Unknown Fossil Please Help Identify

[Chingazzin1]

Hi I have a fossil I found while exploring an area near Dubbo NSW australia. I taught it was just petrified wood until I cleaned it and notice on one end has colour and looks like it could have fish fins on the side. 

The length is 300mm and width is at its widest point 180mm.

It was just sitting on side of a dirt track and also has another part to it which I will pick up next time I'm out that way again. 

Any help in identifying what I have here would be much appreciated as I wouldn't have a clue other than what I think it is. 

 

Thanks

[Thomas.Dodson]

Your first impression is correct; this is petrified wood. Color of silicate minerals (a common type of preservation for petrified wood like agate and jasper) varies a lot due to other mineral impurities present. Any fish pattern is merely coincidental. It's a nice piece.

[Rockwood]

I occasionally still use short lengths of "hardwood hearts", from when there was a plywood mill in town, as rolls to move heavy objects. They are the center of the tree, wood that the tree essentially chambers off and stabilizes, that remains after the majority of the wood has been peeled away. I believe this is essentially what the pattern seen here is.

[pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon]

On some of the photographs (e.g., one but last) you can see a smooth area with concentric circles. These appear to be a growth rings visible in a transverse/horizontal section of wood. See below image for reference (taken from De Geus, Silva, Gontijo et al., 2020):

 

Also take a look at the below illustration for an explanation of how different types of wood-grain work (source), as my guess is that this is what you've described as fishy bits (pun intended ):

 

Also, welcome to the forum! I think you'll find a lot of friendly people and useful knowledge here, and I hope it will inspire you on your discovery of the wonderful world of fossil!

[Chingazzin1]

Thank you everyone for the replies for my identification and also the elaborated answers. I also found a petrified log about 3 meters long and about 1 1/2 feet wide and for a good 100 meters all broken up petrified wood in splinter like pieces about an inch long. Is that very common? 

 

[pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon]

Unfortunately, I don't have any experience actually finding fossilised wood, so I wouldn't know. But I do know there are quarries, the world over, where entire fossilised forests are found. It seems possible that the site you discovered has exposed one ore multiple fossilised trees. But to find something the size you described is certainly does not sound common - unless you're expressly digging for them in a known location and with heavy machinery...

[Ludwigia]

45 minutes ago, Chingazzin1 said:

Is that very common? 

 

When pet wood is to be found at a particular site, then yes. The piece that you've shown us is very nice. It may be worth cutting and polishing.

[Rockwood]

55 minutes ago, Chingazzin1 said:

petrified wood in splinter like pieces about an inch long.

Petrified sequoia wood sometimes looks like slightly warped dominoes. Minus the dots.