New Members Sundog Posted May 30, 2016 New Members Share Posted May 30, 2016 This was found in a creek bed in Southern Illinois approximately one month ago. Any ideas on what this could be? Thank you for any advise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 A very suggestively shaped rock. I see nothing to indicate a fossil. Definitely not dino skull. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 Sorry, but I have to agree - a water worn sandstone or limestone block. I see no bone texture, or jaw/skull morphology. Regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 IPFOTM -- MAY - 2024 _________________________________________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 funny rock. I, like the others, see no bone texture/patterns. Fossil bone retains a lot of bone texture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgehiker Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 Neat rock. No, not Dino. However, sometimes sand, etc will fill a skull, harden and then the skull will disintegrate leaving an internal mold. Not saying that's what you have. I have no idea what a deer, etc. Internal mold would look like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piotr Bajdek Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 It's just a piece of a rock, not a skull, but it looks nicely! PaleoBiology Blog (in English, Spanish, and Polish) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmaier Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 I agree it is a pseudofossil, but wouldn't this specimen just stop your heart for a few beats when you first saw it lying on the ground? Sure looks amazing at first. I've told this story before, but I'll repeat it... I was nature walking in Indiana and walked up to a dry creek bed. From a distance I could see a pile of "bones" and a "skull". It looked like a petrified skeleton of a deer, but when I ran up I remembered I was hunting a Silurian formation. It was just weathered limestone, but looked very convincing from 20 feet away. I took all the "skeleton" and arranged the bones so they were more convincing, and left them that way. Hopefully, it gave somebody else a thrill. =-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doushantuo Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 But,but, I see an orbit,and a basioccipital,and a parietal... Shame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Members Sundog Posted May 30, 2016 Author New Members Share Posted May 30, 2016 Thank you very much for all of your responses...this is a really nice forum and a great way to gather information. Quick question....It was suggested that this could possibly be a sort of "skull casting" by which the skull disintegrates and the limestone takes its place. Is there a way to prove or disprove this theory? Also, is there a place to take a find like this so someone can physically exam it and make an interpretation? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmaier Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 Part of the problem with it being a cast is the unlikely probability of finding it in southern Illinois. No dinosaur fossils have ever been found in Illinois. Although it is possible it was carried by glaciers, it doesn't show the wear patterns of that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 If you wish you could take it to a local museum, or college to have it looked at by a paleontologist or geologist. Regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 IPFOTM -- MAY - 2024 _________________________________________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 It is a terrific mimic, very suggestive in form! Beyond a strong superficial form, though, the individual components are incorrect for a skull, and any bony texture or structure is lacking. Ma Nature can be a real trickster! "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prem Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 that ridge along the top of the specimen could be some sort of burrow / ichnofossil. ---Prem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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