Help! Did I find a dinosaur with scales? My tongue sticks to the fossil

[Joni]

Please help! Did I find some Dinosaurs?

Here are pictures

 

 

 

[Ludwigia]

I assure you that this stone has nothing to do with dinosaurs. Your tongue sticks to it because it's somewhat porous. I would suggest you read and follow the instructions before you post anything else.

[Fin Lover]

Hi, Joni, and welcome to the forum.  These just look geologic in origin to me, but it helps us if you can include the size of your objects and more information about where and how they were found.  The link Roger provided covers what is needed on ID requests.

[Rockwood]

The scaley look is the result of weathering. From the color, I suspect oxidation of iron in the minerals to be a primary element in the process.

[FossilNerd]

Hello Joni and welcome.  
 

Unfortunately , I agree with the others. You have not found anything dinosaur related. It looks more like an ironstone concretion to me. 
 

The “lick test” is frequently touted as being a tried and true method of determining if a rock is bone or not. In reality (as @Ludwigia pointed out) it merely sticks because the rock is porous. This causes a capillary action to pull your saliva into it making it feel sticky to your tongue. Any porous rock will stick. It need not be bone. 
 

Many of us wish this unscientific method of testing would follow the dinosaur bone it attempts to confirm by going extinct. 

[hadrosauridae]

Yes, please stop licking the rocks.

[Troodon]

Nebraska is mostly noted for Dinosaur trackways and fossils are ultra rare mostly on the east side of the state

[Joni]

great thanks for letting me know! I figured it was iron on the outside but it just looked so bizarre, so I thought I would check. Google image search told me it is a meteorite but I don't think it is. I just posted another find. I would be very keen to hear what you all think. Troodon I am on the east side of the state. 

[Fossildude19]

1 minute ago, Joni said:

great thanks for letting me know! I figured it was iron on the outside but it just looked so bizarre, so I thought I would check. Google image search told me it is a meteorite but I don't think it is. I just posted another find. I would be very keen to hear what you all think. Troodon I am on the east side of the state. 

 

 

Just as an FYI - Google Lenz and Image search both STINK at identifying fossils or rocks.

[Joni]

Thanks! I agree

[hadrosauridae]

2 hours ago, Joni said:

great thanks for letting me know! I figured it was iron on the outside but it just looked so bizarre, so I thought I would check. Google image search told me it is a meteorite but I don't think it is. I just posted another find. I would be very keen to hear what you all think. Troodon I am on the east side of the state. 

 

Don't feel bad about asking, thats how we all learn.  The number one tip to hunting vertebrate fossils is investigating the things that stand out.  Fossils typically look different than the rocks around them, so anything that catches your eye is worth a look.  While hunting fossils, keep in mind that fossilized bone typically has the same appearance of modern, its just mineralized and heavy.  Keep thinking about SHAPE, COLOR, TEXTURE, SHINE, and WEIGHT while hunting.  

[hadrosauridae]

3 hours ago, FossilNerd said:

Hello Joni and welcome.  
 

Unfortunately , I agree with the others. You have not found anything dinosaur related. It looks more like an ironstone concretion to me. 
 

The “lick test” is frequently touted as being a tried and true method of determining if a rock is bone or not. In reality (as @Ludwigia pointed out) it merely sticks because the rock is porous. This causes a capillary action to pull your saliva into it making it feel sticky to your tongue. Any porous rock will stick. It need not be bone. 
 

Many of us wish this unscientific method of testing would follow the dinosaur bone it attempts to confirm by going extinct. 

 

I just did a test search for "how to identify fossil bone" and its disturbing that almost every blog that pops up, tells people to stick them to their tongue. 

[Joni]

20 minutes ago, hadrosauridae said:

 

thank you this forum is awesome for people like me who love finding things but don't know where to turn

[jpc]

This does not look like either dinosaur anything nor meteorite.  Meteorites tend to be very heavy.  You did not mention its weight so I can only assume its weight did not impress you.  A meteorite this size would cause the holder to say, "my god, that is heavy."

 

[Joni]

On 7/16/2023 at 12:39 PM, hadrosauridae said:

 

I just did a test search for "how to identify fossil bone" and its disturbing that almost every blog that pops up, tells people to stick them to their tongue. 

there is a show that a palentologist was on and she did that so I thought it would possibly be one way to rule it out as not being a fossil. does the tongue stick to fossilized bone always? 

[Brandy Cole]

1 hour ago, Joni said:

does the tongue stick to fossilized bone always? 

In short, it sometimes will, but not always.  The reason, that I'm probably over simplifying, is that porous items have more drag points and cause more friction.

 

The problem is that the trick works on too many geological items to be of true value.  And some fossils won't have such significant porous nature due to their make-up and mineralization level.

 

That's why we all benefit from taking the advice that was posted by a member above instead of the 'lick test.'

 

On 7/16/2023 at 12:34 PM, hadrosauridae said:

Keep thinking about SHAPE, COLOR, TEXTURE, SHINE, and WEIGHT while hunting.  

 

Edited July 18, 2023 by Brandy Cole
For clarity

[automech]

Here's another possible reason not to "lick" things picked up off the ground or waterways. Just suppose, by chance, an animal decides to relieve itself on the object being licked. Or, an insect decides to lay it eggs on the said object. The odds can be very, very high. So, ask yourself. Do you feel lucky?? 

[Fin Lover]

A lot of the creeks around Summerville are actually drainage ditches for subdivisions, so animal urine or eggs may be the best thing on your fossils or rocks.  Human waste, pesticides and fertilizers, chemicals from the garbage, tires, furniture, etc. that people throw in the creeks, and whatever (drug) is in the syringes thrown by the creek are all a bigger concern to me.  

Edited July 19, 2023 by Fin Lover
Fixed grammar

[Mahnmut]

Hello again,

I´ll just copy for you what I wrote on sticky bones in another thread:

On 3/17/2023 at 4:26 AM, Chuck Pinkey said:

I read online that if you lick it and your tongue sticks, then you have a fossil.  My tongue kinda stuck and it tasted like a dinosaur.   );-)

Thank you for the help.  

Reading online is a dangerous thing, as is sticking ones tongue to things... 

That tongue test is supposed to tell you something about porosity or absorbency of a find. I hear it cited more often the other way round, if your tongue sticks to a bone, the bone is not completely mineralized and remains porous. So a bone that does not stick is more probably fossil. The other way round a rock that sticks does not have to be bone or fossil, because there are many other kinds of porous rock besides bone.

Taste on the other hand is a good indicator, as Rockwood stated...

Best Regards,

J

[hadrosauridae]

2 hours ago, Mahnmut said:

Hello again,

I´ll just copy for you what I wrote on sticky bones in another thread:

Reading online is a dangerous thing, as is sticking ones tongue to things... 

That tongue test is supposed to tell you something about porosity or absorbency of a find. I hear it cited more often the other way round, if your tongue sticks to a bone, the bone is not completely mineralized and remains porous. So a bone that does not stick is more probably fossil. The other way round a rock that sticks does not have to be bone or fossil, because there are many other kinds of porous rock besides bone.

Taste on the other hand is a good indicator, as Rockwood stated...

Best Regards,

J

 

 

[Joni]

On 7/18/2023 at 10:33 AM, automech said:

Here's another possible reason not to "lick" things picked up off the ground or waterways. Just suppose, by chance, an animal decides to relieve itself on the object being licked. Or, an insect decides to lay it eggs on the said object. The odds can be very, very high. So, ask yourself. Do you feel lucky?? 

imagine a person not washing the rock first! hahahahahaha