A Piece Of Soft Tissue Fossil Of A Dinosaur?

[Jiuwei]

I have what appears to a piece of partially opalized fossil consisting of the skin, muscle and bone tissue of a dinosaur. It is from Australia. When sitting up, it is about 8 cm tall and 6 cm wide. Please see attached photos for details. Any suggestions?

[Auspex]

Do you know what else might have been found in the same formation?

Some of the features I see remind me of a siderite concretion...

[Bill]

Hmmmm! Ammonoid/Nautiloid in a siderite nodule?

[BobWill]

At first I thought concretion, maybe siderite or septarian. The more I looked the less it looks like either one or for that matter like any skin, bone or nautiloid I've seen, I guess I haven't seen muscle fossilized for comparison. Does that help any ?

[Govinn]

awww man... I'm shooting for the "partially opalized fossil consisting of the skin, muscle and bone tissue of a dinosaur"

[Mike from North Queensland]

Sorry just looks like an ordinary piece of boulder opal from central Queensland no fossil just boulder opal.

Mike

[Rosco]

I have seen many pieces of boulder opal near identical to this. The texture is very typical; very little is diagnostic of a fossil.

[Indy]

Power of suggestion

Interesting...When one asks "What kind of fossil is this?"

Most (including myself) try to match the form and or pattern to known fossils.

I didn't reply earlier...just to wait and see what others would say. However,

I have to admit, nautiloid did come to mind

[Bullsnake]

Power of suggestion

Interesting...When one asks "What kind of fossil is this?"

Most (including myself) try to match the form and or pattern to known fossils.

I didn't reply earlier...just to wait and see what others would say. However,

I have to admit, nautiloid did come to mind

My reasons for not posting?

1. Didn't have any idea.

2.Looks like a large intestine.(Do you think I would have posted that? )

Cool looking find, though.

[Missourian]

It kind of looks like someone tried to roll up a Snickers bar.... or perhaps a Tim Tam, since it was found in Australia.

[Jiuwei]

Many thanks for the suggestions, which have opened my mind greatly.

I got it from a local store and thus I had no idea about what else had been found together with it.

Searching through hundreds of photos of "boulder opal" on the internet, I have yet to see one that is similar to or as puzzling as mine. It is a charming little creation of Mother Nature.

A photo showing an ammonoid in a siderite/septarian nodule from somewhere in Australia will probably end this interesting discussion.

Have a good day.

Edited February 20, 2012 by Jiuwei

[Indy]

Many thanks for the suggestions, which have opened my mind greatly.

I got it from a local store and thus I had no idea about what else had been found together with it.

Searching through hundreds of photos of "boulder opal" on the internet, I have yet to see one that is similar to or as puzzling as mine. It is a charming little creation of Mother Nature.

A photo showing an ammonoid in a siderite/septarian nodule from somewhere in Australia will probably end this interesting discussion.

Have a good day.

I was also curious and searched for comparable images of "boulder opals"

and couldn't find any that even looked vaguely similar.

Google Image search: "Boulder Opal": LINK

I did find one page illustrating some "Unpolished Boulder Opals" but

they don't look like yours: LINK

Wondering if a member has some comparable images to the one you found