Mikeinri Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 (edited) Not sure if this was made this way from a river/stream eroding the rock or maybe from fossils in bottom of lake or if it is perhaps not even a rock but a mold and some other material? Any help to solve this mystery for me would be appreciated! Thank you in advance Edited March 1, 2016 by Mikeinri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Au Seeker Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 Very interesting, I hope someone knows what they are, a little for info would help in IDing these, tell us in general more of where/what part of the country they were found and in what type of environment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikeinri Posted March 1, 2016 Author Share Posted March 1, 2016 They were found in an auction in north eastern Connecticut. Usa. I like to collect natural sharpening stones/ razor hones and these were not much money so purchased because I guess I like rocks.. Wasn't sure they were not man made for an aquarium or something or natural. Wonder if breaking one would help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Au Seeker Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 You can do a streak test, hardness test which could help, but breaking one is up to you, don't know if it would help with IDing these or not,If they're man-made, especially using a mold I would think that you would have at least some duplicates that are exactly the same, especially if you have more than what you show in your photo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d_day Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 Strictly a guess here, but I'm thinking some kind of mudstone. I imagine them drying and cracking slowly over time. I would expect these formed similar to the way a septarian nodule forms, but from the outside rather than inside. Are the apparent cracks equally pronounced on both sides? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikeinri Posted March 1, 2016 Author Share Posted March 1, 2016 They are same on borh sides. None seem exactly the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikeinri Posted March 1, 2016 Author Share Posted March 1, 2016 (edited) Maybe not exact on both sides. Can kind of see where it would have been laying on the ground, not as deep cracks but still there and not much of a difference. Edited March 1, 2016 by Mikeinri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikeinri Posted March 1, 2016 Author Share Posted March 1, 2016 Pics of bottom and top Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4meter Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 Mikeinri, those are "Septarian Nodules"; very nice ones. Here is link to some info on Setarian Nodules Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikeinri Posted March 1, 2016 Author Share Posted March 1, 2016 They are so small compared to what I see online. Also many look much more colorful and even color in the stone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d_day Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 There's another possibility that just occurred to me. These might be coprolites. Most coprolites don't resemble these at all, but a handful do. Taking them to a local university's geology department should get you some more definitive answers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d_day Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 Also, the less pronounced cracking on the undersides is about what I would expect to see for something that dried and cracked on the open air. It still doesn't mean I'm correct, just that that's what I expected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikeinri Posted March 1, 2016 Author Share Posted March 1, 2016 I have now broken one in half. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikeinri Posted March 2, 2016 Author Share Posted March 2, 2016 And should I have not broken this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Au Seeker Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 After seeing the inside of the one you broke, I agree with 4meter that they are Septarian Nodules which have the inside voids from cracking filled over time with Calcite which the broken one appears to have.I don't think they're very valuable so breaking the one shouldn't be a great loss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikeinri Posted March 3, 2016 Author Share Posted March 3, 2016 Thank you all for your expertise! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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