rock material. Learn the types of fossils that can occur in the rocks in your area and keep an eye out for them.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[fifbrindacier]

Your last rock does show coral-like fossils in cross section.

Congratulations.