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Bone verse Petrified Wood


dsludden

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Good morning, I found this piece in the Neuse River in Craven County NC. On the same trip I found a piece of tusk that has 90 degree Schreger Lines (thank you very much for help in identifying the piece) making it diagnostically Mammoth.  I just cleaned up this piece and am confused about the status of petrified wood/ nice rock/ or bone. The texture seems to be similar to some fossilized bones in my collection. That being said, the internal structure has a “core” that appears to be similar to the tight tree rings seen in early growth. I will post more pictures in comments. Thank you

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Misha, not certain what “split” means so I took additional pictures of the piece. Please let me know if you need anything else. I will post 6 pictures but due to size will need to load in 2 comment boxes. Thank you!

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Something about the top photo in this last set is ringing the wood bell in my ear. With some sort of boring in it no less.

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1 hour ago, ynot said:

Looks like sandstone with a high iron content. Not wood or bone, but one of nature's fake fossils.

am thinking that you didn't wait to see the last photo above your post before you typed. Not sandstone for me.

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3 hours ago, Plax said:

am thinking that you didn't wait to see the last photo above your post before you typed. Not sandstone for me.

You are right, probably not sandstone.

Still do not see fossil wood. Does not look like palm wood I have seen.

Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys."

Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough."

 

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50 minutes ago, ynot said:

Does not look like palm wood I have seen.

Have you been digging up any rotten stuff ? :)

I still think there is a vague pattern to it. Perhaps bioturbation ?

 

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Rockwood, Hurricane Florence swept through the area in Sept 2018. The 20+inches of rain and high winds did a number on the area to include beaches and rivers.  I myself haven’t seen any more or less muck in the River but it could be a possibility. Is this piece possibly forest floor or seabed floor? 

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I’m leaning toward bone for this piece but am not sure. There is no cancellous bone present but I see some circular structures in the new pictures that remind me of vessels running through bone.

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This sort of thing happens a lot. It's comforting in a way to think that we're not so different from the trees. :) 

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Al Dente thank you for taking time to provide your opinion. Is there something I can do to provide more info for a definitive diagnosis? 

 

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3 hours ago, dsludden said:

Al Dente thank you for taking time to provide your opinion. Is there something I can do to provide more info for a definitive diagnosis? 

 

Bring the specimen to the Aurora Fossil Festival in May and a lot of folks will be on hand to look over this and any other specimens in question.

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3 hours ago, dsludden said:

Al Dente thank you for taking time to provide your opinion. Is there something I can do to provide more info for a definitive diagnosis? 

 

I always look at stuff I find under a microscope. Not very practical if you don't own one. 

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Plax, thank you for the suggestion! I plan on attending the Fossil fair as I have some other unidentified pieces that I have found over the last 6 months. I will add this piece to the box! 

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Al Dente I tried to get some shots of the piece under 60x magnification. I cleaned an area of the dark crust and took pictures through the eye piece. Great idea, thanks

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What I can say, is that the specimen looks to have boring(s) at least perpendicular to its long axis, which may not prove the difference between bone or plant material. Its xylic or osteic quality (as substrate) may help in the determination.

" 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. "

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1 hour ago, dsludden said:

Al Dente I tried to get some shots of the piece under 60x magnification. I cleaned an area of the dark crust and took pictures through the eye piece. Great idea, thanks

Good job on the pictures. I’m leaning more towards bone but I’m not positive.

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