Marine fossil vertebrae

[michaelJC]

Hi

I am new here.

 

I am using the dating of mostly marine shell material to establish rates of tectonic uplift of marine terraces. The age is likely to be < 2 Ka

 

We came across the attached bone which appears to part of a vertebrae. Can anyone identify what creature this is likely to be? A marine mammal?

 

Thanks - it looks like an interesting forum .  

 

Michael C 

 

Patikirau vertibrae .pdf

[RuMert]

Looks like a short pastern bone from this angle

[pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon]

This doesn't look marine to me either. Indeed, more like an astragalus or similar leg bone...

[michaelJC]

Thanks for the feedback so far. It is very important to consider that it will not be older than 2 Ka and that New Zealand had no land mammals or large reptiles back then. It is not even fossilised. The first cattle would have arrived here in the early 19th century.   This is why I though to check sea mammals first.  Before long I will be getting radiocarbon dates on surrounding bivalves which will narrow things down a bit.  This is part of MPhil research.    

[michaelJC]

Maybe this is it (Dolphin) 

[pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon]

7 hours ago, michaelJC said:

Thanks for the feedback so far. It is very important to consider that it will not be older than 2 Ka and that New Zealand had no land mammals or large reptiles back then. It is not even fossilised. The first cattle would have arrived here in the early 19th century.   This is why I though to check sea mammals first.  Before long I will be getting radiocarbon dates on surrounding bivalves which will narrow things down a bit.  This is part of MPhil research.    

 

I'm more of a marine reptile guy myself. But we do have a resident marine mammal specialist at TFF. Before getting him involved, though, I think it'd be wise to first ask @Shellseeker for his opinion, because I still don't think your find looks like the propodial bone, even of a marine mammal. That's because the two rounded edges at the top look very much like the epiphyseal articulation surfaces of mammal long-bones, which are different in marine species due to a different need for articulation in an aquatic environment. Take this dolphin femur, for example: the articulation surfaces are completely different, and the bone is much more flattened - another trait often seen in marine species.

 

 

 

 

Or have a look at any of these cetacean paddles.

 

Baleen whale paddle at the Museum voor Natuurwetenschappen in Brussels

 

 

 

Fossil baleen whale paddle from the Miocene of Peru at the Sauriermuseum Aathal

 

 

Porpoise paddle at the Senckenberg in Frankfurt

 

 

Just for good measure, here's a sirenian skeleton, showing that their long-bones have a completely different shape and are much longer than those of cetaceans. Again from the Senckenberg Museum.

 

 

 

To me your bone looks more like that of a terrestrial animal for the shape of the articulation surface. However, as I have very little experience with mammals, I'll ask @Max-fossils whether they might not have any insights in this...

[Shellseeker]

9 hours ago, pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon said:

I'm more of a marine reptile guy myself. But we do have a resident marine mammal specialist at TFF. Before getting him involved, though, I think it'd be wise to first ask @Shellseeker for his opinion, because I still don't think your find looks like the propodial bone, even of a marine mammal.

Your bone is not from a marine mammal.  It is most likely Horse, possibly cow.. a cannon bone..  This is the end of a long bone in land mammal. Fossilization takes 10k years.   It is likely less than 2k years, BUT I know of no way to date this modern bone.

[michaelJC]

Wonderful feedback thanks . I am most grateful. Here it is from multiple perspectives 

Patikirau vertibrae .pdf

[Coco]

Hi,

 

Please pics in JPG format !

 

Coco

[michaelJC]

If this is from a land mammal it  infers that the harbour foreshore I am studying has had tectonic uplift of ~ 0.8 m within the last 2.5 centuries. Wow this has repercussions I can assure you. A multi  million dollar study came out recently saying that his coastline is subsiding. I don't see this in the geological evidence.  They get this kind of funding because of the sea level rise panic. 

 

BTW - the sediments surrounding this bone have high occurrence of  macro bivalves and marine foraminifera. This is why I was assuming that it is from a marine creature.  

 

I have butchered a lot of sheep and cattle in my time and cannot recall a bone of the type shown in the photographs above.

 

There is another possibility: The extinct New Zealand Moa - a very large flightless bird. There were commonly 2 m high with very heavy strong legs. Maori killed them out long before colonists arrived   Now that would be interesting.    Could it be part of a large birds foot? . 

[michaelJC]

Sorry. This should work 

[michaelJC]

Moa's foot. Wow I may have nailed it!  There are Moa experts in NZ. I will track them down tomorrow 

 

[R0b]

as he has been printing one @mamlambo might be able to help

 

[Shellseeker]

Well. Sort of messed up that ID.

A Search or Equus Medial Phalanx,  would show a similar sized foot bone to compare to Moa

Following some of the links... 

[mamlambo]

8 hours ago, R0b said:

as he has been printing one @mamlambo might be able to help

 

Moa do have similar looking phalanges / toe bones, but so do horses, sheep and cattle so an expert will have to have a look to verify.
 

 

[Harry Pristis]

The mystery bone is a horse medial phalanx -- Shellseeker has it right.  Horse and cow medial phalanges don't much look alike.  Horse phalanges are unlikely to much resemble Moa phalanges.