herb
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 472
|
Post by herb on Dec 9, 2022 16:50:00 GMT -5
I found this single slab while digging thru my buckets of rocks several years ago. When I first found it, I thought "That's a cool looking piece of petrified wood!" and set it aside. The more often I look at it, the less sure I am it is wood. I don't see any hints of growth rings. Soon I starting thinking "maybe its coprolite?" It has some qualities similar to other slabs of poop I've seen. But it is much darker than most of the coprolite I've seen. Just today, I saw some pictures of dino bone slabs and now the thought "is this dino bone?" is creeping into my head! Someone please identify this so the voices in my head stop talking and my brain doesn't explode! ;-) Showing both sides of the slab, wet, under an Ott light indoors.  Poop or Wood by Shiny Objects, on Flickr  Poop or Wood by Shiny Objects, on Flickr |
|
|
|
Post by rockjunquie on Dec 9, 2022 16:57:59 GMT -5
THAT is fabulous!!! I can't help with the voices, but maybe it is a super premium coprolite. Dunno, but it has that look.
|
|
|
|
Post by jasoninsd on Dec 9, 2022 17:08:23 GMT -5
I'm going to be in the poop camp! I'll be curious to see what Randy has to say. If that IS poop, that HAS to be a museum grade piece of Coprolite!
*I figure as long as I understand what the voices in my head are saying, I must be sane. Once they stop making sense, then I'll worry about them! LOL
|
|
|
|
Post by HankRocks on Dec 9, 2022 17:53:01 GMT -5
Could you post a picture of the edge. That might give another clue. I will lean towards it being Petrified Wood.
|
|
QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,640
|
Post by QuailRiver on Dec 9, 2022 17:54:16 GMT -5
99.99% sure it's Coprolite. And a mighty fine one at that! I bought a large chunk with identical colors but not as spectacular pattern out of a very old collection several years ago. It was identified by label as being from the Henry Mountains, Utah.
|
|
|
|
Post by hummingbirdstones on Dec 9, 2022 22:39:39 GMT -5
I have no clue what I'm talking about, but I'm going to say it's a cycad.
|
|
RWA3006
Cave Dweller 
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,612 
|
Post by RWA3006 on Dec 9, 2022 22:54:37 GMT -5
That's very beautiful and if it's coprolite I'd rate it as museum grade as jasoninsd indicated. My opinion is it's definitely not bone and if it's wood it would probably be some kind of vascular plant or some oddball species. At first I thought it was cycad or something weird, but after really looking at it I have to opine that it's coprolite because of the dung beetle burrows that filled with red agate. The rest of the specimen is hard to identify, but the bug tunnels are so blatantly stereotypical of such that I conclude they are the smoking gun that points to coprolite. If you look at the shape and other characteristics of beetle burrows in poop you will begin to notice they have certain ratios and traits that are mostly exclusive compared to other rocks. Another thing that really points to coprolite is you will notice that some of the tunnels go around the edges of discrete structures within the specimen. I know that these turds were not perfectly homogeneous but had components that were less digested than the matrix surrounding them. An example would be a less digested limb within the softer poo surrounding it. When beetles burrow and encounter a tougher tree limb they will be deflected to burrow past the side of the limb rather than try to cut through it. I'm fairly confident I can see this in your specimen. Congratulations on a very nice piece and my opinion is it has more value as a specimen displaying an entire cross section than if you were to cut it up. I would also be inclined to believe it came from that band of country that goes from Las Vegas eastward towards the Colorado border, very likely from just South of the Henry mountains in Utah. |
|
RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,612
|
Post by RWA3006 on Dec 9, 2022 22:58:04 GMT -5
|
|
herb
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 472
|
Post by herb on Dec 9, 2022 23:11:29 GMT -5
Could you post a picture of the edge. That might give another clue. I will lean towards it being Petrified Wood. Here is a pic of 3 different places around the edge. I'm impressed that my camera was able to capture it so well! I spend some time staring at the surface with a magnifying glass. I am leaning toward the poop camp now but I'll defer to the poop pros for the final verdict  SideView by Shiny Objects, on Flickr |
|
|
|
Post by jasoninsd on Dec 9, 2022 23:15:22 GMT -5
That's very beautiful and if it's coprolite I'd rate it as museum grade as jasoninsd indicated. My opinion is it's definitely not bone and if it's wood it would probably be some kind of vascular plant or some oddball species. At first I thought it was cycad or something weird, but after really looking at it I have to opine that it's coprolite because of the dung beetle burrows that filled with red agate. The rest of the specimen is hard to identify, but the bug tunnels are so blatantly stereotypical of such that I conclude they are the smoking gun that points to coprolite. If you look at the shape and other characteristics of beetle burrows in poop you will begin to notice they have certain ratios and traits that are mostly exclusive compared to other rocks. Another thing that really points to coprolite is you will notice that some of the tunnels go around the edges of discrete structures within the specimen. I know that these turds were not perfectly homogeneous but had components that were less digested than the matrix surrounding them. An example would be a less digested limb within the softer poo surrounding it. When beetles burrow and encounter a tougher tree limb they will be deflected to burrow past the side of the limb rather than try to cut through it. I'm fairly confident I can see this in your specimen. Congratulations on a very nice piece and my opinion is it has more value as a specimen displaying an entire cross section than if you were to cut it up. I would also be inclined to believe it came from that band of country that goes from Las Vegas eastward towards the Colorado border, very likely from just South of the Henry mountains in Utah. Randy...it was the appearance of those dung beetle tracks that made me think it was coprolite. So...you ARE teaching us a thing or two on here!  |
|
|
|
Post by rockjunquie on Dec 10, 2022 6:10:29 GMT -5
Conglatulations, herb ! You have yourself a mighty turd. Now go polish it.  |
|
herb
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 472
|
Post by herb on Dec 10, 2022 15:31:30 GMT -5
That's very beautiful and if it's coprolite I'd rate it as museum grade as jasoninsd indicated. My opinion is it's definitely not bone and if it's wood it would probably be some kind of vascular plant or some oddball species. At first I thought it was cycad or something weird, but after really looking at it I have to opine that it's coprolite because of the dung beetle burrows that filled with red agate. The rest of the specimen is hard to identify, but the bug tunnels are so blatantly stereotypical of such that I conclude they are the smoking gun that points to coprolite. If you look at the shape and other characteristics of beetle burrows in poop you will begin to notice they have certain ratios and traits that are mostly exclusive compared to other rocks. Another thing that really points to coprolite is you will notice that some of the tunnels go around the edges of discrete structures within the specimen. I know that these turds were not perfectly homogeneous but had components that were less digested than the matrix surrounding them. An example would be a less digested limb within the softer poo surrounding it. When beetles burrow and encounter a tougher tree limb they will be deflected to burrow past the side of the limb rather than try to cut through it. I'm fairly confident I can see this in your specimen. Congratulations on a very nice piece and my opinion is it has more value as a specimen displaying an entire cross section than if you were to cut it up. I would also be inclined to believe it came from that band of country that goes from Las Vegas eastward towards the Colorado border, very likely from just South of the Henry mountains in Utah. Thanks for your detailed analysis! Very educational! Amazing you can even narrow down where it is from, you really know your poop! Back when I thought it was petrified wood, I thought about cutting it up for cabs but decided that the whole is more than the sum of its parts. I've flat lapped lots of thundereggs but never any slabs. I think this will have to get polished. Besides looking much better with a shine, there are also some saw marks you cant see in the wet pics that need to go |
|
ericabelle
spending too much on rocks
Instagram acct: @erica_shoots_everything
Member since April 2021
Posts: 482
|
Post by ericabelle on Dec 10, 2022 19:00:55 GMT -5
I'm going to be in the poop camp! I'll be curious to see what Randy has to say. If that IS poop, that HAS to be a museum grade piece of Coprolite! *I figure as long as I understand what the voices in my head are saying, I must be sane. Once they stop making sense, then I'll worry about them! LOL Be careful what you step in when you're at poop camp.... |
|
|
|
Post by jasoninsd on Dec 10, 2022 19:47:18 GMT -5
I'm going to be in the poop camp! I'll be curious to see what Randy has to say. If that IS poop, that HAS to be a museum grade piece of Coprolite! *I figure as long as I understand what the voices in my head are saying, I must be sane. Once they stop making sense, then I'll worry about them! LOL Be careful what you step in when you're at poop camp.... Oh, I think it's a great idea to look out for number one...but it's WAY more important to watch out for number two!! LOL |
|
Brian
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2020
Posts: 1,512
|
Post by Brian on Dec 10, 2022 20:55:15 GMT -5
That certainly does look like the structure of coprolite, but those colors are fantastic! I'd be happy to display a piece like that!
|
|
RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,612
|
Post by RWA3006 on Dec 12, 2022 14:46:45 GMT -5
That certainly does look like the structure of coprolite, but those colors are fantastic! I'd be happy to display a piece like that! The colors are magnificent and uncommon in my experience. I believe that structure and contrast is a more reliable indicator of coprolite from the American southwest. If you get a chance put a UV lamp on it because most coprolite from this area will glow a yellow - green. |
|
|
|
Post by victor1941 on Dec 13, 2022 12:16:06 GMT -5
I would like to vote for cycad with worm borings. The inside structure looks similar to cycad slices sold on auction sites.
|
|
quartzilla
Cave Dweller
Member since April 2020
Posts: 1,240
|
Post by quartzilla on Dec 18, 2022 19:10:44 GMT -5
Wow! That stone makes you The Caca King! It’s official and everyone agrees!
|
|
herb
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 472
|
Post by herb on Aug 6, 2023 14:17:30 GMT -5
Well, I finally got around to finishing polishing the slab on my vibratory lap and thought some might want to see the results. Looks fairly similar to the original pictures, except now it doesn't have to be in water to get the look! The polish turned out pretty well overall, but the gray areas didn't really take much of a polish. PRO TIP: When you glue a weight to the slab for processing in a vib lap, don't use exterior wood glue unless you want to wait a few weeks for the weight to soak off!  Coprolite Polished by Shiny Objects, on Flickr |
|
|
|
Post by rmf on Aug 6, 2023 14:32:29 GMT -5
If it is not poop you should be able to see wood cells under high magnification. See if a local high school or college has a microscope. The Geology department as a college/University should have something.
|
|
