Imprint of opalised fossil vertebrae?

[adeline_leigh_shahn]

Dear paleo experts,

I wonder if you could help me out here.

Please excuse my naivety if I have totally gotten this wrong... but I am wondering if this slab of opal (Lightning Ridge, Australia) in my collection might actually bear the imprint of some fossilised material?

It was the very informative blog of Andre Stucki (opalised fossil specimens) and Johno's Opals that brought me here to seek your advice.

Thank you for any information you might be able to provide.

And if I am totally wrong about this; my sincere apologies for wasting your time.

[Raggedy Man]

I can't say for sure if there's any visual evidence suggesting a vertebrae is present, but I do know Australia has some amazing opalized fossils.

I love the play of colors of this piece. While I love the flash of opals like this, opal butte from Oregon is just simply stunning. I am interested in seeing what others say about this piece so I'll be watching. Have a wonderful day!

Best regards,

Paul

[adeline_leigh_shahn]

Dear Paul,

Thank you for weighing in Opal is a great love of mine and now that the passion has gone beyond mere aesthetics, I'm interested to know about it's characteristics.

[ynot]

Opal forms in cracks and cavities within the parent rock, this often is the filling of voids left after the original organic remains have dissolved, IE fossil casts. Once a opal has been polished it loses any outward appearance- which is often the only way to tell what it was originally.

Nice opal, but impossible to identify what it may have been or if it was actually a fossil and not a crack filling.

Tony