Fossil Gum Ball?

[LBI]

Found this yesterday. Not perfectly round, but really close. Very smooth except the “eyes”. There is a pattern of sorts that looks like a crab, maybe. Diameter is the same as a penny. 

[LBI]

[LBI]

Found it in San Antonio, TX. 

[LBI]

It feels light for its size, like it’s not very dense. It’s also very hard. I tried scratching it with a fingernail first, then a pocket knife. I didn’t try REAL hard with the knife, but it did not scratch. It’s actually pretty impressive. Does anyone have any ideas on what it is or was?  

[Auspex]

It could be media from a ball mill. Does it seem like it could be ceramic?

[Mark Kmiecik]

Your photos seem focused on the background. Move the camera away until the subject is in focus, then crop the excess after shooting. Use a small ruler in the photo as a size reference, preferably metric so the whole world can relate. I would love to see more detail. I don't think it's deburring or polishing media.

[Auspex]

38 minutes ago, Mark Kmiecik said:

I don't think it's deburring or polishing media.

Are you thinking algal fruiting body?

[Mark Kmiecik]

9 minutes ago, Auspex said:

Are you thinking algal fruiting body?

That's a possibility. I'm more interested in the "eyes" as they seem to protrude slightly above the surface of the spheroid.

[Auspex]

I noticed that. I seem to remember seeing ball mill media with a similar feature, but my wayback machine has lost a step or two...

[JohnBrian]

Maybe a clay or ceramic marble?

[Mark Kmiecik]

I'm thinking cystoid.

[LBI]

I apologize for the slow response. I will post some more pics ASAP. 

[Fossildude19]

I don't see a cystoid here at all. 

I get a man made vibe from this thing. 

Milling ball was my first thought.

 

[Uncle Siphuncle]

Non-IDs:  Cystoid (wrong age), crab (wrong features overall), Porocystis (wrong color, wrong surface detail, would only have 1 attachment point or “eye”).  Otherwise stumped.  Not familiar with anything of organic origin that looks like this from the area.

[LBI]

The eyes do protrude slightly. Also, they are a different texture. Gritty, like fine grain sand, and you can see what might be quartz crystals in them. I’ll try and get a shot of this as well. 

[LBI]

Here are some more pics. In the first pic it looks like an eye in the middle of something like a spider’s abdomen?  Next pic looks like a spiders abdomen without the eye. It’s tough to describe, but it really does look like a crab carapace wrapped into a ball. I hope I can capture some of the details. The closeup of the eye shows the coarseness of it, the rest of it is smooth. 

[Mark Kmiecik]

I give up. I don't think it's man-made material. The shape, possibly, but not the material.

[Ludwigia]

It sure would help if you could get those photos focussed properly.

[Auspex]

3 hours ago, LBI said:

The closeup of the eye shows the coarseness of it, the rest of it is smooth

Sort of like polishing grit packed into a void in the sphere?

[LBI]

No, it’s part of it, it’s not loose, and the “eyes” are just a bit raised from the surface. 

[JohnJ]

On 8/6/2019 at 5:03 PM, LBI said:

Found this yesterday.

 

Generally, where?  What was the context of this find?  

[LBI]

11 hours ago, JohnJ said:

 

Generally, where?  What was the context of this find?  

San Antonio, TX. Near downtown. Found in black clay in an excavation spoils pile. Black clay holds to 6-7 ft, then turns to a marled green, yellow, brown clay.  In this layer I’ve found several oyster shells.  Exogyra Costada I believe. 

[JohnJ]

Thanks.  Try to get some better focused images.

[Uncle Siphuncle]

2 hours ago, LBI said:

San Antonio, TX. Near downtown. Found in black clay in an excavation spoils pile. Black clay holds to 6-7 ft, then turns to a marled green, yellow, brown clay.  In this layer I’ve found several oyster shells.  Exogyra Costada I believe. 

The Corsicana and Kemp formations overlie downtown and produce oysters as mentioned, but are seldom exposed.  I’ve hunted both formations not too far away, and never seen a fossil or object in original context that looks anything like this.  One of the close up pics reveals a grain structure that doesn’t strike me as sedimentary in origin.  Did you find anything else in association, fossil or artifact?

[LBI]

34 minutes ago, Uncle Siphuncle said:

The Corsicana and Kemp formations overlie downtown and produce oysters as mentioned, but are seldom exposed.  I’ve hunted both formations not too far away, and never seen a fossil or object in original context that looks anything like this.  One of the close up pics reveals a grain structure that doesn’t strike me as sedimentary in origin.  Did you find anything else in association, fossil or artifact?

Yes, numerous other fossils. The main reason I think it’s crab related is because I’ve found several other fossil crabs. Well I haven’t had these positively identified yet, so it is solely based on my assumptions. In one of the pics thee are a few other pieces, I cracked into one like the big one in the pic, I just haven’t had the chance to finish and submit pics. Here’s a pic of one I picked up this morning.