sean Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 Hello, I recently bought this fossilized vertebra that I originally thought belonged to a whale, but I'm not too sure now. I got it at a small antique shop and the owner had no information on it, but he personally thought it was from a whale. It is in the shape of a heart with a straight across top instead of being concaved. Can anyone help me figure out what it is? Is it a mastodon or buffalo vertebra? Dimensions: 4.5" Wide (at widest point) 3.25" Tall (excluding the 3/4" protrusion at the top) Here is a site with my pictures... My fossil pictures site Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bmorefossil Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 yea whale seems really good to me, what else did you need? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean Posted January 21, 2009 Author Share Posted January 21, 2009 I was justed curious of what this vertebra came from. What kind of whale do you think it came from and how long ago did it exist? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean Posted January 21, 2009 Author Share Posted January 21, 2009 I feel like its a little too small to belong to a whale, but then again, it could be from a calf or a smaller species. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 i'm no expert, but it doesn't really look like whale vertebrae i've seen, and it's too big to be bison.. do you have any idea at all where it was found? that frequently helps, at least with narrowing the possibilities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean Posted January 24, 2009 Author Share Posted January 24, 2009 I'm not sure. I bought it at an antique shop in Santa Barbara, California. I feel like it was from a Mastadon or some other large mammal. Thanks for your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bmorefossil Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 i'm no expert, but it doesn't really look like whale vertebrae i've seen, and it's too big to be bison..do you have any idea at all where it was found? that frequently helps, at least with narrowing the possibilities. but like you said your no expert and im not an expert either, I just have some verts that are the same size and shape and they are from a whale. As for it being to small to be whale, no not all whales are huge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean Posted January 27, 2009 Author Share Posted January 27, 2009 Do any of you have an idea of what kind of whale it could be from? How long does it take for a whale vertebra to fossilize if it was found in a desert? Im not sure where this rock was found, but the rock around it looks like it is was from desert sandstone. Was there a predominant small whale in the times when the deserts were oceans? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bmorefossil Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 Do any of you have an idea of what kind of whale it could be from? How long does it take for a whale vertebra to fossilize if it was found in a desert? Im not sure where this rock was found, but the rock around it looks like it is was from desert sandstone. Was there a predominant small whale in the times when the deserts were oceans? well I know Ron was just down finding fossils in a desert but you must remember that the desert once had water, what desert are we talking about because if you know that then you can find out how long ago it was when marine life lived there. From the looks of it I would say it is fairly old, now if he had teeth from that location then you could really set a time line Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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