lawooten Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 It looks like whale to me but the hole in it doesn't fit. I could use some help. I also put a whale vertebrates next to it in one pic here and there are differences. The best days are spent collecting fossils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawooten Posted October 8, 2008 Author Share Posted October 8, 2008 Next to whale vert The best days are spent collecting fossils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roz Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 Well, not sure since I have never found whale material, but the vert looks like maybe it has worn more. I could be wrong. Welcome to the forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bmorefossil Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 looks like whale to me, why do you think its something else? oh well the hole could be from it being water worn or something made the hole in it, i have a few that have holes that look like that, i just figured that some marine animal made it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 The vert's location in the column could explain the hole. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawooten Posted October 9, 2008 Author Share Posted October 9, 2008 Next to whale vert Well looking at the two side by side they look alike yes but then you look at the space between the processes, the hole isn't warn and it goes to the other side of the vert at an angle upward and the shape of the top of the vert is different. I wish I could get a better pic but this is the best I can do. The best days are spent collecting fossils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawooten Posted October 9, 2008 Author Share Posted October 9, 2008 The vert's location in the column could explain the hole. You know you could be right about that too. The best days are spent collecting fossils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metopocetus Posted October 9, 2008 Share Posted October 9, 2008 You know you could be right about that too. Yep, looks like a whale vert. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted October 9, 2008 Share Posted October 9, 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawooten Posted October 13, 2008 Author Share Posted October 13, 2008 We have a massive whale vert collection and while collecting it was great it has taken over our two car garage along with other fossils. The best days are spent collecting fossils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoRon Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 I have found similar eroded whale verts in the rivers of North Carolina. Sometimes the hole is started by a burrowing mollusk and gets enlarged through decomposition, current action, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawooten Posted October 13, 2008 Author Share Posted October 13, 2008 Thanks PaleoRon that sounds about right. The best days are spent collecting fossils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bj aurora Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 Definately cetacean vert (can't say whale vs. large porpoise/dolphin, all depends on size), and sadly I can't see the hole you are talking about. Every mammalian bone, no matter how small, has foramen (tracks or holes) where blood vessesl and or nerves enter and exit. Also, as answered earlier, anotomical position can play a part in shape: cervical verts are much thinner and flatter than thoracic, and caudal verts are rounder and have smaller or no spinous process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nicholas Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 I'm in agreement with whale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommabetts Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 Nice find!!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawooten Posted November 16, 2008 Author Share Posted November 16, 2008 Definately cetacean vert (can't say whale vs. large porpoise/dolphin, all depends on size), and sadly I can't see the hole you are talking about. Every mammalian bone, no matter how small, has foramen (tracks or holes) where blood vessesl and or nerves enter and exit. Also, as answered earlier, anotomical position can play a part in shape: cervical verts are much thinner and flatter than thoracic, and caudal verts are rounder and have smaller or no spinous process. bj if you click on the third (Pic w/3 verts) vert it will give you a larger view of it and the hole I had been talking about is better seen. It’s late and I am brain dead but when you look at the two vert (One White, one dark) the valley (Can't think of the word I want) in comparison is wider on the darker one and it is not from ware. It has wider spacing. The light colored one I know is whale from all of the ones I’ve collected. But that spacing struck me as different and that and the hole stood out. The best days are spent collecting fossils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 I have found similar eroded whale verts in the rivers of North Carolina. Sometimes the hole is started by a burrowing mollusk and gets enlarged through decomposition, current action, etc. I don't have many whale vertebrae -- just couldn't justify the shelf or drawer-space. I have a couple in the back yard that probably deserve a better fate. Here's one I retrieved 'cause it had extra character: http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 I don't have many whale vertebrae -- just couldn't justify the shelf or drawer-space. I have a couple in the back yard that probably deserve a better fate. Here's one I retrieved 'cause it had extra character: Extra character and a mystery too! Do you have a theory as to what made the burrow? "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 Extra character and a mystery too!Do you have a theory as to what made the burrow? marrow mole Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 Extra character and a mystery too!Do you have a theory as to what made the burrow? No, 'Auspex,' I don't know what made the burrow. Some invertebrate, no doubt . . . a shrimp, perhaps. The centrum is composed of cancellous (spone-like) bone, so it's not too difficult to excavate (relatively speaking, that is) when the bone is green. The interior of the cavity is smooth and wider than the opening, not a haphazard project at all. Some invertebrate collectors on the forum may have a better guess. http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawooten Posted November 17, 2008 Author Share Posted November 17, 2008 I don't have many whale vertebrae -- just couldn't justify the shelf or drawer-space. I have a couple in the back yard that probably deserve a better fate. Here's one I retrieved 'cause it had extra character: Wow I think it does have character also. Unlike you we just can’t resist every fossil we find we have a very large collection of all sorts of verts with whale being a big group. My husband and I seem to be very diverse and as long as we have room (Two car garage w/ work space, two offices and display cases) we keep collecting. The next home we buy we want a very large barn we can convert to a place just for our collections. It never ends lol it just goes on and on. Bad thing when both people in a home are both avid collectors with a lot of time to collect The best days are spent collecting fossils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 marrow mole Or "Harry's Hol(e)y Moley"? "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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