Strange rock formation/fossil/artifact??

[luvfunstuff]

My 13 year old found this while hunting around the ground on a rocky dirt hillside in the foothills of the Missouri Ozarks, south central Missouri - on our land. It is pretty heavy for the size and is not magnetic. As the picture suggests, the white ends are smooth with light creases in them and the center is pitted but also appears to be made of the same or similar white material but with yellow stains/yellow crystals maybe? It almost looks like the center section "grew" out of the two rounded ends. When I looked at it with a magnifying loop in bright sunlight, the whole thing has the tiniest crystalline shimmer all over (anyone see the shiny vampires in the Twilight movies?) lol! Is it "vampire stone"? This is just plain weird, and cool! Has anyone seen anything like it before? Thanks for looking.

 

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[Tigger]

What on earth? Can you zoom in on the middle bit to show any crystals??
Tigger

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

If I was to take a very WAG I'd say two chert nodules connected by a later formation with some sulphur inclusion in the matrix.

 

[CRUSADER]

I had one of these on the end of my nose

 

[Gunny71]

WOW,
Thats cool looking.
Tagged, I wanna know what it is!

 

[Breezie]

I can honestly say that is the strangest rock I've ever seen. Could it be one of the Missouri Round Rocks? I really don't have a clue. Super find, Breezie

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Are you sure its not some kind of insect cocoon?

 

[luvfunstuff]

What on earth? Can you zoom in on the middle bit to show any crystals??
Tigger

Sorry, I don't know if I can get any more magnified. Let me check with the hubby in the a.m. (Saturday) and see if his camera can do anything that awesome.

 

[luvfunstuff]

If I was to take a very WAG I'd say two chert nodules connected by a later formation with some sulphur inclusion in the matrix.

I like this explanation here's an excerpt from a source I found after googling "chert nodules", it matches pretty closely with your explanation:

"Chert typically occurs as nodules or "globs" (Figures 1 and 2) within the dolomites and limestones of the Ozarks. These nodules can have a wide variety of shapes and have been mistaken for "petrified" bones, logs, eggs and animals. Chert nodules may be plain or banded with a variety of colors. Chert often contains small cavities that may be coated with small quartz crystals called druze" - Source: Watersheds.org
I am waiting on the local expert from the US Geological Survey Dept here in Rolla, MO Once Mr. Mulvany replies I'll post that answer too.

 

[luvfunstuff]

I had one of these on the end of my nose

lol! good one!

 

[ohioaxeman]

WEIRD.... I've never seen anything like it before!

 

[Red James Cash]

Thats an oddity if i ever saw one, nice grab.

 

[lazooro]

ohhh...it looks like some kind of a egg?

 

[relichunters]

I recommend taking it to a gem stone dealer and having them look at it. It's a keeper in my book

 

[bradyboy]

wow, cool find
are the two ends rock solid or can you squeeze them so they pop - aka - zit
fossilised eggs on each end?
Brady

 

[Customx_12]

I was going to guess some sort of old Indian toy or something but then I looked closer and it does not look man-made. I'm leaning toward what was posted about the chert nodules.

 

[CRUSADER]

Hi,

These are the comments from an expert member of the family:

'It is almost certainly a concretion of some sort - that sort of shape would not be uncommon. It may be partly a concretion of chert (as suggested by someone else), but I suspect it is more likely to be partly or mainly made up of iron pyrites (iron sulfide). This would account for the heavy weight of the stone, its non-magnetic properties, the yellowish colour (some weathering to sulfur), the sparkling crystalline appearence noted, and the square outline of some of the yellowish crystals in the central section.'