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Mom Found An Egg


BigTDoyle

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Hi guys names Tony new member, I've seen many people get help here so I appreciate any help in advance. My mom is a flagger in construction and her crew was excavating and she saw this egg in all the dirt and picked it up. Its rock hard and has alot of dark markings on it Im guessing through the process of fossilization or petrification (apologize dont know which this egg falls under). Its about the same size as a chicken egg just a few mm's bigger, the sizes i took of it are: 5.5 cms long and 3.5 cm wide. it is hard as a rock and will not crack under most pressures please take a look and give me your ideas and how old it may be thank you.

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Hi guys names Tony new member, I've seen many people get help here so I appreciate any help in advance. My mom is a flagger in construction and her crew was excavating and she saw this egg in all the dirt and picked it up. Its rock hard and has alot of dark markings on it Im guessing through the process of fossilization or petrification (apologize dont know which this egg falls under). Its about the same size as a chicken egg just a few mm's bigger, the sizes i took of it are: 5.5 cms long and 3.5 cm wide. it is hard as a rock and will not crack under most pressures please take a look and give me your ideas and how old it may be thank you.

Welcome to the Forum Tony.

We would need better pictures from different angles, well lit and clear.

From the pictures provided I would say probably not an egg, but, will reserve judgement until we see much better pictures.

Is there a slightly bumpy texture to it at all?

Regards,

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

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besides better pics, please tell us exactly where (in Utah?) it was found. (If it came from 500 million year old deposits, we can rule out egg pretty quickly).

"There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant

“Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley

>Paleontology is an evolving science.

>May your wonders never cease!

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IT LOOKS LIKE A UTAH SEPTARIAN NODULE CARVED INTO A EGG. I HAVE HAD SOME AND THERE IS LOTS AROUND. SOMEONE PROBLLY LOST IT OR PUT IT THERE TO GET ONE EXCITED. NOT A DINO EGG FOR SURE.

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nope it wasnt carved or polished it came deep out of the ground my mom works for a big construction co and they found it deep unfortunately im not well taught in geology so i dont know how far down it was in terms of age of it ill take some more pics any better ideas on taking the pic lemme know but its definitely an egg how long would it take an egg to fossilize or petrify cuz it looks like an extra large chicken egg but its got dark marks on it im guessing from the process it takes to solidify the silica or how it works sorry the pics i take are too big im trying to get better shots without having to blow it up

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I really don't think it is actually a fossilized egg; it's just too perfect. The real things are vanishingly rare, and all suffer from some crushing:

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They also have a very distinctive texture:

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The fact that yours was found underground does not mean that it cannot be a human artifact; stuff gets buried all the time. One possibility is that it is a "brooder egg", once commonly used to encourage hens to keep laying while their eggs kept "disappearing". It could also be a geological artifact, but like I said, it is almost too perfect.

Can you take it to a museum, or a university, that has a paleontology program? I think it may best be studied in the hand, because crucial details are missing from the pictures.

"There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant

“Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley

>Paleontology is an evolving science.

>May your wonders never cease!

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Does the University of Utah have a paleontology program im sure they do but like i said im not that intelligent when it comes to this but i can definitely tell its no rock node or anything as far as i have researched, but its hard for u to tell without appreciating its naturalness, I'll have to visit the u of u's website and see thanks for your help and any other u all might help me with.

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What area of Utah was it found? The general area it was found can tell us the relative age of the object in question.

Cole~

Knowledge has three degrees-opinion, science, illumination. The means or instrument of the first is sense; of the second, dialectic; of the third, intuition.

Plotinus 204 or 205 C.E., Egyptian Philosopher

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Oh yeah, the University of Utah has a paleo program. I thought about going to school there in the 80's just because of that.

I don't think it's an egg either. I can certainly appreciate your perspective. It's the shape of an egg so it has a good chance of being an egg. The thing to keep in mind is that erosion sculpts as it destroys. Sometimes, a rock is found that has been water-worn into the shape of a tooth or a bone or an egg but it lacks the minute features of an actual fossil. I have seen egg-shaped rocks a few times, but as Auspex noted, actual fossil eggs are incredibly rare and found with some degree of crushing. Many times, a fossil egg is not immediately identified as such because it looks more like a biscuit or a cookie having lost its original shape from the crushing of overlying sediments. The texture of the eggshell is the indicator of whether is it reptile or bird. As your research has probably already told you, it takes very special kinds of deposits to preserve them to that level of completeness.

Please let us know what they say at the university.

Does the University of Utah have a paleontology program im sure they do but like i said im not that intelligent when it comes to this but i can definitely tell its no rock node or anything as far as i have researched, but its hard for u to tell without appreciating its naturalness, I'll have to visit the u of u's website and see thanks for your help and any other u all might help me with.

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One thing no one has mentioned yet is that fossil eggs generally have an eggshell layer to them. Yes, you can see the eggshell on the outside of the fossil. This is true for dinos and birds at least. Not so much for other reptiles. We get a lot of "fossil eggs" at the museum where I work. Mostly they are not, and I end up showing folks how there is no eggshell layer on the outside. This usually convinces them. The U of U has plenty of paleontologists on board to help you out.

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