New track....maby. What do you think?

[salvageon]

It was a nice day so I went out to my favorite spot to find tracks and came up with this specimen. I left it on the hill because I'm not sure it's a track. It's about 8" long and looks more like a lizard track not a bird as I've found there. It could just be a natural break but I just don't know. It's Fort Union Formation in central Montana so it could be either bird or other. Any ideas before I risk a hernia getting it off the mountain?

 

[Photoman]

Looks like one but hard to tell from the photo. You might try photographing it under darker conditions (after sunset) and hit it with a bright flashlight from different angles. I'm no expert but I found a small track here in NJ recently and have done a lot of research. One thing to look for is the banding of the rock layers; a track would lay even with a layer of rock, not go against or perpendicular to it (you may know this already). Have you found other tracks in the same formation?

 

[salvageon]

Yes I found these bird tracks but they were far more defined. I don't think this one is worth hauling off the mountain. Fort Union Formation strata.

 

[Photoman]

Nice find! As for the track, are you familiar with the fossil forum? (thefossilforum.com). Someone there may be able to help.