Maybe petrified paw impression of large cat?

[Setts1945]

Hi Folks,
I found this rock near Roosevelt lake, AZ a few days ago. It appears to be a paw print from a large cat, possibly a mountain lion with a missing toe. The impression measures 2" high X 3" wide... Thanks in advance for any input.

 

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[Indian Steve]

What kind of rock is it? It does lok a little like a paw print.

 

[Hawks88]

Interesting. Nice find. Good eye.

 

[Icewing]

Optical illusion

 

[Wild Colonial Boy]

if you could have a geologist or rock hound look at it, and they say its a sedimentary rock ( formed from silt or organic compressed material) , there good chance it could be very old paw impression

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

It sure looks like a paw print.
Here's a mountain lion paw print I found online with the following description...

"The first thing to notice is that the track is asymmetrical. Look at the alignment of to toes. The toes are not directly next to each other, like you would find in the tracks of canids, such as coyotes. There is a leading toe. Counting the dewclaw as toe #1, you proceed from left to right and number the toes. The four that normally show up in a mountain lion track are toes 2 through 5. In the photo, the key is toe #3, which is second from the left. This toe is the leading toe. It is equivalent to your own middle finger. This toe indicates that this is the right track. Put your right hand over the image and notice how well your fingertips fit into the alignment of the toes of this mountain lion. Another detail to notice is the lack of claw marks. Despite sinking deeply into the wet sand, the big cat left no claw marks.

​

There are a couple more details that tell you this is a front track. One is the presence of the dewclaw imprint, which is not as easy to see in the photo as it was on the ground. The other is the presence of that nice conical imprint from the carpal pad. The carpal pad is that sixth "toe" that is located way up high on the big cat's wrist. It rarely leaves an imprint in a track. It is located on the outer side of the wrist, another clue that confirms this is the right paw-print."

Dave
​

 

[Clay Diggins]

Three toed Sabertooth Tiger. Very rare.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Or a rock that sat in a stream where pebbles ground out three depressions over time.

"Cats" are pretty recent and it would depend on the rock you have. Maybe in sand stone, but yours looks pretty solid.

 

[smokeythecat]

Since it's in rock, more than likely a small dinosaur. Check the local geology.

 

[T.C.]

Please keep us posted on this...very interesting find!

 

[jewelerguy]

yes, fossilized paw print in my opinion. very cool find

 

[Setts1945]

Thanks for all of your input. I also posted this in the Geological Forum under fossils and received one response so far. There's a USGS office close-by, so hopefully, someone there can positively identify this. I will post their analysis sometime next week.
Happy hunting!

 

[A2coins]

You can find a rock that looks just about anything you can imagine . that is cool does look like a paw print.

 

[A2coins]

Welcome also, I love driving down I 17 through Flag beautiful drive. Tommy