Eozoon canadense Pseudofossil

Originally this fossil was identified in 1864 or 1865 by John William Dawson as a Precambrian foraminifera. As it turns out it was metamorphosed bands of calcite and serpentine thus a pseudofossil. Specimen can be seen at the Museo di Paleontologia at Sapienza University of Rome Italy.

Image was taken in June 2014.

Learn more at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eozoon_canadense

Pseudofossils at Pompeii Italy

When visiting the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, study the details of some of the rocks that make up the walls. Some appear to be clusters of tube like shapes that resemble fossils. There are quite a few of these rocks to see in the numerous walls throughout the ruins.

What I would like to know is how did they form?

Are they a byproduct of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius?

UPDATE: I think these specimens are travertine (limestone concretions with remains of plant stems). They are not from the volcano. It would be nice to know where they originated though.

Example of walls found in the ruins at Pompeii.

What is left of some Roman columns at Pompeii.

Dendritic Crystal Growth

Sometimes these are considered pseudofossils but they are manganese oxides - dendritic crystal growth.  This specimen was found in Solnhofen, Bayern, Germany.  It is on display at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History (2010).

Dendrites - Plant Pseudofossil?

While at the home and garden supply store picking up concrete materials, this rock was in the landscaping area.  I could not let it get torn up so I saved it from becoming part of a walkway.  Not sure where it came from or exactly what it is. The rock is in layers in a pinkish-red color with dendrite patterns through out.  On one edge is a collection of small crystals.  If the rock could be split it appears more layers have the dendrite pattern.

A Pseudofossil Called Stylolite

I have been reading a well written book from Germany called Fossil Collector's Handbook: Finding, Identifying, Preparing, Displaying by Gerhard Lichter. Published in English in 1993 by Sterling Publishing Company. The German title is Fossilien bergen, präparieren, ausstellen: Geräte und Techniken published in 1986.

On page 11, there is a picture of a pseudofossil called Stylolite. The author describes it as "the woodlike limestone formation is most likely a diagenetic sediment deposit that developed during rock formation or a water-worn rock."

I remember finding my first piece of rock like the one pictured in the book and thinking I had found some sort of petrified wood. Later, someone told me it was just a pseudofossil. DARN! I still pick up pieces today maybe because like the structure of its parallel lines. Or maybe the hope it is some sort of petrified wood.

The following are pictures of two specimens that I found east of Louisville, Kentucky. They were found at an Ordovician Period road cut.

A Pseudofossil Called Dendrites

If you type pseudofossil into the image search engine section of Google, images like the ones shown below will start to appear. These mineral deposits of manganese oxide were created when mineral enriched water seeped into the cracks of this rock. After the water departed, these mineral patterns were left.

The patterns remind me of a little branching plant or fractals defined by mathematics.

This rock is probably Devonian so these pattern formed sometime in the last 400 million years.