Tracer Jr. Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 sorry for the lackluster pictures, but maybe someone can help me out with this big hunka bone. one end of it seems to be unbroken and has an odd, bumpy structure. the bone also has a slight curve which i tried to photograph in the second picture, but it didn't work out too well. the entire bottom of the bone as well as the "non-bumpy" side is spongy/cancellous (sp?). it was found in a pleistocene river. top view with bumpy side blurry spongy side where you can kind of see a curve through the blur. not sure if these pictures will do the job or if there isn't enough of it to tell, but it was worth a shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrehistoricFlorida Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 Looks to be giant tortoise shell. www.PrehistoricFlorida.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 Agreed, Geochelone or Hesperotestudo Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 ok, now we're curious. i took some different pictures, as posted below. this is the curved "exterior" surface this is just a closer view of the same surface this is one of the ends. it looks to me kind of like an epiphyseal line, but i didn't know if it could be that or just weird differential erosion of an exposed end in an energetic environment, but it really does look kinda like an epiphyseal line... this is the "back" side of the thing - typical cancellous/spongy bone. the other broken "edge" opposite the weird edge is just cancellous bone also. anyway, i'd like to know if ya'll still consider this likely a piece of tortoise shell in light of the new photos, and if so, could you please tell me what characteristic(s) cause you to make that judgment. additionally, if you know the average thickness of giant land tortoise shell, i'd like to know that also. thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracer Jr. Posted July 30, 2009 Author Share Posted July 30, 2009 so is the verdict still tortoise after the new and improved pics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrehistoricFlorida Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 This is the picture that leads me to believe it is tortoise. This edge is typical of one of the fused edges in between two plates of tortoise shell. I've found giant tortoise shell that was over 4" thick. www.PrehistoricFlorida.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 ok, that's what i was wondering. thanks for the comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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