please, what are these fossils

found in southern North dakota by a friend
embedded in the side of a high badlands type bluff in a layer near the top of a high bluff maybe 150 feet high
what are they??

They look like small pods from Invasions of the Body Snatcher's

Hi Larson

They are geologic in origin.  Down here we call them "mudstone" or "ironstone" concretions.  Just cool geology!

thanks tylocidaris,how are they formed and what are concretions
once again, thanks much

Concretions---sometime an object (sometimes an animal that becomes fossilized inside) begins to collect material on its surface as a snowball rolling down a hill. Material clings to the "core" and eventually lithifies, creating what you see. Some concretions can be broken open with a hammer and chisel or freeze-thaw shock method and fossils or crystals can be found inside. Some have nothing, some may have pyrite or apatite/calcite or even a fossil such as a fossil crab.

thanks silver, the info is appreciated
if you have any more to add I would thank you for that
once again thanks

Could just be concretions, but the Dakotas are known for thier fossilzed dinosaur eggs.. I'd have em checked out

the egg my 1st thought on 1 or 2 of emm...  neat finds.   MR TUFF

thats some pretty cool stuff.to bad i wasent hunting back when i lived in ND

Hello, larson 1951; I am not a geologist but the rock looks like a type of earthy hematite, reddle perhaps. It is /was used as a pigment and a polish. You might check to see if a metal detector can see it, if it can not it still does not exclude it from being hematite, it just has a lower iron content. Also it oxidizes or rust readily once exposed.   

larson...they are sidderite nodules. they are mostly iron. very cool looking!

You can google "septarian nodules" also and see some similar examples.

HH Charlie