I am raising a young girl with a strong interest in paleontology. She is always turning over rocks looking for her next discovery.
Recently, she found a small stone in a pile of rubble near our home town, Bend, Oregon. When she showed it to me, she asked if it might be a fossil. I didn't see anything at first, but on closer examination it looked like a single fin from a rayed fish. I've attached some regular photos, as well as a couple of microscope shots at 100x. Should this go in our collection, or is it just an example of paleo-pareidolia?

The stone is 6cm wide, and the exposed shape is 3cm x 2.5cm. The area we live in is volcanically active, but there are isolated areas dating back to Tertiary. We discovered the stone in a backfill pile at a local school, so we don't know the original location of the stone when it was dug up. Thank you for any help you might be able to offer.
http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc291/Revyloution/IMG_3520.jpg
http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc291/Revyloution/IMG_3522.jpg
http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc291/Revyloution/stone1.jpg
http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc291/Revyloution/stone2.jpg
http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc291/Revyloution/stone3.jpg
http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc291/Revyloution/stone4.jpg

Hi Revy, for sure it is impossible for me to see what you see in these pictures. I guess the resolution is not so good this way, but in any event, yes I think you had better relegate it to paleo-pareidolia as you say.

I would probably have to be right on top of the stone to see what you see, but what a great interesting hobby for her that may develop into a lifetime adventure!

Tick

That's science. It doesn't matter how much you love your hypothesis, until someone validates your research, its just your own wild idea. The more I look at the stone, the more I'm attracted to those lines that run along the dark spot. They are ridged up, which is what led me to think it might be a rayed fin. The more I look at it, the more those lines run parallel to each other. If it were truly a fin, I think they would look more like, well, rays!

I think having an unvalidated hypothesis will teach my daughter at least as much about science as if it were an actual find.

Thanks for your time.

I have always had a long standing love of archeology, passed that on to my son as well. We would go 'hunting' in northern Ontario, around Georgian Bay turning over rocks when he was 8. We had so much fun and found something, or saw something in almost every rock we turned over.

I love it when young people develop a thirst for knowledge. It validates our existence as parents sharing the same hobbies, interests, doesn't it ?

Keep her going in the right direction. Maybe some day she will make a find that she will absolutely have to present to your nearest museum.

Ms tickle