Are they dinosaur footprints ?

[xespiau]

G'day all,

 

Xavier from Darwin, Australia.

 

On a working trip to a remote island and fishing on rocks I found those interesting "things" that look like animal foot prints.

I really knows absolutely nothing about fossils or foot print and I hope someone here can help.

 

They are roughly 400mm by 400mm.

 

Looking forward to getting some response.

 

Cheers,

 

Xavier

[tmaier]

The top image especially does not look like a footprint to me. The impression is extremely smooth and the shape is a sharp wedge pointing down, so that doesn't seem right to me.

The second image looks more likely, but still the orientation of the three impressions relative to each other doesn't seem proper to me.

I suspect that the impressions were formed by some object that fell out of it. Do you find any objects around that look like nodules that would fit into these spaces?

Wait for more opinions...
 

[xespiau]

It is in a very remote island where only indigenous people live.

No objects where found around , the rocks are subject to tides movement.

[tmaier]

I repeat this lecture a lot, but...

When things like this are found in the field, it is a good idea to look around and study all the other associated rocks, becuase they can give you some clues about what this one might be. So, for example, you might look around and find that there are rocks with nodules jutting out from them, ready to fall out and expose pockets in the rock like what is seen here. Or, you might find that there are a lot more of these marks, with identical characterisitcs of texture and geometry, but they are in no way a spore (footprint), and the ones shown here are just random chance to be in the orientation to look like spore.

Do these pock marks occur in other places on the rocks?

Sometimes things like this are not definate and are just a case of a jury trial of coincidential evidence.

Very important point... one of the first things to do is find out if this layer is even of the right age and environment to HAVE spore. For example, if it was a deep marine formation, then the answer is definately NO.

[Troodon]

Agreed does not look footprints.   Orientation of digits looks off.    Like tmeir said something else formed the cavity.  Having trouble trying to identify the type of animal that it could fit.

[abyssunder]

Just wait for the next rain to see where the water flows.

[sseth]

They almost look man-made to me.  Maybe part of a mortar and pestle, Some sort of grinding use?  Could also be natural wear.  Interesting anyway!

[Rockwood]

Notice how in the top picture the shapes line up with the cracks above them. I think it may be that it's a layer that is less consolidated thus more susceptible to erosion opening up the cracks. 

[Ridgehiker]

Not tracks but still neat to see.

 

Its  difficult to identify without knowing the local geology...but fun to speculate.

 

Likely geological but if found in some areas  has the appearance of some type of bivalve impressions.  Perhaps shells deposited in a flat, fully open position.

 

[abyssunder]

22 hours ago, Rockwood said:

Notice how in the top picture the shapes line up with the cracks above them. I think it may be that it's a layer that is less consolidated thus more susceptible to erosion opening up the cracks. 

That's the reason why I wrote my post.

[Rockwood]

Now that I'm back on this one, another possibility has occurred to me. There seems to be a lighter colored substance at the bottom of the shapes in the last photo. Do you suppose it could be where an animal (extant) has been digging out essential minerals ? 

Since many of the more common ones are soluble salts it would also fit with the water running through cracks scenario.   

[abyssunder]

Could be possible. Also could be made by the indigenous people. A place where the rainwater (freshwater) could be captured for personal purposes, for example, drinking.