pcjr65 Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 This strange thing was living with some corals, agate, concretions in red mud/clay. From a road cut near the Ohio River, I cleaned it up and put it in water to soak hoping to soften the mud packed into the small hole, and it floats! It looks and sounds, and feels like rock/mineral and has tiny crystals on the surface. I cleaned it with soap and a nylon brush and the hole did open up. It is 7/8" long and 5/8" wide. It's max diameter is slightly less than a dime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 I think, there is a nice borehole or regenerated structure in it. You said it floats? It reminds me of fungus. Can we see the other side of it? " 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...
pcjr65 Posted November 15, 2018 Author Share Posted November 15, 2018 The top pic is the "back, the other two are front side top to bottom and bottom to top. Here is the back side, left to right and right to left. It floats but it's definitely mineral or rock. I think it's hollow. The hole does not go toward the interior, so it may have a pocket of air... it's a pretty weird thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innocentx Posted November 16, 2018 Share Posted November 16, 2018 Or a bead? Strange about the floating. "Journey through a universe ablaze with changes" Phil Ochs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innocentx Posted November 16, 2018 Share Posted November 16, 2018 Ok. I'm not saying this is what it is, but it does have some characteristics similar to shark coprolite... the uneven layering, striations at right angles to layers, and a packed look at larger end. The other end could be worn down a bit. I can't see any inclusions though there might be some present. Here's something similar from New Jersey. From this site: http://fossilsofnj.com/shark/coprolite.htm "Journey through a universe ablaze with changes" Phil Ochs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronzviking Posted November 16, 2018 Share Posted November 16, 2018 Is it rough like sandpaper? If so it could be a sandstone pebble with its bands characteristic of sandstone. Any sedimentary rock composed of stony grains between 1/16 mm and 2 mm in diameter that are cemented together is a sandstone. This wouldn't explain the floating unless it has a pocket of air inside it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herb Posted November 16, 2018 Share Posted November 16, 2018 there are some Silurian bryozoas that float in S.Indiana and N.KY "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...
pcjr65 Posted November 16, 2018 Author Share Posted November 16, 2018 huh, that's interesting. it is from just across the ditch from Corydon. thanks, Herb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcjr65 Posted November 16, 2018 Author Share Posted November 16, 2018 54 minutes ago, Bronzviking said: Is it rough like sandpaper? If so it could be a sandstone pebble with its bands characteristic of sandstone. Any sedimentary rock composed of stony grains between 1/16 mm and 2 mm in diameter that are cemented together is a sandstone. This wouldn't explain the floating unless it has a pocket of air inside it. it isn't quite like sandpaper but it is like sandstone. I have looked at some close up shots and I think it mostly resembles a horn coral or some other silurian rugose coral Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcjr65 Posted November 16, 2018 Author Share Posted November 16, 2018 2 hours ago, Innocentx said: Ok. I'm not saying this is what it is, but it does have some characteristics similar to shark coprolite... the uneven layering, striations at right angles to layers, and a packed look at larger end. The other end could be worn down a bit. I can't see any inclusions though there might be some present. Here's something similar from New Jersey. From this site: http://fossilsofnj.com/shark/coprolite.htm it's definitely some kind of snarge, but.... That shark poopy looks like the shape and characteristics of it, but that one looks solid and heavy. cool stuff, thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hndmarshall Posted November 16, 2018 Share Posted November 16, 2018 5 hours ago, Innocentx said: Ok. I'm not saying this is what it is, but it does have some characteristics similar to shark coprolite... the uneven layering, striations at right angles to layers, and a packed look at larger end. The other end could be worn down a bit. I can't see any inclusions though there might be some present. Here's something similar from New Jersey. From this site: http://fossilsofnj.com/shark/coprolite.htm Hmmm kinda close to my unknown but I dont think its poop and it sinks ...unless its from one messed up shark. As per the object above could it be actually a Pumice stone?...when it was cleaned the finder did state a hole opened up what if its coated in fine sandy layer?...sand formed around it somehow?...is that possible...or it may be full of large holed like the one that opened....and I thought I was the finder of weird things...there are others out there...lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innocentx Posted November 16, 2018 Share Posted November 16, 2018 @hndmarshall. I think with these last photos posted by @pcjr65, we can rule out poop, as the striations wouldn't have that kind of depth and evenness in a coprolite. I'm beginning to think he may be right about his being a horn coral. I expect the hole was formed later by some burrowing creature. (floating still a mystery) Your piece of probable banded chert doesn't have right surface details for shark coprolite, though it resembles one superficially. Also, the exposed dark end of yours shows it to definitely be chert. "Journey through a universe ablaze with changes" Phil Ochs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcjr65 Posted November 16, 2018 Author Share Posted November 16, 2018 that is a weird thing I'd say it is not a pumice stone. I'm thinking it may be some kind of sponge thing holding a pocket of air. I did not expect it to float, based on the small size and feel of it, I didn't notice how light it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innocentx Posted November 16, 2018 Share Posted November 16, 2018 The floating is an interesting mystery. Very hard to even come close to solving by only looking at photos. "Journey through a universe ablaze with changes" Phil Ochs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hndmarshall Posted November 16, 2018 Share Posted November 16, 2018 14 hours ago, Innocentx said: Ok. I'm not saying this is what it is, but it does have some characteristics similar to shark coprolite... the uneven layering, striations at right angles to layers, and a packed look at larger end. The other end could be worn down a bit. I can't see any inclusions though there might be some present. Here's something similar from New Jersey. From this site: http://fossilsofnj.com/shark/coprolite.htm in my reading on shark poop I came across a pic or two very near the original posters pic and guess what I also read that some shark poo floats!...so could be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronzviking Posted November 17, 2018 Share Posted November 17, 2018 I just took my 1" horn coral and threw it in a cup of water and it sunk like a rock, Lol. I guess this one will remain a mystery find, unless we have more input with the new pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted November 17, 2018 Share Posted November 17, 2018 If it floats and is not pumice, then it is a recent biologic item. 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...
hndmarshall Posted November 17, 2018 Share Posted November 17, 2018 7 hours ago, hndmarshall said: in my reading on shark poop I came across a pic or two very near the original posters pic and guess what I also read that some shark poo floats!...so could be. some shark poo floats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted November 17, 2018 Share Posted November 17, 2018 8 minutes ago, hndmarshall said: some shark poo floats @GeschWhat @Carl Ever hear of floating coprolites? 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...
abyssunder Posted November 17, 2018 Share Posted November 17, 2018 See if a heated needle passes through it or not. " 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...
pcjr65 Posted November 18, 2018 Author Share Posted November 18, 2018 A needle scratches it but I think it would break if I tried to stick a needle in it. I bored through the hole with a needle but that was just mud or clay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InfoHungryMom Posted November 18, 2018 Share Posted November 18, 2018 I found this on the beach- similar appearance, “attached” to what we call “a devil’s toenail” (yes, extinct, but that’s our common name for it) or “a common slipper shell” MY HUSBAND AND I LOVE @Bobby Rico for the iPhone camera advice. Not perfect but world’s better....Thank you Bobby! 1st pic is from my regular IPhone 8. The SMALLER ONES are with the “X” and clip-on lens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max-fossils Posted November 18, 2018 Share Posted November 18, 2018 9 hours ago, InfoHungryMom said: what we call “a devil’s toenail” (yes, extinct, but that’s our common name for it) or “a common slipper shell” That's a slipper shell (Crepidula sp) indeed, but it's not a Devil's toenail! Slipper shells are gastropods (ie snails). "Devil toenail" refers to the shells within the Gryphaeidae family, which are oysters, which in turn are bivalves. Bivalves and gastropods are two different classes! So even though they look a lot alike, they are actually completely unrelated. Their common classification is Mollusca, which is a phylum. Relatively speaking, that's like saying that a lion and a tunicate are the same! Max Derème "I feel an echo of the lightning each time I find a fossil. [...] That is why I am a hunter: to feel that bolt of lightning every day." - Mary Anning >< Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier Instagram: @world_of_fossils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Rico Posted November 18, 2018 Share Posted November 18, 2018 3 hours ago, Max-fossils said: lion and a tunicate Hi Max you got me there I had to use your link because I never heard of a Tunicate before strange and interesting critter but I was spot on with the lion. You learn something new every day around here. Gryhaeidea are quite cool I have a couple of beauties in my collection. @pcjr65 sorry I can’t help with ID it is a interesting mystery and a cool object. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InfoHungryMom Posted November 18, 2018 Share Posted November 18, 2018 Max, I know that, AND the “usually thought of” devil’s toenails are extinct! We refer to the ugly shells that look like they belong to an elderly person with “toe challenges” as “devil’s toenails” they are deeper and “gnarly”. They resemble the extinct variety. The flatter, wider, “prettier” slipper shells are referred to here just as, “slipper shells”! I posted those pictures to show a similar “weird thing” to what @pcjr65 showed and was looking for an ID on. I also wanted to post to show @Bobby Rico how well the phone camera clip worked! (I was “fronting” aka: showing off! ) I do not know the correct scientific names to differentiate them. I had a similar discussion about “Piddocks”. We call the largest ones “Angel Wings” - they are clams. He thought I was referring to a bone in a fishes’ head, also commonly referred to as “Angel Wing”... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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