Possible fossil?

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Nowra, south coast NSW
G'day all, went on a trip to some old mines to collect a few rock samples. A small cylindrical rock caught my attention, it almost looked like a mini drill core but on closer inspection i could make out what seem to be ribs/ribbing on the side and small radial lines on the top and bottom. Could it be a bit of fossilized coral?

Some shots of the top and bottom





Some of the side



 
Nice find shivan,
I can understand why you thought it was a drill core at 1st,
I'm fascinated by the image in pic.
it almost looks like a petrified coin stack because of the markings at the top
Is it heavy like stone or metal or is it light weight?
The reason I ask this is because I do a lot of exploring in old tunnel systems
and have in occasion come across something similar in shape and size.
What it turned out to be was the remains of a very old candle (150 years plus old)
which was so covered in dirt it lookeed like stone.
The other thought I had was maybe a knuckle bone from the left index finger if a T-Rex
or a coin stack from some alien life form.
ps:did you see any remains of a space ship while there? :lol:
Sorry about that, think I've seen to many movies.
Cheers Steve :D
 
shivan said:

Hi Shivan,

I have one of these as well, found in mudstone at Greenwell point.

I would be interested if you are able to identify it.

Cheers

Barry
 
bazza2210 said:
shivan said:

Hi Shivan,

I have one of these as well, found in mudstone at Greenwell point.

I would be interested if you are able to identify it.

Cheers

Barry

here is a pic of mine - sorry about the quality

1421448623_dsc_2243.jpg
 
Well I guess that rules out the candle theory but I can still hold up some hope for the T-Rex and alien theory I suppose.
Cheers Steve ;)
 
Indian bead(Indian Money) is a colloquial term for the fossilized stem segments of columnalcrinoids, marineechinodermsof the class Crinoidea. The fossils, generally a centimeter or less in diameter, tend to be cylindrical with a small hole (either open or filled) through the axis and can resemble unstrung beads. The fossils are abundant in certain areas, including parts of the American Midwest where they are present ingravel.
 
Very interesting Barry, the area ours was found in has rhyolte and dolerite flows with some tuff and sandstone caps up higher. May have to pop over for a coffee and compare fossils :D
The mail reason i thought it may be coral was the lines on the top and bottom seemed similar to the radial wall/septa seen in coral fossils. Will look into it a bit more later.

G'day rocketaroo, i did think of a crinoid but started leaning more towards coral after a quick look through some of my UNI notes. Though i cant seem to find much that looks similar as of yet. I did however find another rock that is similar but more oval in shape, that i found at Oallen a while ago.
 
RedDirtDigger, i do believe you are right. Looking at crinoid stems in google, they do seem to be very similar to what i have. The only crinoids i had seen before hand were the arms and upper stem.
Will try and take a few photos later of the other similar piece i have, would love to figure out if it is the same.
 

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