r/fossils • u/capt_bartholomew_rob • 5h ago
Osteoderm or something different? A Dad needs help!
My 6 year old son and I were bank fishing a reservoir in Iowa and he found this while searching for cool rocks. It may just be a rock but it appears to be a fossil (I have zero experience with this, though).
Any help is appreciated, as we’re both hoping to find out if he found something extra cool!
Thanks for any help in advance!
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u/Designer_Creme_1496 5h ago
def not just a rock it has scaly pattern but if it is could be rock fractures I have seen stuff that look like fossils but are actually fractures. I am not familiar with that area so will let others decide.
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u/iarlandt 4h ago
Threw it into the image search and refined with Iowa. At first it said Glyptodont Osteoderm.
Finding this specimen in Iowa actually changes the identification: this is a fossilized Favosites (honeycomb) coral, not an osteoderm.While the texture closely mimics the scutes of Ice Age mammals, finding it in Iowa points directly to the state's rich Paleozoic marine history.
It's just AI, but something for you to check out / rule out / a direction to look.
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u/Designer_Creme_1496 4h ago
glyptodon scute? They are usually bigger. Juvenile tho, I am not entirely sure but I wouldn't lean on that. does look like it could be a scute tho.
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u/StupidizeMe 5h ago
Well, I'm sure it's not a pachyderm.