Bronzviking Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 Hi Fossil Hunters, These finds are quite the mystery to me. I found them on a Tampa Bay Beach, Florida, at different times but they look alike. One side looks like wood grain. The flip side looks smooth and shiny. The edges appear milky pearly white and jagged. All 3 are slightly curved. At first glance I thought they were a stingray barb, then some type of worked seashell. Ruled them out. Are they a man-made tool or natural? What is the material? Petrified wood? Possibly mammoth bark or is this wishful thinking, lol. Please help. Thanks! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinodads Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 It dosent look like any kind of worked material but my specialty is in southwestern archeology so I could be wrong. Does it glow under UV? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronzviking Posted February 14 Author Share Posted February 14 12 hours ago, Dinodads said: It dosent look like any kind of worked material but my specialty is in southwestern archeology so I could be wrong. Does it glow under UV? No, It doesn't glow. What would that tell you? Thanks for looking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronzviking Posted February 14 Author Share Posted February 14 Hey guys, can you take a look at these when you get a chance? Thanks! @Harry Pristis @Plantguy @Shellseeker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinodads Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 30 minutes ago, Bronzviking said: No, It doesn't glow. What would that tell you? Thanks for looking. UV reacts with fossil it excites the organic compounds causing them to glow! Here is a paper on this reserch with what UV lights they use but works on just about any organic material. Palaeontology - 2004 - Croft - A New Method for Finding Small Vertebrate Fossils Ultraviolet Light At Night (1) (1).pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 I looked. From the images, I dunno what these finds are. http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted February 15 Share Posted February 15 7 hours ago, Bronzviking said: Hey guys, can you take a look at these when you get a chance? Thanks! @Harry Pristis @Plantguy @Shellseeker I looked at this and immediately (off the 1st photo) thought fossilized wood.... Your 2nd photo, the opposite sides,... just confused me.... Certainly in Florida transformations into silica or agate can occur anywhere but I am unsure that happened here.. Like Harry, I have not previously seen anything like these. The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronzviking Posted February 15 Author Share Posted February 15 On 2/14/2024 at 1:35 PM, Harry Pristis said: I looked. From the images, I dunno what these finds are. Wow, if you don't know I'm really curious now! I saw a deer antler photo and it looked woody. Could it be chard's off an antler? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronzviking Posted February 16 Author Share Posted February 16 On 2/14/2024 at 7:10 PM, Shellseeker said: I looked at this and immediately (off the 1st photo) thought fossilized wood.... Your 2nd photo, the opposite sides,... just confused me.... Certainly in Florida transformations into silica or agate can occur anywhere but I am unsure that happened here.. Like Harry, I have not previously seen anything like these. Yes I never seen anything like it either. Definitely not agatized coral or agate. I saw a deer antler photo and it looked woody-like. Could it be chard's off an antler? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
totallydigsit Posted February 16 Share Posted February 16 Hiya! Fellow bay area beachcomber here. I do wildlife observation for local parks and therefore pick up a lot of beach bone. In my experience (with the exception of the submerged finds experts find off Casperson beach, etc) 99% of bone found on shore will be white due to the bleaching of sun and salt, not brown/black like those found in inland fossil deposits like the peace river- bone is exposed post burial in mineral rich sediment. Anyway, this is a tough one but my guess would be either aged wood debris from old submerged marine infrastructure like dock/ sea wall/ artificial reef that an encrusting invert like a tube worm or coral has fused itself to. Second guess is maybe a weathered piece of a heavy old pen shell? Those shards have catfished me many a time. Lol. Fingers crossed someone solves this mystery bit! Jena 🪸🔬🤞 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted February 16 Share Posted February 16 Antlers are bone. Bone doesn't have a fibrous linear structure. 2 1 http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronzviking Posted February 16 Author Share Posted February 16 On 2/16/2024 at 1:02 PM, totallydigsit said: Hiya! Fellow bay area beachcomber here. I do wildlife observation for local parks and therefore pick up a lot of beach bone. In my experience (with the exception of the submerged finds experts find off Casperson beach, etc) 99% of bone found on shore will be white due to the bleaching of sun and salt, not brown/black like those found in inland fossil deposits like the peace river- bone is exposed post burial in mineral rich sediment. Anyway, this is a tough one but my guess would be either aged wood debris from old submerged marine infrastructure like dock/ sea wall/ artificial reef that an encrusting invert like a tube worm or coral has fused itself to. Second guess is maybe a weathered piece of a heavy old pen shell? Those shards have catfished me many a time. Lol. Fingers crossed someone solves this mystery bit! Jena 🪸🔬🤞 Hi Jena, Welcome to TFF. That sounds like a fun job. Have you found shark teeth? I agree most of the bone I found is white but I do find fossilized black bone on the beaches here as well. I just posted one. https://www.thefossilforum.com/topic/139433-florida-cetacean-vertebra-fragment/ As far as these finds I had thought Pen shell as well but the pattern and texture doesn't match now. Like you said the material could be worn and weathered beyond recognition? Thanks for your input. Lynn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plantguy Posted February 17 Share Posted February 17 Hi Lynn, I started and tried posting my 2cents earlier this week and failed to get it entered. my bad...I even had a couple nights sleep which is rare and havent come up with anything new/earth shattering. I have no certainty but I do think the splintered/fibrous first pieces do look like wood as Jack mentioned. I have a larger fragment somewhere. What is/are the relative hardness for these pieces? Are they relatively hard to scratch with a knife? i Have you tested those pieces or any of the other specimens with dilute HCL to see if they are calcareous? The one darker specimen looked cherty but that could also be some limestone. The one frag that has the linear features and the fibrous makeup does remind me of a section from a large fossil replaced shell like Jena suggested..Here's a photo of a much smaller Arcinella fragment that I have but its the only example I have to easily photograph. There are some larger Mercenaria pieces and other inverts that may fit the bill... Wish I had more... Regards, Chris 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronzviking Posted February 17 Author Share Posted February 17 On 2/16/2024 at 10:19 PM, Plantguy said: Hi Lynn, I started and tried posting my 2cents earlier this week and failed to get it entered. my bad...I even had a couple nights sleep which is rare and havent come up with anything new/earth shattering. I have no certainty but I do think the splintered/fibrous first pieces do look like wood as Jack mentioned. I have a larger fragment somewhere. What is/are the relative hardness for these pieces? Are they relatively hard to scratch with a knife? i Have you tested those pieces or any of the other specimens with dilute HCL to see if they are calcareous? The one darker specimen looked cherty but that could also be some limestone. The one frag that has the linear features and the fibrous makeup does remind me of a section from a large fossil replaced shell like Jena suggested..Here's a photo of a much smaller Arcinella fragment that I have but its the only example I have to easily photograph. There are some larger Mercenaria pieces and other inverts that may fit the bill... Wish I had more... Regards, Chris There are 3 specimens. The first pic wood-like and the second pic (shell-like) is the flip side of these 3. I did a strength test before I photographed and unfortunately snapped the bottom one in half...oops. They are pretty sturdy though but I think they are getting brittle sitting out in the air. I haven't done an acid test. Don't have any HCL. Thanks for your 2 cents Chris, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 On 2/17/2024 at 11:39 AM, Bronzviking said: I did a strength test Never heard of this test before. The test you should do is a hardness test, see if they scratch with a knife. I think all three pieces are petrified wood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randyw Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 I'm in the petrified wood camp myself.... Can we get close up pictures of the ends? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M Harvey Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 To me the circular pattern of the middle specimen is most intriguing. Could it be a fish jaw? Fish bone can be fibrous and splintery. I agree with Randyw that a closeup of the ends could be helpful. Especially the freshly broken ends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronzviking Posted May 22 Author Share Posted May 22 On 5/19/2024 at 10:28 AM, ynot said: Never heard of this test before. The test you should do is a hardness test, see if they scratch with a knife. I think all three pieces are petrified wood. I scratched the third piece in the second photo with an exacto knife. What does this tell us? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronzviking Posted May 22 Author Share Posted May 22 On 5/19/2024 at 2:10 PM, Randyw said: I'm in the petrified wood camp myself.... Can we get close up pictures of the ends? I tried to photograph the ends but they're too tiny but I will try again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted May 22 Share Posted May 22 2 hours ago, Bronzviking said: I scratched the third piece in the second photo with an exacto knife. What does this tell us? That the mineral that replaced the piece is not quartz. (if it is a scratch and not a streak left by the knife). By determining the hardness of a mineral it tells us what minerals it may be and which it is not. I only mentioned it because of your "strength test"- which tells us that the piece was cracked before you tried too break it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now