COPROLITE

Manganese dendrites are inorganic, branching crystals that form on the surface of rocks and minerals. They are often mistaken for fossils, but they are actually made of manganese oxides and are not plants.
Here are some characteristics of manganese dendrites:

Appearance
They can be black, brown, or orange, and form thin, branching patterns.

Formation
They form through a process called supercooling, where a mineral crystallizes quickly into symmetrical patterns.
Location
They are often found in cracks or along bedding planes in limestone and other rock types.
Composition
They are usually made of a variety of manganese oxide minerals, such as hollandite, coronadite, or cryptomelane.
Distinction from fossils
Manganese dendrites are not fossils because the branches are too perfect, all the branches extend from a line at the bottom, or there is no distinction between branch, stem, or leaf.

Manganese dendrites form when water rich in manganese and iron flows along tiny cracks in rocks. The patterns are a result of unstable aqueous growth processes driven by fluid motion and chemical concentration gradients.

elephant bird, (family Aepyornithidae), any of several species of extinct giant flightless birds classified in the family Aepyornithidae and found as fossils in Pleistocene and Holocene deposits on the island of Madagascar. Modern taxonomies include three genera (Aepyornis, Mullerornis, and Vorombe), with the species V. titan being both the largest member of the family and the largest bird that ever lived.

Fossil remains of elephant birds have been known since the 19th century, and the first full descriptions were made by French zoologist Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire. During the 19th century, 13 species were described and classified into three genera—Aepyornis, Mullerornis, and Flacourtia. By the 21st century, however, studies using molecular and morphological techniques consolidated several species, reducing the count to between four and eight.

Elephant bird remains are abundant, and fossil evidence indicates that each species was massively constructed, with conical beaks, short thick legs, three-toed feet, and relatively small wings that were useless for flight. Thus, researchers suggest that these birds were probably slow-moving inhabitants of forests. Some forms of Aepyornis attained very large size, approaching 3 metres (10 feet) high and weighing about 450 kg (1,000 pounds). The largest known species, V. titan, stood at least 3 metres high and weighed on average about 650 kg (1,400 pounds); however, some estimates suggest that the largest individuals could have weighed as much as 860 kg (1,900 pounds), making it the world’s largest known bird.