Is It a Rock, Fossil, or Meteorite?

[Capester]

TL;DR Summary

Meteorite, fossil, rock ID

Good evening all,

I am a newbie and looking for help with this rock myself and my God son found recently. I haven't cleaned it up as I don't know what it is! There are signs of extreme heat on the surface and it's surprisingly heavy for it's size we thought meteorite...but it isn't magnetic and there seems to something sticking out of it that almost looks man made but not metal. Then, as we were finding a lot of small fossils around the area we thought it may be a fossil of some kind? Really puzzled, any help would be great!

 

[berkeman]

Summary:: Meteorite, fossil, rock ID

Good evening all,

I am a newbie and looking for help with this rock myself and my God son found recently. I haven't cleaned it up as I don't know what it is! There are signs of extreme heat on the surface and it's surprisingly heavy for it's size we thought meteorite...but it isn't magnetic and there seems to something sticking out of it that almost looks man made but not metal. Then, as we were finding a lot of small fossils around the area we thought it may be a fossil of some kind? Really puzzled, any help would be great!

Welcome to PF.

As you can tell from similar threads here about this subject, we need to know where your found this and what kind of terrain it was in. The more information you can give us about the area where you found it, the more help we can provide. Thanks.

 

[Oldman too]

Hi,
Are you familiar with these methods? https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-geology/chapter/outcome-identifying-minerals/
It would be helpful to perform as many of the tests mentioned as possible, The results would be very useful when describing a sample's qualities.
From a personal perspective, I don't see any likely fossils, unless they are very small. The mineralogy looks totally wrong for fossil formation. You mention many small fossils found recently, what type? As for meteorites, one can always hope. The search bar on PF will take you to at least a couple threads on meteorite ID, they are worth a look for reference.

 

[Capester]

Thank you for your replies, the site is an old gravel pit that has been given over to nature. Fossils we have been finding are 'devils toenails' literally by the dozen and small chrinoids. However we also found an ichthyosaur vertebrae last summer (museum verified) and small shells. The rock is also completely at odds with everything else found there which is why it stuck out so much, the kids have also been finding 'crystals' there as in the picture attached.

I will have a look at the link thank you.

 

[Klystron]

I looked up 'devil's toenail'. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gryphaea
Seems to match the ichthyosaur fossil relative time and location, an ancient sea.

Gryphaea, one of the genera known as devil's toenails, is a genus of extinct oysters, marine bivalve mollusks in the family Gryphaeidae.

These fossils range from the Triassic period to the middle Paleogene period[citation needed], but are mostly restricted to the Triassic and Jurassic. They are particularly common in many parts of Britain

 

[pinball1970]

@davenn is a meteor hound !

 

[Oldman too]

Thank you for your replies, the site is an old gravel pit that has been given over to nature. Fossils we have been finding are 'devils toenails' literally by the dozen and small chrinoids. However we also found an ichthyosaur vertebrae last summer (museum verified) and small shells. The rock is also completely at odds with everything else found there which is why it stuck out so much, the kids have also been finding 'crystals' there as in the picture attached.View attachment 300620View attachment 300620I will have a look at the link thank you.

Hi, most gravel quarries are found in alluvial deposits. I would guess your located in a glaciated region with overthrust faulting, just judging by the combination of specimen types shown. I'll attach a few photos that will look very familiar to you in another post.

 

[Baluncore]

Really puzzled, any help would be great!

The hollow triangular section with the metallic patina in post #1 could be weathered basalt. It looks a bit like a volcanic bomb that was buried while hot, and that was then washed by chemically rich groundwater.
The presence of the intact fossils suggests in situ weathering, but the basalt suggests glacial transport. It would help to know the location of the quarry so we can better determine the source of the gravels.

 

[davenn]

Summary:: Meteorite, fossil, rock ID

Good evening all,

I am a newbie and looking for help with this rock myself and my God son found recently. I haven't cleaned it up as I don't know what it is! There are signs of extreme heat on the surface and it's surprisingly heavy for it's size we thought meteorite...but it isn't magnetic and there seems to something sticking out of it that almost looks man made but not metal. Then, as we were finding a lot of small fossils around the area we thought it may be a fossil of some kind? Really puzzled, any help would be great!

Yes, it's either a basalt lava volcanic bomb with a cavity of crystals ... for basalt those crystals would
most likely silicates ...
or it is a limonite nodule/concretion and again with a hollow and crystals
Nice find

Thank you for your replies, the site is an old gravel pit that has been given over to nature. Fossils we have been finding are 'devils toenails' literally by the dozen and small chrinoids. However we also found an ichthyosaur vertebrae last summer (museum verified) and small shells. The rock is also completely at odds with everything else found there which is why it stuck out so much, the kids have also been finding 'crystals' there as in the picture attached.View attachment 300620View attachment 300620I will have a look at the link thank you.

This isn't a fossil ( tho there looks like one in the background), it's a section of a geode and those crystals will be either calcite or quartz.
Calcite is soft, Hardness = 3 whereas Quartz is hard = 7. So it should be easy to tell which it is
Also Calcite will fizz in acidcheers
Dave

 

[Klystron]

This CNN article describes giant ichthyosaur fossils found in the Swiss Alps including pictures of teeth and vertebrae with explanations of probable fossilization and subsequent mountain rises.

Although these creatures once ruled the seas, fossils are rare, which has created a great mystery for paleontologists.

A fossil tooth from a large or giant ichthyosaur.

Ichthyosaur fossils have been found around the world, but the remains of giant species have been concentrated in North America. Finding these specimens in modern-day Switzerland expands their range.