prem Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 (edited) We found this well-worn bone in the Peace River several years ago. At the time, I chalked it up to being a very worn vertebra of some sort, but the flatness [edit: and thinness] of it gives me pause. It is about 3" x 2.5 " x 1", with a rather rectangular profile. As can be seen in the photos, the edges of the bone are very worn down and polished, showing cross-sectioning through the Haversian canals. On the top and bottom, the bone becomes extremely flat, which had led to my initial conclusion of it being some sort of spinal element. Thanks, in advance, for any assistance. ---Prem Edited January 22, 2016 by prem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Maybe a really weathered whale cervical? Cetaceans are found in the Peace, right? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Whale is good. " We are not separate and independent entities, but like links in a chain, and we could not by any means be what we are without those who went before us and showed us the way. " Thomas Mann My Library Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Nice images! What is the nature of the random ovals (four in the first image)? Are they filled burrows? Clam borings? 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...
Shellseeker Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 (edited) Maybe a really weathered whale cervical? Cetaceans are found in the Peace, right? I have hunted the Peace River intensively for 8 years and have never seen anything remotely like this in that period of time, -- not even an odd fragment of worn bone that has the same detailed matrix and consistency. My gut tells me that it is not all that badly broken.. There are whales in the Peace River , mostly Kogiopsis sp and this could be cookie or vertebrae. I also wonder about coral.. All in all, a very curious and unique find. I would send photos to the fossil identification service at UFMNH. http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/vertpaleo/amateur-collector/fossil-id SS Edited January 23, 2016 by Shellseeker The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 The trabecular structure is very cetacean-like. "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...
prem Posted January 25, 2016 Author Share Posted January 25, 2016 I think the holes are probably shipworm burrows in the bone. They are common to see in chunks of dugong rib (which are probably the second most abundant fossil, after sharks' teeth). ---Prem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 I think the holes are probably shipworm burrows in the bone. They are common to see in chunks of dugong rib (which are probably the second most abundant fossil, after sharks' teeth). ---Prem If the marks are burrows, the burrowers are far more likely to be pholadid clams. 1 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...
prem Posted January 28, 2016 Author Share Posted January 28, 2016 So, we're going with indeterminate, worn cetacean cervical vertebra for the ID? ---Prem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 That's what I would call it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boesse Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 Carl's got the right idea on this one - and think Harry's right about the pholad clam borings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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