Vert - but is it a fossil?

[J.D.]

I found this near Westmoreland State Park in the Potomac.  It seems too well preserved to be a fossil.  Clearly a vert, but from what?

 

 

[MarcoSr]

Looks like a deer vertebra to me.  See 4 deer vertebrae below to compare your specimen.

 

 

 

 

Marco Sr.

[J.D.]

@MarcoSr Thank you!!!!  I do think that it is a deer vert - seems to align to your examples.  In the pic above - do you know whether those are verts from recently deceased deer?  I am also trying to decide if the one I found is old or newer.

Edited October 18, 2022 by J.D.
Missing words

[MarcoSr]

1 hour ago, J.D. said:

@MarcoSr Thank you!!!!  I do think that it is a deer vert - seems to align to your examples.  In the pic above - do you know whether those are verts from recently deceased deer?  I am also trying to decide if the one I found is old or newer.

 

Vertebrae from a decomposing deer in the wild look like those in the picture, bright white, intact, very smooth and very lightweight.  Exposed to the elements and predators/scavengers, the color of the vertebrae changes (darkens) and they become more porous and become damaged and worn.  Your vertebra looks modern and not that old to me.  If your vertebra had started to mineralize it would be a good bit heavier than one from a recently deceased deer.

 

Marco Sr.

[J.D.]

5 hours ago, MarcoSr said:

 

Vertebrae from a decomposing deer in the wild look like those in the picture, bright white, intact, very smooth and very lightweight.  Exposed to the elements and predators/scavengers, the color of the vertebrae changes (darkens) and they become more porous and become damaged and worn.  Your vertebra looks modern and not that old to me.  If your vertebra had started to mineralize it would be a good bit heavier than one from a recently deceased deer.

 

Marco Sr.

Thanks again!  Makes sense to me.  It was weird that it was in the water, but that could happen due to a bunch of factors.  Last question:  What would I need to do to make it a fossil?  Haha!!

[Mahnmut]

Wait 10k years.

[Mahnmut]

to make it a fake fossil you could try concrete...

[MarcoSr]

2 hours ago, J.D. said:

Thanks again!  Makes sense to me.  It was weird that it was in the water, but that could happen due to a bunch of factors.  Last question:  What would I need to do to make it a fossil?  Haha!!

 

Deer run/fall off the cliffs all the time especially during hunting season when they get spooked by hunters.  I've seen a good number of dead deer in the water/on the beach especially in the Potomac River over the years.  I've witnessed two deer fall off the cliffs.  This is very sad to witness (two of my worst fossil hunting memories) especially if the fall doesn't kill them immediately.  My son Mel and I saw a bull terrier fall at least 80 feet from a cliff near the Nice Bridge on the Maryland side of the Potomac River.  Amazingly the dog got up, shook off the dirt, and began to walk.  We were walking the dog off the beach to find the owner or get it to a vet when we heard the owner calling for it on the cliffs.  We called up to the owner who directed us to a ravine where he came down, and we helped him get the dog up the cliff.  I ran into the dog owner's son several years later who said that the dog was still alive.  The fact that the dog hit several ledges going down which slowed its fall and hit on a very sandy beach without rocks probably saved it.  I also witnessed a German Shepherd fall from the cliffs at Chesapeake Beach in Virginia.  That had a very sad ending and is another very bad fossil hunting memory.  My son Mel and I also walked a huge Black Lab off the beach (almost a mile) at Stratford Harbour Virginia that was limping and bloody and had obviously fallen off the cliff.  We called animal control/rescue from a house on the beach.  The house owners knew the dog and called the owners who met the animal control/rescue vehicle at a nearby vet.  That dog survived with only minor injuries.  So finding a modern deer vertebra in the water wouldn't be weird at all for me.

 

Marco Sr.

[J.D.]

5 hours ago, Mahnmut said:

Wait 10k years.

I got time, yo.

[J.D.]

4 hours ago, MarcoSr said:

 

Deer run/fall off the cliffs all the time especially during hunting season when they get spooked by hunters.  I've seen a good number of dead deer in the water/on the beach especially in the Potomac River over the years.  I've witnessed two deer fall off the cliffs.  This is very sad to witness (two of my worst fossil hunting memories) especially if the fall doesn't kill them immediately.  My son Mel and I saw a bull terrier fall at least 80 feet from a cliff near the Nice Bridge on the Maryland side of the Potomac River.  Amazingly the dog got up, shook off the dirt, and began to walk.  We were walking the dog off the beach to find the owner or get it to a vet when we heard the owner calling for it on the cliffs.  We called up to the owner who directed us to a ravine where he came down, and we helped him get the dog up the cliff.  I ran into the dog owner's son several years later who said that the dog was still alive.  The fact that the dog hit several ledges going down which slowed its fall and hit on a very sandy beach without rocks probably saved it.  I also witnessed a German Shepherd fall from the cliffs at Chesapeake Beach in Virginia.  That had a very sad ending and is another very bad fossil hunting memory.  My son Mel and I also walked a huge Black Lab off the beach (almost a mile) at Stratford Harbour Virginia that was limping and bloody and had obviously fallen off the cliff.  We called animal control/rescue from a house on the beach.  The house owners knew the dog and called the owners who met the animal control/rescue vehicle at a nearby vet.  That dog survived with only minor injuries.  So finding a modern deer vertebra in the water wouldn't be weird at all for me.

 

Marco Sr.

Whoa!  I don’t even know what to say about this.  First, thanks for all the info.  Second, whoa!  These situations are wild.  So crazy to imagine animals just flying over the edge… sad and amazing all together.  I was going with options more like:  deer dies… predator/scavenger drops a bone… bone winds up in the water… or hunter kills deer and tosses carcass after processing.  I must say I was completely fascinated reading your response!  

[Brandy Cole]

A fossil deer bone will likely be a darker color and heavier than modern, as was mentioned above.  Also, if you tap it with metal, you're likely to hear a 'tink' sound similar to when you tap stone. When you tap a modern bone with metal, it sounds more like wood.

[Mahnmut]

I once found a sheeps remnants at a rock beach in scotland, the waves had turned it into a 2 m long sausage of matted wool and white bones.

Maybe Nessie started as a herd of unlucky sheep.

Edited October 19, 2022 by Mahnmut
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