Possible coprolite? #2

[Zesus]

Hey guys, thanks for all the responses and info in my first post!  Here is another.  

 

Located in Menlo Park, Ca. Found in yard, have been doing yard work , digging holes, weeding, etc. 

 

This was originally covered in thick, what i thought to be brown mud. I havnt removed this layer completely, you can still see a bit of it as i left some on. Its the poo brown color mud still on parts of it, the second picture shows the most of it. (best description of color I have, sorry) The one side looked like a face actually and its the only reason I decided to pick it up. After looking at it for a minute I noticed what appeared to be a shell or something of the sort sticking out the one side. Got sidetracked, didnt think much of it and put it down for about a week before I came across it again. Decided to brush/scrub off some 'mud' to see what was underneath. This was not very easy, didn't come off very well, and it also had a slight unpleasant odor, a new smell for me actually, from the fine dust that was slowly brushing off in the air. I did get it wet at one point and gave a scrub with an old toothbrush as more was revealed, as I was trying to figure what the it was. The brown stuff was not nice when wet, very mucky, but not like mud. I probably should not have removed as much as I did but curiosity got the best of me and I kept "cleaning" as it started to reveal more. The one side started to show visible, what I believe to be, decay, with burnt reds, yellows, and browns. Although again apologies, as I really am a newb to all this stuff and really dont know anything to be honest with you.  I dont know how it could be turtles or what the shell type thing is or how this would possibly be on my property. and from when it could possibly be from and still be in this condition. there are many different locations of what seem to be reptile skin, and also several roundish oval turtle shell looking pieces?  Theres no turtles in the immediate area. and if it is poop, theres also nothing big enough to excrete this around here. Strictly residential area, biggest creatures being raccoons and dogs but this cold come out of them.  But then again who knows.  If anyone could help me with this I'd greatly appreciate any feedback or thoughts! I wish the pictures were better but its as good as I can do. Let me know if theres any spot I can take another shot or two of close up or whatever. I really am curious what this is, as there are many more pieces I have questions about as well. This one just seemed more "fresh" if you will, where as the others seem like rocks with inclusions. Thanks in advance! Also, please just let me know if Im crazy and seeing things haha. 

[Zesus]

some more photos, hard to show what Im seeing exactly but hope you can get the picture.

 

[ynot]

Looks like a chert nodule. The smoother areas are from fresh breaks and the rough surface is the natural outer part.

The unusual "mud" that You said was on it was likely an iron rich decomposed clay.

[Zesus]

ahhh gotchya so the green shell looking thing is chert? it was all smooth until a couple days ago but yea, i rubbed it off to find the "skin" looking stuff. would it break from a mountain or hillside? as im located on flat ground for a couple miles+ in all directions. or is it broke off from something on ground?  So the "skin" looking stuff is just dried mud at varying stages?

[ynot]

The whole piece is a chert nodule, the smooth area is where some has broken off of the whole.. Chert nodules form in sedimentary rock, limestone, clays and chalk. The original parent rock has decomposed to become the red/brown clay You washed off of the rock.

 

When You think in geologic ages, that area has been under water and the top of a mountain, dependent on how long ago You look.

[Zesus]

So you are saying it is all relative! Well thank you very much ynot, you've taught me something new again.  One of these times Ill get ya ynot, I will show you a real fossil!

[ynot]

12 minutes ago, Zesus said:

 One of these times ... I will show you a real fossil!

Looking forward to it!!

[JohnBrewer]

@Zesus with you positive and open attitude to responses here it won’t be long before you do find something. You wouldn’t believe how many rocks I thought were fossils before I found one. It’s all part of the leaning process that ALL of us here started with.

 

looking forward to seeing your future finds.

 

Worth making a new post saying where you are, you should get help with localities and the types of fossils to be found there. That’s half the world. 

 

In the mean time 

[ynot]

32 minutes ago, JohnBrewer said:

making a new post saying where you are,

 

2 hours ago, Zesus said:

Located in Menlo Park, Ca. Found in yard,

 

 

Hey @JohnBrewer,

Menlo Park is in the San Francisco bay area.

 

Hey @Zesus'

Starting a post as John suggested is not a bad idea. You could also join a local rock club to meet others and go on field trips.

[Zesus]

Thanks John! Yeah that is a good point. Ive done some research on the area. I basically live on an alluvium I believe its called. so basically most the stuff I would find at surface level is formerly not from here, but washed and brought down here from the santa cruz mountains area.  Which I think means if I do find anything, it would be single isolated bone or tooth or rock here and there. Basically what started this was on the first day of yard work I came across 3 different things that I had at first thought might be some Native Ohlone Indian artifacts. Like spearpoints and stuff but i think the are just rocks haha. the 2 possibly being shale or something of that nature and the other one some other rock. and what i thought to be a grinding stone. Problem is its mud here, so every rock and other bits are covered and i can't see what they are till I wash em off. So I ended up putting aside dam near every rock I came across haha so I could wash em off and see what they are. And then I just started finding things that seemed strange to me. But its hard finding information on line.. Well its easy to find information, but the right information not so much. Often times I have a question just about a simple rock that I want to know about, but with no one to verify or explain in person for me, it became hard to know if this was gneiss or schist. or was it petrified wood or was it bone. so yeah ive been trying to research stuff but ill always find one thing that makes me second guess what i thought previous and so on and so forth and the cycle continues. Not to mention I dont want to waste peoples time asking about a piece of granite haha you know? And Im not sure what the rules, written or unwritten, are here about asking what things are. And if its annoying to get people like me who post pictures of stuff that you guys probably have seen a million times haha. But I digress. Thanks John! ill keep asking if you guys will keep answering!

[ynot]

3 minutes ago, Zesus said:

Thanks John! ill keep asking if you guys will keep answering!

That is the best way to learn.

I do not mind helping others where I can.

[JohnBrewer]

2 minutes ago, ynot said:

That is the best way to learn.

I do not mind helping others where I can.

Yep