If it’s a fossil it could be a coral.  It could however be an igneous rock like pumice. Test the rock with some weak hydrochloric acid (also called Muratic acid dilute to 5 percent. If it fizzes it’s more likely to be a fossil.

Also check with a museum or school.

Where did you find it? Mostly they are casts of some kind of Gastropoda (snail). But the location and something in the picture for scale ( a coin or ruler) will give more clues as to its identification.

Jim Chandler

<p style=”direction: ltr;”>Great jobs Louis,</p>
What is the matrix and what holds it together?

Jim

Hi Bill,

It looks most likely to be ripple marks. Here are some references I found:

Ripple marks and trace fossils in the Rose Hill Formation

I would certainly contact this geology professor as he seems knowledgeable in the…[Read more]

It could also be a pseudo-fossil.  What kind of rock is it?

Jim Chandler

Looks promising.   Look at a geological bedrock map of your area to see if your area has bedrock for the time of dinosaurs. Show it to a paleontologist in your area. Put a coin or ruler in your picture for scale.

Jim Chandler

Hi Dave,

Cool fossil!  I am an amateur like you. I did some searching on the web and found an article about brachiopods with spines. Perhaps the author has the knowledge you are after. Also there are some references about identifying similar brachiopods you mentioned. Good luck hunting let me know what you find…[Read more]

Hello Apostoulos,

“Horn coral. Horn coral, any coral of the order Rugosa, which first appeared in the geologic record during the Ordovician Period, which began <b>488 million years ago</b>; the Rugosa persisted through the Permian Period, which ended <b>251 million years ago</b>. (Britannica Encyclopedia)”  I know virtually next to nothing…[Read more]

Possibly a horn coral. Where did you find them?

Perhaps this is a calyx.  Good eye to  pick up this subtle detail. However it is too indistinct to be sure it is a calyx.  Check out some images of better preserved calyx at:https://www.google.com/search?q=crinoid+calyx&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi43eLPlP7YAhXHg-AKHX30CVoQ_AUICigB&biw=1280&bih=630#imgrc=_

Jim

Most definitely crinoids. You could probably also find them in a nearby outcrop.

Jim

Hi Gail,  I have not collected any fossils in the West so I am not very familiar with fossils in that area.  My best guess to get the discussion going is that it is a bone of some kind. (maybe a hoof, but I am very much guessing.)  If I found a similar fossil in a marine sediment I might be tempted to call it a coral, but I think it may be a bo…[Read more]

No poster was attached. I see it now.  Thanks.

The “Poka-dotted” fossils in photos 1&2 are bryozoans.

Jim

Here are some good guides to dinosaur…[Read more]

It is probably not possible with a small piece to identify a dinosaur bone to this level.  There is a good discussion of this on the fossil forum:

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/38748-could-this-be-real-t-rex-bone/

My only direct experience with dinosaur bones was on a tour of the Gobi desert.  We were told if you licked a rock a…[Read more]

I agree. Where can we go for oysters?

Jim

Yes thanks.

Jim