Fossilized Bone and Possible Organ Simi Valley California

[MightyPretzel]

Greetings everyone!  I am a long time follower of this site.  This is my first posting.  Thanks ahead of time for any assistance in identifying the following.  

 

I recently found a fossilized bone and what looks like a fossilized organ or concretion.  I am usually pretty good about recognizing a concretion when I see one.  However, this one looks a lot different from the concretions I normally come across in the area.

 

They were both found within several feet of each other in an alluvium/terrace deposit.  R. Squires describes the alluvium as "nonmarine, Holocene, last 10,000 years" and the terrace deposit as "nonmarine, upper Pleistocene, 50,000 to 10,000 years."  The location is immediately adjacent to the Santa Susana Formation (marine, upper Paleocene to lower Eocene, 54 to 50 million years) and the Simi Conglomerate (nonmarine to marine, lower Paleocene, 65 million years).  There are several other formations in the general vicinity of this location.

 

I have several pictures of both (see below).  The first set (F1) are of the bone, the second set (F2) is of the possible organ/concretion.

 

Edited January 23, 2017 by MightyPretzel

[MightyPretzel]

Three more pictures of F1, first two pictures of F2.

[MightyPretzel]

Last six pictures of F2.   I can try and post more info or pictures if necessary.  Thanks!

[Doctor Mud]

Hi Mighty Pretzel (great name btw),

 

Thanks for the super detailed information on the context of your find. Often we see something post without the really useful background information.

 

All of these look like concretions to me. The top one resembles the shape of a bone but could be a trace fossil. Can you point out what led you to think bone?

[ynot]

Welcome aboard 

 

I am not seeing fossils here, bone or otherwise.

They look like sand concretions, that have suggestive shapes.

Tony

[Darktooth]

Welcome to the forum from New York! I agree that these look like concretions with suggestive shapes

[Brett Breakin' Rocks]

  Now ... if they are concretions and there is evidence that they might be fossiliferous (ie. bits and pieces of shell imbedded in the matrix) you may give them a solid whack with a rock hammer to see what you've got inside.  Sometimes concretions such as these, depending on the location are hiding gastropods, bivalves .. or other marine fossils like turritella shells etc .. 

 

  The Topanga canyon formation has similar looking concretions that vary in density, but these sandstones usually will curl up around a shell or other fossil and solidify into solid concretions.

 

My finds in the Topanga Canyon formation look just like these ... as an example of what to keep an eye out for.  They will just wash out of the rock and generally consist of internal casts that can be very brittle.

 

 

 

 

Good Luck,

Brett

[Fossildude19]

Welcome to the Forum. 

Sorry but as the others have said,... no fossils here. 

No bone texture, and organs don't fossilize like that. 

I agree they are nodules or concretions. 

Regards, 

[abyssunder]

I agree with the others, not fossils. They might be something related to ironstone/limestone.  F2 may be tripolitic chert  nodule altered with mineral stainings on the surface (dendritic manganese oxide and/or iron sulfide). I try to compare it with the specimen from here .