Fossil?

[park6728]

Hello,

I am wondering if anyone might know what this find is (or might be). I have found a couple of 'rocks' like this in a creek in central Oklahoma. I am not sure what their origin is. The pictures show two sides of the same object.

 

Thanks!

 

[minnbuckeye]

Interesting find. Hopefully someone recognizes it.

[Fossildude19]

Central Oklahoma covers  a large area.
Can you pin the location found down to county level for us?

 

 

 

My first thought was Bivalve hinge of some sort, but the second image looks more like an ironstone concretion rind. 

[park6728]

Thanks for the input so far. This was found in Oklahoma County, in the Oklahoma City area.

[park6728]

To clarify, the North side of Oklahoma City, since OKC appears to straddle two different geologic periods North to South from the map above.

[Ludwigia]

I'm getting a man-made vibe from this thing.

[FranzBernhard]

What is it composed of?

On the second sight, I agree with @Ludwigia.

Franz Bernhard

[Mark Kmiecik]

Looks like a fruit husk of some kind. Maybe coconut?

[park6728]

Hi Franz,

I don't know what it is made of, but that is a good question. I just now tried it against a refrigerator magnet and there definitely was magnetic attraction, so I assume this means the material is ferromagnetic (iron, cobalt, nickel, etc.). Maybe that would support it being human-made?

[FranzBernhard]

12 hours ago, park6728 said:

Maybe that would support it being human-made?

Yes, supportive, but by far not definitive.

 

The rusty side looks like, well, rust, and it still could have some metallic iron in it.

 

What is the comb-like structure composed of? Would you like to try to hold one of those spikes in the flame of a lighter or a candle?

 

Franz Bernhard

[park6728]

I tried flaming a small piece of the ridged face with a match this morning, and I would describe it as 'sort of' burning. The piece did take a flame, but did not continue to burn when I took the flame away. The result from holding it in the match was that the small piece became more or less charred. You can see the result here (phone picture, so not great resolution):

 

 

After doing a little more image research online yesterday, I was thinking the ridged surface could be old (and partly mineralized?) wood showing termite or carpenter ant damage. If this were the case, it would be possible that these pieces are from some part of a horse cart or wagon, like one of the wheels - something like this:

 

 

I have also previously found what seems to be a horse cart 'shock absorber' in the same general area of the creek (below). At any rate, just a hypothesis, but that would put these objects into 'historical artifact' as opposed to 'fossil'. Happy to hear any additional thoughts, but no worries if this is now outside the realm of the Fossil Forum.

 

 

 

Thanks!

[FranzBernhard]

Thanks for the flame test and some possibilities. Organic it is.

Franz Bernhard

[CDiggs]

Pretty sure this is a fragment from a car fuel filter. The end is metal but the interior is a ribbed fiber filter which is what is burning.

Edited August 21 by CDiggs

[automech]

@CDiggs That is a good possibility.

[park6728]

Thanks CDiggs, that is a good thought and we have found various parts from cars also in this creek. One thing to note, the ridges are rigid and not at all flexible (although they are breakable without much effort). Not sure if this would make a difference or not.