Texas Coral? Favosites?

[Brandy Cole]

Ocean related fossils are something I'm relatively unfamiliar with, but I noticed this landscaping rock from Central Texas over the holidays that caught my eye.

 

It didn't look to be the right material or texture for petrified wood.  It reminded me of some of the coral pictures I've seen here. 

 

The rock was pulled from an area around the Hooper Formation I believe.  The Wilcox Group.  

 

The rock is about two feet long by one foot wide.

 

Could it be favosites?

 

[Fossildude19]

Definitely not a Favosites.  Not sure, but doesn't really look like a coral to me. 

Maybe some others will weigh in.

[Brandy Cole]

This is the section I should've taken better pictures of while I was there.

 

It's the part that caught my attention as something other than standard rock.

[Brandy Cole]

 Bryozoan mold maybe?

 

@JohnJ

[DPS Ammonite]

Wilcox Group looks to have many plant fossils and only a few marine ones.

https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Geolex/UnitRefs/WilcoxRefs_4400.html
 

Looks like wood where the wood has cracked. It is not juniper, but sort of has the appearance of alligator juniper bark.

 

https://onegreenworld.com/product/alligator-juniper/

 

 

Edited November 26, 2023 by DPS Ammonite

[JohnJ]

I'm inclined to say it is another example of the rocky weirdness found in the Texas Eocene.  Hollow cavities are common in these rocks, and geologic patterns are often exposed. 

[Brandy Cole]

Thanks guys.

 

I was leaning against wood because it looks very different from most of the petrified wood we've found in that area in terms of the type of rock and also the grain.

 

By comparison, here are examples of the petrified wood we've found on the same property. My mom uses it to make flowerbed hedges. 😄