jvorhees Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 Hello - I'm hoping someone might have an idea what this is. We found it in the surf off the coast of North Carolina. Looks to me like it might be the socket of a ball and socket joint but other than that, I have no idea. It's hollow throughout. Any thoughts on what it might be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 Welcome to the Forum. This looks like stone, rather than bone to me. Not seeing the usual bone structure. Wait for some other opinions, though. Regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 I have to agree with Tim on this. While fossils are found occasional along the outer banks ( I presume when you say outer banks you mean from Corolla to Hags Head to Hatteras) the area is not really a fossiliferous location. Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt behind the trailer, my desert Them red clay piles are heaven on earth I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brett Breakin' Rocks Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 Call me crazy .. .but could the stone be a Fulgurite ? Your's being water worn and smoothed by time .. but apparently they are a thing to collect on the outer banks given that they are common on an image search. North Carolina has plenty of lighting on the coast to cook them up I supposed. But it could just also be a cool geological oddity. 47 minutes ago, jvorhees said: Hello - I'm hoping someone might have an idea what this is. We found it in the surf off the coast of North Carolina. Looks to me like it might be the socket of a ball and socket joint but other than that, I have no idea. It's hollow throughout. Any thoughts on what it might be? @ynot may be able to put my theory to bed. "Fulgurites are natural tubes or masses of sintered soil, sand, and/or rock that form when lightning strikes the ground. " Cheers, Brett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvorhees Posted August 29, 2017 Author Share Posted August 29, 2017 Interesting. We have some fulgurite but this so much denser that I'm sure that's what it is either. This is as hard as any river stone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 I'd expect a filgurite to be grainier, to melt something that big that would be quite a spectacular strike! I say a another type of rock. “...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin Happy hunting, Mason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 Sorry but I do not know fulgurites or the outer bank of North Carolina. It could be a burrow, it does look similar to the pieces @Brett Breakin' Rocks showed, could also be a weathered concretion, but I really have nothing on this rock. Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doushantuo Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 No fulgurite,period Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivergirl461 Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 That is fulgurite. It is sand , rock and sometimes shells that have been struck by lightning. As I understand, The Outer Banks is one of the top 5 locations in the United States where lots of fulgurite can be found. I have some very unusual shaped pieces that I have found over the years that I keep on display in my garden. Quite a conversation piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doushantuo Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 Where?Pimlico?Albemarle? "Dark(black)" and "lightweight" According to unrefereed sources BUT: i was wrong________>------------------------> I just read Van Tassel.Macroscopically speaking,the description fits ("tubes creux avec des protuberances") On the "folded"(crenulated) parts: "opinions sont partagées entre une origine primaire résultant des caractéristiques intrinsèques de la foudre (entre autres W. FISCHER, 1928; C. FENNER, 1949) ou une orgine secondaire comme résultat de l' effondrement de la paroi d'un tube primitivement cylindrique, sous l'effet d'une pression extérieure (entre autres A. O. LEWIS, 1936; J. J. PETTY, 1936;A. LACROIX, 1942) . ("opinions are divided between characters proprietary to lightning,or a secondary origin (wall collapse)") Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvorhees Posted August 29, 2017 Author Share Posted August 29, 2017 I guess that's what it is. This particular one is much harder than any fulgurite I'm familiar with. You could literally hammer a nail with this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doushantuo Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 HM.I'm not OVERLY familiar with high-energetic impacts. I'm familiar with HYDROCODE,but rather underwhelmingly so Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoRon Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 I have seen many "fulgurites" from the Outer Banks, but all of them have actually been concretions. I have also seen dozens of actual fulgurites from various areas. Any true fulgurite from the Outer Banks would be composed of vitrified sand, not indurated clay. Most fulgurites are also fairly delicate and would not survive being pounded by waves along a beach for any length of time. Most of the concretions seem to be fossil burrows of marine animals. That type of concretion is fairly common in some of the rivers I dive in North Carolina. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvorhees Posted August 29, 2017 Author Share Posted August 29, 2017 Ah! That makes sense. Thanks everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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