Found while digging trench. Large Fossil.

[Fossildude19]

The only creature that would have a skull of this shape would be a crocodile, or mosasaur.

Do a Google image search for mosasaur skull  and fossil crocodile skull. 

 

They really look nothing like what you have.  

 

It is composed of rock, so it is not "mummified". There is no soft tissue preservation there.

Random lines indicate that it isn't a fossil. Fossils are fairly symmetrical.

 

Your last picture looks nothing like any vertebra posted here on the Forum.   

That looks like pebbles or some type of conglomerate, ... not bone texture.  

 

I'm afraid you aren't going to get any agreement on here that this is a fossil - additional pictures will most likely not change our opinions. 

 

Please bring your item to the nearest museum, or university, and have a paleontologist or geologist look at it. 

And please report back here - I would love to be proven wrong.  

Regards,

 

[EMP]

1 hour ago, ColdwaterShale said:

@EMP, I tried the vinegar experiment.  Inconclusive.  Bone material definitely did not react in vinegar, even 2 days later.  White limey material is rather fragile anyway and I believe may react. It simply remained in vinegar as small particles.  I didnt take large samples. Also, wouldnt some materials in a mud- mummified skull potentially be reactive in vinegar?

 

Well the "bony part", if the current guess is right, should be an iron mineral which would not chemically react with the vinegar unless it's an iron carbonate (siderite), which it doesn't appear to be. It has to do with differences in the strengths of the bonds in the mineral and the acid. Vinegar is diluted acetic acid, which is very weak and doesn't fully dissociate into the H+ and Acetate- ions, so if you get a mineral like iron oxide (Fe2O3, for example) then it won't really do much (even iron carbonate won't react that much with the acetic acid in vinegar because the acid is just so weak).  

The "white limey material" you're describing sounds like calcium carbonate (CaCO3), also known as calcite. This should dissolve, or react, with the acetic acid but it shouldn't fully dissolve. This is because the acid is very weak, and it doesn't dissolve fully into the ions that it's made of which is necessary to rip apart the CaCO3. So the small particles bit pretty much confirms it as a carbonate mineral, sorry. 

 

Now your last point is exactly correct, there could very well be minerals in a fossil that do dissolve. Bone, however, is made up of calcium phosphate, which is a compound that won't react with acetic acid at all. Now, this may seem like the sample you have, but there are a few important points to make. Aside from calcite there exist a multitude of other carbonate minerals that all react to a varying degree with acetic acid. Aragonite is another example of CaCO3, however it has a different structure than calcite that makes it harder to react. Dolomite or dolomitic rocks (which I think you might have here) are made of MgCO3, or magnesium carbonate. This compound reacts to a smaller degree with calcium carbonate, so I would expect it to "remain as small pieces in the acid". 

 

In conclusion the "bony parts" are likely an iron oxide and the "white limey parts" are likely a combination of calcite (CaCO3) and dolomite (MgCO3). 

 

 

Sorry that it isn't a skull . On the plus side, this rock shows you live in an area with sedimentary rocks that can, and likely do, have other fossils. Maybe even this one. I would hammer into it to see if you can find any shells or corals in it. 

[doushantuo]

I wouldn't bet on it being a fossil cranium.

I don't like long odds

[EMP]

7 minutes ago, doushantuo said:

 

I wouldn't bet on it being a fossil cranium.

I don't like long odds

 

 

Never tell me the odds! 

[EMP]

I found this bit about the Coldwater Shale of Michigan from the Michigan Geologic Survey:

 

"Kinderhookian series Secondary unit description from USGS Geologic Names lexicon (ref. MI016):Although the Coldwater has the largest outcrop area of any Mississippian formation, it is inaccessible at most localities. Its exposures are limited to portions of Branch, Calhoun, and Hillsdale Cos in the southern part of the basin and Huron and Sanilac Cos in the Michigan thumb area. The Coldwater conformably overlies the Sunbury and Ellsworth Shales and conformably underlies the Marshall Sandstone. Fossils in the uppermost portion of the Coldwater in the western part of the basin are Osagean in age, but the rest of the formation is Kinderhookian. Maximum thickness is about 366 m in Iosco and Arenac Cos just north of Saginaw Bay, but is generally 305 m in the eastern two-thirds of the basin and thins to about 168 m in the western third. Unit consists predominantly of gray to bluish gray shale. Its clay minerals are chiefly illite and kaolinite with minor chlorite. Other lithologies occur in the Coldwater and their distributions divide the formation into distinct eastern and western facies. In the eastern half of the basin, beds of silty and sandy shale, siltstone and fine-grained sandstone are common, and increase in abundance and coarseness to the west and up section. In the western half of the basin the Coldwater shales are more calcareous and beds of glauconitic, fossiliferous limestone and dolostone occur frequently especially in the middle and upper portions of the formation. Two marker beds can be traced over long distances: the Lime and the Red Rock beds. The Lime occurs throughout the western part of the basin and is commonly 6 to 1 m thick. The Red Rock is more extensive and occurs in all parts of the basin except the extreme northeast. It is typically 3 to 6 m thick and locally reaches 15 m."         LINK

 

It appears the Coldwater Formation is a middle to late Mississippian aged formation of shale, sadnstone, lime and dolostone that is marine in origin. Sorry once again, but that's strikes two and three for dinosaurian remains. Unfortunately there weren't any large bony creatures at that time that could have left a skull around to fossilize. the only option left is glacial erratic, but this isn't weathered enough to be one in my opinion. 

[ColdwaterShale]

43 minutes ago, EMP said:

I found this bit about the Coldwater Shale of Michigan from the Michigan Geologic Survey:

 

"Kinderhookian series Secondary unit description from USGS Geologic Names lexicon (ref. MI016):Although the Coldwater has the largest outcrop area of any Mississippian formation, it is inaccessible at most localities. Its exposures are limited to portions of Branch, Calhoun, and Hillsdale Cos in the southern part of the basin and Huron and Sanilac Cos in the Michigan thumb area. The Coldwater conformably overlies the Sunbury and Ellsworth Shales and conformably underlies the Marshall Sandstone. Fossils in the uppermost portion of the Coldwater in the western part of the basin are Osagean in age, but the rest of the formation is Kinderhookian. Maximum thickness is about 366 m in Iosco and Arenac Cos just north of Saginaw Bay, but is generally 305 m in the eastern two-thirds of the basin and thins to about 168 m in the western third. Unit consists predominantly of gray to bluish gray shale. Its clay minerals are chiefly illite and kaolinite with minor chlorite. Other lithologies occur in the Coldwater and their distributions divide the formation into distinct eastern and western facies. In the eastern half of the basin, beds of silty and sandy shale, siltstone and fine-grained sandstone are common, and increase in abundance and coarseness to the west and up section. In the western half of the basin the Coldwater shales are more calcareous and beds of glauconitic, fossiliferous limestone and dolostone occur frequently especially in the middle and upper portions of the formation. Two marker beds can be traced over long distances: the Lime and the Red Rock beds. The Lime occurs throughout the western part of the basin and is commonly 6 to 1 m thick. The Red Rock is more extensive and occurs in all parts of the basin except the extreme northeast. It is typically 3 to 6 m thick and locally reaches 15 m."         LINK

 

It appears the Coldwater Formation is a middle to late Mississippian aged formation of shale, sadnstone, lime and dolostone that is marine in origin. Sorry once again, but that's strikes two and three for dinosaurian remains. Unfortunately there weren't any large bony creatures at that time that could have left a skull around to fossilize. the only option left is glacial erratic, but this isn't weathered enough to be one in my opinion. 

Thanks  Interesting stuff.  Village of Kinderhook is South of Coldwater where I found it.  Very rocky soil, especially near my property. Its on a 30 high embankment about 500 ft from the lake.  FWIW, Stones range from 1 ton to 1 oz,  on and in the ground.  I guess technically that's gravel or rubble? I don't know if that's significant or not as to whether I live on a special outcropping. Just a guess.  Id like to learn more about the local Geology.

If anything develops I will share.

 

[EMP]

51 minutes ago, ColdwaterShale said:

Thanks  Interesting stuff.  Village of Kinderhook is South of Coldwater where I found it.  Very rocky soil, especially near my property. Its on a 30 high embankment about 500 ft from the lake.  FWIW, Stones range from 1 ton to 1 oz,  on and in the ground.  I guess technically that's gravel or rubble? I don't know if that's significant or not as to whether I live on a special outcropping. Just a guess.  Id like to learn more about the local Geology.

If anything develops I will share.

 

That could be talus cover, which is a fancy geology term for the eroded and weathered rocks and soil that are exposed on the ground or within a few feet of the surface. It's fairly common to find weathered limestone and shale pieces in areas with that bedrock as they tend to be easily eroded. Remember back how I talked about CaCO3 dissolving in acetic acid? Well, limestone and calcareous shales like the Coldwater Formation are made up of CaCO3 and other carbonates, which makes them reactive with acids present in the ground, air, and water. This is where acidic rain water comes in, as the slightly acidic rain water reacts with the carbonate limestone to dissolve it (this actually helps the local lakes and streams as the slightly basic carbonate ions keep the pH around the neutral 7) which allows it to be more easily eroded and be found at the surface. 

 

Getting to know the geology of your area is always a great idea, and can be kind of fun! You're in a fossil hot spot in southern Michigan (based off of your member map), so you'll have plenty of opportunities. 

[fifbrindacier]

22 hours ago, ColdwaterShale said:

 Here is a macro I just took.  Not sure why it changed rotation when I uploaded.  Regardless, this is the entire "vertebrae".  definitely clay packed, but structure appears evident to me.

I, too, don't see a skull here, but as @EMP says, you might find bits of shells inside, and hammer it is a good physical training.

[westcoast]

Can't quite zoom in enough but it looks like weathered crinoidal limestone.

[fifbrindacier]

It might be or not, but that's a far better possibility than skull. Maybe you could focus on some part by cropping the photos you yet have.