Flint Fossil Sponge / Fossilized Fruit - Coconut?

[celestialnonesuch]

Hello all,

 

Curious to see if you folks could assist me in the identification of this item.

 

I came across this at an auction. Initially I thought it was a cast metal - non-ferrous (perhaps bronze) - depiction of a Peach, Lemon, etc., and was perhaps used as an altar fruit. But the material just does not quite fit the bill - unless the piece is made of quite ancient metal.

 

Upon diving into research, I came across a "fossilized flint coconut" which had strong similarities, (however this piece has only one pore or 'eye') which then led me to learning about flint sponges, which also had strong similarities.

 

Any thoughts or further resources would be greatly appreciated,

 

Kindly,

 

J

 

 

 

[Ludwigia]

This does not appear to me to be flint. It certainly does have an interesting shape which sparks the imagination. What evidence would prove that this is cretaceous?

[RJB]

With no info to go by its hard to tell what this is?  But like Ludwigia says, interesting shape

 

RB

[celestialnonesuch]

I apologize, I am a literal newbie when it comes to fossils. I only included Cretaceous as a tag as I had read that they first appeared in the fossil record during the Cretaceous period - hopefully that doesn't muddy the waters. 

 

If there are any telltale indicators / pictures that should be captured to indicate one way or another, let me know.

 

Thank you both for your input.

 

If it doesn't appear to be flint, I might be totally off base posting on this form - my apologies to all.

 

Stranger still, is that I have a second one - VERY similar in form (as in comparing two coconuts), however with some discrepancy in size (again as if you'd compare two fruits in the same store) 

 

Curious, could two fossils (coconut or sponge) be so similar in form? - This line of thinking is what initially had me believe they were cast metal (but then the size discrepancy would indicate they would not be from the same mold)

 

Apologies for the text wall,

 

Thank you all for your thoughts.

 

J

[grandpa]

11 minutes ago, celestialnonesuch said:

I might be totally off base posting on this form - my apologies to all.

Welcome to the forum.  Absolutely no apologies needed.  We try here to provide accurate information about the items that are displayed.  Sometimes they are indeed fossils, sometimes they are not.  Either way, the forum and the OP learn from the situation.  So you are 'right on' in posting this rock here.

 

I agree that the rock looks like flint and that the circular hole is a very interesting feature.  Would it be possible to get a better photo of what is inside, perhaps a closer photo with more direct lighting into the hole?

 

Thanks for posting this, and again, Welcome to TFF.