A boulder that has things that look like a spine and ribs

[Bigfoot]

Hi,

 

Came across a boulder in the woods in Northern NJ, USA. It shows what I think may be a spine and ribs. It looks like a fossil. I may be wrong. If it is a fossil, what might it be? It is about 3 feet across and 2 feet in height. Thanks a lot for your opinions.

[westcoast]

This looks like a metamorphic rock with mineral veins. I'm not seeing any fossil here.

[digit]

Agreed. This is Mother Nature creating textures that mimic things we recognize (a phenomenon called pareidolia). What I do see though is that this rock is surrounded by poison ivy.

 

Geologic maps can help you to understand the age of the rock formations in your area. This can allow you to narrow down what types of actual fossils might be found where you are. For example, we have no dinosaur fossils in Florida (outside of museums) as our oldest rocks at the surface only stretch back to the Eocene.

 

https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/new-jersey-geologic-map

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[trilobites_are_awesome]

No fossils there!

[Rockwood]

You likely have found out by now that the plant surrounding it is poison ivy. 

[Kane]

Applying rubbing alcohol can help mitigate the effects. Hopefully you did not brush with it!

[Rockwood]

And be really careful how you handle anything that might have contacted the oils from it. I have a rash on both hands now, and I've been painting porch railings. The only thing I can figure is that racoons climbing on them had it on their fur. 

[Bigfoot]

Thanks a lot for your messages. Regarding the poison ivy, that's good news. I may be immune to it. I didn't feel a thing. 

[Rockwood]

[hadrosauridae]

2 hours ago, Bigfoot said:

Thanks a lot for your messages. Regarding the poison ivy, that's good news. I may be immune to it. I didn't feel a thing. 

 

Maybe, maybe not.  Poison ivy always hits me the next day.

[digit]

Many folks don't break out till the following day. Washing off the oily urushiol resin before it stays on the skin too long can minimize the allergic reaction. Its affects on humans seems to vary greatly--some can stroll barefoot through patches of it and others seem to break out in a rash at the mere sight of it. People who are very sensitive to urushiol have to stay away from mango (in the same plant family and contains urushiol in the mango peel as well as the wood). I knew a woodturner who tried to turn a bowl from a piece of mango trunk and found out the hard way that she was acutely allergic to urushiol. She gave me the rest of the mango wood and I had no problems turning bowls from it so I guess I'm lucky.

 

Back to the topic of fossils--have you looked at the geologic map of NJ to see what age rocks are in the area where this (non-fossil) rock was found (in a bed of poison ivy)? If you could let us know what age those rocks are we can give you an idea what types of fossils might occur in your area.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Bigfoot]

Thank you for your help. I just came across this interesting looking boulder. It is not my hobby to go looking for fossils. Thank you very much.

[digit]

You know where to go if you find something else that catches your fancy.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[SawTooth]

On 7/28/2024 at 6:33 PM, Bigfoot said:

Thanks a lot for your messages. Regarding the poison ivy, that's good news. I may be immune to it. I didn't feel a thing. 

Urushiol is actually an acquired allergen, to where the more you are exposed to it, the quicker the reaction ensues, the first time of exposure you may not get a rash at all.