Fruit or Egg?

[Quigi]

Hi, I found this along a cliff side region on the north shore of Lake Erie where I've also found many specimens from around the Devonian period (different bracheopod species, horn coral, plants and a several others that I will post on this site later). It was found in a ravine about 10 meters down from the surface level but around 20 meters from lake level. Thanks for any help that can be offered!

[CraigHyatt]

Not a fruit or egg. It's just a rock. ;-)

Welcome to the forum from South Texas!

[JohnBrewer]

I agree with Craig, it's a rock. Keep looking and welcome to the forum

[CraigHyatt]

Biological materials always have distinguishing anatomical details and texture. Soft material like fruit would virtually never be preserved. It would rot away too quickly. Likewise eggs are virtually never preserved since they are either too fragile or hatch before they fossilize. Fossil eggs have distinguishing characteristics such as the presence of a thin shell and porous texture.

[DNF]

Looks like the proximal end of a long bone. Is it stone or modern?

[Auspex]

Let me toss this out there: could it be the articulating "ball" from a long bone?

[Rustdee]

I agree that this is not an egg or fruit, however, I think that it may be more than just a rock. The first picture showing the internal structure looks biological to me. Unfortunately, I am not familiar with fossils from that area or that age. Let's see what others say.

I think DNF and Auspex may be onto something...

Edited August 14, 2016 by Rustdee

[Quigi]

Biological materials always have distinguishing anatomical details and texture. Soft material like fruit would virtually never be preserved. It would rot away too quickly. Likewise eggs are virtually never preserved since they are either too fragile or hatch before they fossilize. Fossil eggs have distinguishing characteristics such as the presence of a thin shell and porous texture.

Thanks for the welcome! I know a bit about geology and haven't seen any kind of rock like this before lol. I'm pretty sure it isn't any kind of concretion and Google image search can't seem to find anything remotely similar. Could you show me any pics of something you've seen similar or a link please? This specimen is quite light (less than a tennis ball) and extremely porous...I'd even chance a guess that it may be petrified

I've found several glacial specimens in the area and it is quite rich for finds. I've even found an ammonite within the cliffs in that area.

[Auspex]

Looks like the proximal end of a long bone. Is it stone or modern?

Let me toss this out there: could it be the articulating "ball" from a long bone?

Beat me!

I think it is from a young animal; look at the marks on the flat side...looks like the epiphysis.

[Quigi]

Looks like the proximal end of a long bone. Is it stone or modern?

It's definitely not a silicate like the bracheopod I used to support it in the side shot (which are plentiful in the same area) and it's quite light...less than a tennis ball

[Fruitbat]

I agree...it looks a lot like the ball (head) of a femur.

-Joe

[Troodon]

Im in the camp it might not be geologic but a condyle possibly a femur. I noted in red some possibility of cells.

Edited August 14, 2016 by Troodon

[CraigHyatt]

Thanks for the welcome! I know a bit about geology and haven't seen any kind of rock like this before lol. I'm pretty sure it isn't any kind of concretion and Google image search can't seem to find anything remotely similar. Could you show me any pics of something you've seen similar or a link please? This specimen is quite light (less than a tennis ball) and extremely porous...I'd even chance a guess that it may be petrified

I've found several glacial specimens in the area and it is quite rich for finds. I've even found an ammonite within the cliffs in that area.

Cool! If it's a bone, maybe you can find the rest of that bad boy. ;-)

[Quigi]

Looks like the proximal end of a long bone. Is it stone or modern?

Is there any way to verify that it is bone or should I get in touch with the R.O.M. again? (they take forever to get back lol, but they're always nice)

[Quigi]

Let me toss this out there: could it be the articulating "ball" from a long bone?

How could I verify that, other than getting in touch with a museum?

[CraigHyatt]

Is there any way to verify that it is bone or should I get in touch with the R.O.M. again? (they take forever to get back lol, but they're always nice)

Don't know how to confirm it's a bone or fossilized bone, but the "burn test" can distinguish a modern bone from a fossil. Hold it to a flame and if it smells like burning hair, it's likely modern.

[Quigi]

Don't know how to confirm it's a bone or fossilized bone, but the "burn test" can distinguish a modern bone from a fossil. Hold it to a flame and if it smells like burning hair, it's likely modern.

Thanks. Against my trepidation lol, I put a flame to it and tried a red hot needle. No smoke or smell of burning hair and any soot from the flame washed right off (I mainly used the blue part of the flame, but mixed it up just to be sure)

[HamptonsDoc]

Looks like a head of a humerus more than femur to me. The groove on the smooth side looks like the insertion point of the biceps tendon.

EDIT: actually maybe not. But do think its the head of a humerus or femur.

Edited August 14, 2016 by HamptonsDoc

[Quigi]

If it turns out to be bone and if it is fairly old, would it be fair to speculate that it may be from the Pleistocene era, perhaps even from a Mastodon?

[LordTrilobite]

I agree with the bone idea.

[tmaier]

Don't use the blue part of the flame, that is cold. Use the tip of the flame, the hottest part.

If there was much soot, then it likely came from the bone, which means it is fresh. Since this was found on a lake shore, it might be highly depleted of collagen.

In my amateur opinion, this is a ball joint from a modern bone, likely only a couple years old. I hike a lot (or used to) and find these a lot. The bones of dead creatures normally get chewed up and destroyed by animals, lichens, fungus, and erosion. They last only a few years, unless they become protected from the environment by being buried or washed into low oxygen swamp. The parts that last the longest are the ones that are thick and tough, like this ball joint cap.

[Quigi]

Don't use the blue part of the flame, that is cold. Use the tip of the flame, the hottest part.

If there was much soot, then it likely came from the bone, which means it is fresh. Since this was found on a lake shore, it might be highly depleted of collagen.

In my amateur opinion, this is a ball joint from a modern bone, likely only a couple years old. I hike a lot (or used to) and find these a lot. The bones of dead creatures normally get chewed up and destroyed by animals, lichens, fungus, and erosion. They last only a few years, unless they become protected from the environment by being buried or washed into low oxygen swamp. The parts that last the longest are the ones that are thick and tough, like this ball joint cap.

The blue part is the hottest...there's about 500-600 degrees F difference and it didn't combust in either part of the flame. I did find it near the shore, but roughly 400 meters inland from the lake and 20 meters elevation from the lake level.

[JohnJ]

As has been mentioned, it's most likely the head of a femur.

[tmaier]

As has been mentioned, it's most likely the head of a femur.

Yes, there is agreement on that. Now guess how old it is.

[JohnBrewer]

I must disagree. The hottest part of the flame is blue not red. Red flame is caused by impurities such as air which is why it's on the outside of the flame. Temperature is measured in degrees Kelvin which unlike light rather confusingly is measured in Kelvin (no degrees here) and the higher in colour temperatures i.e. light the higher the number is cooler! 5200 ish K in photography is normal daylight, higher is cooler and lower warmer. Go figure.