Coconut Fossil?

[Nick Yiu]

Surface texture of this curvy material is soft and pure milky whiteness. It don't have the feels of Silicated rock or transluscence of Quartz minerals. And of course, its' hardness quickly disperse any notion comparing the material to a softer porcelain wares.

To describe further; 1) I sees irregular thickness of the material. On one point it's thinner, but thicker on two remaining edge. 2) The curve is consistence to a sphere. 3) The inside shows a worn-out or rotten pattern, while the outside had cratering like surface.

Based on aforementioned structures, I conclude, I sees the pattern of a real Coconut fossilized into atone., This is the closest i could pair the material to the real thing..., Can anyone with experience on the material please tell me if i got the right or wrong impressions?.

Thank you so much. I hope i could have an official ID for this specimen. Thanks again.

[Bear]

That looks very much like part of a quartz geode to me, Nick. While some quartz geodes form from fossil corals and such, usually the fossil itself is destroyed in that process. Geodes are often hollow spheres, sometimes have crystals or agate bands inside.

By the way, porcelain (real porcelain, not white clay) is composed of aluminum oxide, the same stuff that sapphire is made of. When porcelain has been fired, the surface actually fuses, becoming a thin layer of crystalline aluminum oxide, commonly known as sapphire. Sapphire has a hardness of 9.5 on a scale of 10, it is very hard and very tough - much harder than quartz, which has a hardness of 6.5. White clay...not so much.

Also, if you looked at and read some of those links I gave you, you would know that no fossil coconuts have been found in the Philippines.

[Auspex]

You are finding many interesting and unusual forms washed up on the beach, and your curiosity about what they are is natural. I don't think that you should automatically conclude that they are all fossils, though, without some research to rule out their having simpler origins; undersea reef structures are strange and wonderful, and are far more likely to be the source of your finds.

[Nick Yiu]

That looks very much like part of a quartz geode to me, Nick. While some quartz geodes form from fossil corals and such, usually the fossil itself is destroyed in that process. Geodes are often hollow spheres, sometimes have crystals or agate bands inside.

By the way, porcelain (real porcelain, not white clay) is composed of aluminum oxide, the same stuff that sapphire is made of. When porcelain has been fired, the surface actually fuses, becoming a thin layer of crystalline aluminum oxide, commonly known as sapphire. Sapphire has a hardness of 9.5 on a scale of 10, it is very hard and very tough - much harder than quartz, which has a hardness of 6.5. White clay...not so much.

Also, if you looked at and read some of those links I gave you, you would know that no fossil coconuts have been found in the Philippines.

Thank you for the background Bear. But I'm certain it's not of Quartz..., And I think you still got to hear this. My conclussion regarding this stone is based on the real things I've witnessed on my younger years.

My father in his prime years is in coconut(Dried Copra) trading business. I've seen lots of this Copra spilled and floated on the water for days. And I noted that the interior surface of the object becomes hollow and rotting just as it appears when dries-up like above photo. The exterior side however must have broke-off from the shell as it hardens inside, thus the crattering. Note; Texture along side the border on this specimen is perfectly simmilar to texture to a broken halves of a freshly harvested Coconut.

By the way, As this and the rest of my specimen had surfaced from the deep. It's most likely that ancient habitations could only be found underwater. So, it's not surprising that there's no Dino fossil ever found on the surface. Or on other hand, adventurers or hunters are just afraid to venture further on isolated places where kidnapping and salvaging is far lucrative than fossils find.

I hope this unique stone could be what I expect it to be, fossil.

Thanks for taking time. With all the best,

[ozzyrules244]

I'm am going to just say it looks neat and as a dear friend told me several years ago since I do not know what you have there quote( It is what it is) Lol

[Xiphactinus]

Nick - I know you don't want to hear it, but looks like you have another addition to your coral collection. Notice the rounded shapes on the convex surface. Those are where the coral polyps grew.

[Nick Yiu]

You are finding many interesting and unusual forms washed up on the beach, and your curiosity about what they are is natural. I don't think that you should automatically conclude that they are all fossils, though, without some research to rule out their having simpler origins; undersea reef structures are strange and wonderful, and are far more likely to be the source of your finds.

Dear Auspex,

Thanks for the comments. My curiousity however is based on inner foresights, like i could sees and understand what most people couldn't.

My theory regarding this specimen is as explained on above reply. Your mentioned of undersea reef structures however prod me to introduce another specimens for you to weight the posibilities., Are you familar with Armored Mud Balls? It's a Triasic era red clay balled into shape by bumping or thumbling attributed to extreme pressures underwater. So, I believed there must be something somewhere on the deep, something fancier and older than Corals.

I hope this all explained. Thanks for the time shared. With all my best.

[Seldom]

My curiousity however is based on inner foresights, like i could sees and understand what most people couldn't.

Nick

You need to base your curiosity on science, I am not sure what you mean by inner foresight

[Bear]

I believe that Nick is relying on his intuition at this time.

Here is what a geode looks like, Nick. These came from Indiana, USA. They were originally formed when quartz replaced heads of coral buried in the mud on the ocean bottom.

The outside has little 'craters' formed by the way that the coral skeletons grew when the coral was alive.

[Bear]

Very often the geodes are hollow inside. Sometimes the hollow part is big, sometimes it is small. This one is on the small side.

This one has a lining of quartz crystals so you can easily see that quartz is indeed the mineral involved here.

...and this is why I am sure that my specimens were originally corals.

[Tracer Jr.]

nick, it has already been mentioned, but why don't you start posting your rocks in the gallery for people to view since you have already decided what you have? it is a waste of time to have many people tell you what something is when you will not change what you believe.

[Bear]

Many quartz geodes resemble the white inside of a coconut very much, though without the shell. Going by your picture and your statement that it is a stone, it is very likely that it is indeed part of a broken quartz geode. The broken edge on the front of your picture looks very much like "spalled" "massive" or "cryptocrystaline/microcrystaline" quartz. I have seen that pattern in stone thousands of times.

We do things in a particular way when we study science. We consult lists of facts that have been proven true when we identify specimens. We use our personal experience to figure out what a new thing is. We do not use feelings that we get from inside ourselves to identify specimens, we use facts that we know are true. You have seen my pictures of some geodes that are very similar to your rock in many aspects.

In this country we say "if it looks like a duck and it quacks like a duck, than it most likely is a duck". We call that using "Occams Razor".

[Nick Yiu]

Many quartz geodes resemble the white inside of a coconut very much, though without the shell. Going by your picture and your statement that it is a stone, it is very likely that it is indeed part of a broken quartz geode. The broken edge on the front of your picture looks very much like "spalled" "massive" or "cryptocrystaline/microcrystaline" quartz. I have seen that pattern in stone thousands of times.

We do things in a particular way when we study science. We consult lists of facts that have been proven true when we identify specimens. We use our personal experience to figure out what a new thing is. We do not use feelings that we get from inside ourselves to identify specimens, we use facts that we know are true. You have seen my pictures of some geodes that are very similar to your rock in many aspects.

In this country we say "if it looks like a duck and it quacks like a duck, than it most likely is a duck". We call that using "Occams Razor".

Hi Bear,

Thanks for all the effort and time you shared. Well, If the specimen in-deed is Quartz, perhaps i'm most fortunate to be the first guy to ever found something this rare. Imagine the spherical shape is just too unusual to a Quartz, and the (pizza)thickness might will further the argument that Quartz won't hold on and would certainly break-off even on minimal pressure underwater.

Bear, sorry but i don't exactly figured the simmilarity you mention about your geodes specimen. As far as i can see, the attached photo is very different..., Anyway, whatever this may be, it doesn't really matter. Afterall, i'm not really hunting but finding enjoyment doing routine excercises on the water...,

By the way, your mud specimen from Indiana looks nearly the same as Armored mud balls, except it lacks pebble or stone hardened on top of the mud. I got specimens with sandy topping of this kind.

Thanks for the time. With all best wishes.

[JohnJ]

Nick, for most of your finds, you seem to arrive at your ID based on the shape of the object and what you think it resembles. Shape is just part of the identification process. To make it the PRIMARY basis for your identifications, AND to exclude the science of other keys to identification, will leave you with Wishful Thinking . In addition, you will be no closer to the knowledge you claim to seek - identification of your finds.

If possible, you should take some of your finds to one of the local universities. They will probably have similar specimens to your finds that will help you to see what many here are trying to explain to you. Even a science teacher at a secondary school may be able to assist you.

Substituting reasonable, supported identifications with hopeful, unsupported IDs is not a desire for knowledge.

[Nick Yiu]

Nick, for most of your finds, you seem to arrive at your ID based on the shape of the object and what you think it resembles. Shape is just part of the identification process. To make it the PRIMARY basis for your identifications, AND to exclude the science of other keys to identification, will leave you with Wishful Thinking . In addition, you will be no closer to the knowledge you claim to seek - identification of your finds.

If possible, you should take some of your finds to one of the local universities. They will probably have similar specimens to your finds that will help you to see what many here are trying to explain to you. Even a science teacher at a secondary school may be able to assist you.

Substituting reasonable, supported identifications with hopeful, unsupported IDs is not a desire for knowledge.

John, on some yes, I based my ID on certain object through shape, but of course the colors also comes with it. Take for example the stone with bite mark, It's Orange-Brown on the outside and white on the inside. Common stone or mineral rock which are plentiful in this mineral rich province don't have those traits., Another One, a Heart - It has a perfect shape and colors,in addition there's even a tubes on top of something called Corona. Do you think this is just a coincidence and common attribute of river stone?

This is really hard to believed, particularly that object is not embeded on matrix. Anyway, please allow me to show you photos of sedementary rock found on the same site. These might give us some Idea what era there rock came from;

Yes there's plan, I'd take the specimens to a museum abroad or someplace that could test the stones compositions. Since, sad to say most Museums in this country doesn't even had Meteorites on their shelf. Our local museum is even in worst condition, it's only staffed with retirees formerly on gov't payroll. On University, Paleontology or Space science aren't on the list of courses offered in this country. Local university doen't even offer Minerology despite the fact that this province is dubbed the mining capital of the Philippines., It's just that, people are most interested in politics where the real money is......, Isn't it sad?

Best wishes.