Bess Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 Some time ago, my brother found this rock with a weird black blob on it. It was close to my home in Hamilton, NJ. The rock in most of the region is from the Cretaceous or Triassic, with the exeption of a tiny area of Cambrian rock. From left to right, it is almost exactly one inch. If it was a trilobite head, I guess the bottom side is the front and if it's a seashell, I guess that the upper part of the picture is the front/where the two valves meat. I will be very glad if you can identify this, whatever it is. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herb Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 It looks geologic to me, Bess 2 "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"_ Carl Sagen No trees were killed in this posting......however, many innocent electrons were diverted from where they originally intended to go. " I think, therefore I collect fossils." _ Me "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."__S. Holmes "can't we all just get along?" Jack Nicholson from Mars Attacks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bess Posted October 26, 2017 Author Share Posted October 26, 2017 Thank you for your reply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innocentx Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 I get the impression from this one photo, that the 'blob' continues on a bit but is covered by the material of the rock. Close examination seems to show parts of something that may have been organized into a life form. Unfortunately it was squashed (chewed on?). Maybe someone will recognize it's parts. This is a good photo so maybe 1 or 2 more taken from different angles will help in ID. Trilobites went extinct by the end Permian so Cretaceous or Triassic won't have these. "Journey through a universe ablaze with changes" Phil Ochs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 ...or a trilobite with really bad acne, but I would say geologic as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 I say it’s a blob of hematite. Blob is of course the scientific term 2 “...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...
Bess Posted October 26, 2017 Author Share Posted October 26, 2017 10 hours ago, Innocentx said: I get the impression from this one photo, that the 'blob' continues on a bit but is covered by the material of the rock. Close examination seems to show parts of something that may have been organized into a life form. Unfortunately it was squashed (chewed on?). Maybe someone will recognize it's parts. This is a good photo so maybe 1 or 2 more taken from different angles will help in ID. Trilobites went extinct by the end Permian so Cretaceous or Triassic won't have these. Here are two more pictures. The pen is pointing to the round rim around the main part of the rock/fossil. The pencil (its hard to see, but it's in the top right) is pointing to the spherical part of the object, that might be an eye. Sorry the pictures are from a similar angle. I will upload more later this day. I hope these help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 1 hour ago, Bess said: The pencil (its hard to see, but it's in the top right) is pointing to the spherical part of the object, that might be an eye. The problem is the number of other potential eyes which would have to be dismissed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plax Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 rock looks like quartzite which makes it tough to be a fossil but it sure looks like a phosphatic fossil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeschWhat Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 My first impression was a mummified amphibian. I'd keep it even if it is geologic! Lori www.areallycrappystory.com/fossils www.facebook.com/fossilpoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bess Posted October 26, 2017 Author Share Posted October 26, 2017 Thanks for all your replies. Here is a photo from another angle. Also, are phosphatic fossil limited to to only some species or specific places? Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 Sure looks like botryoidal hematite . 4 " We are not separate and independent entities, but like links in a chain, and we could not by any means be what we are without those who went before us and showed us the way. " Thomas Mann My Library Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bess Posted October 26, 2017 Author Share Posted October 26, 2017 4 minutes ago, abyssunder said: Sure looks like botryoidal hematite . Are those common in New Jersey? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 31 minutes ago, Bess said: Are those common in New Jersey? They are common in most places with sedimentary rock. Iron from water precipitates in sedimentary rocks a lot. When your out on the brooks, you may look at the banks and see bands of rust colored mud, this is from the iron seeping into it. Good old uniformitarianism states that it was a as it is. Quartzite also rarely has fossils, although this is not always the case. The oriskany sandstone for example is in some places metamorphosed into quartzite but still has fossils (albeit poorly preserved most of the time). 3 “...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...
abyssunder Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 Maybe my reference is old and my location is far from NJ, but ... " Hematite occurs in a variety of forms: as splendent black crystals ( var. specularite), sometimes grouped in rosette-like forms (iron roses); also massive, compact, fibrous, botryoidal, or earthy; and as a fine-grained red pigment on or in other minerals. In crystallized material the hardness is 6 and the density 5.26. The color of the crystals is black and of the massive and earthy varieties red or redbrown. The streak is red to reddish-brown. Crystallized material has a metallic luster. Hematite is widely distributed in small amounts in the New Jersey trap rocks. " reference (Try to compare it's color with the color of the pencil, pic 3 OP, I see a there.) 1 " We are not separate and independent entities, but like links in a chain, and we could not by any means be what we are without those who went before us and showed us the way. " Thomas Mann My Library Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bess Posted October 26, 2017 Author Share Posted October 26, 2017 Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpenn Posted October 27, 2017 Share Posted October 27, 2017 I've found similar hematite in the same quartzite in Hamilton (a township I am very familiar with.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kane Posted October 27, 2017 Share Posted October 27, 2017 Looks like a tar dropping. Have you applied a flame to it? Not seeing anything diagnostic here to suggest trilobite. ...How to Philosophize with a Hammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innocentx Posted October 27, 2017 Share Posted October 27, 2017 18 hours ago, abyssunder said: Sure looks like botryoidal hematite This must be correct. After looking at the search results it's apparent that these suggestive shapes can be formed by the process described by @WhodamanHD. 17 hours ago, WhodamanHD said: They are common in most places with sedimentary rock. Iron from water precipitates in sedimentary rocks a lot. When your out on the brooks, you may look at the banks and see bands of rust colored mud, this is from the iron seeping into it. shapes can be formed by the process I agree with @GeschWhat. Keep it, it's cool. "Journey through a universe ablaze with changes" Phil Ochs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bess Posted October 27, 2017 Author Share Posted October 27, 2017 Thank you for your replies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Rico Posted October 27, 2017 Share Posted October 27, 2017 I can't say what it is but I do think it is a very interesting rock. I would keep it if it was me. Also I think your photos are great, they are really clear images. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bess Posted October 27, 2017 Author Share Posted October 27, 2017 1 hour ago, Bobby Rico said: I can't say what it is but I do think it is a very interesting rock. I would keep it if it was me. Also I think your photos are great, they are really clear images. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plax Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 On 10/26/2017 at 11:37 PM, Kane said: Looks like a tar dropping. Have you applied a flame to it? Not seeing anything diagnostic here to suggest trilobite. I'm liking this; especially if it was found near a road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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