What Is This?

[Flagponds Pirate]

I found this in North Carolina, either at Oak Island or the Boiling Spring Lakes area (Both in Brunswick County). Really not sure what it is. The bottom is smooth. The entire thing seems porous, with tiny holes. So is this some sort of seaweed?

[Guest Nicholas]

Looks like a coral to me, it could possibly be a sponge. I've never seen anything like that before.

[ebrocklds]

pretty sure that it is a crocodillian dermal ossicle, scute.

what is the scale?

Brock

[Flagponds Pirate]

The diameter is about 2 1/2". I am pretty sure it is not a croc scute, it seems too light and porous. But I do not know what a croc scute feels like, or looks like close up.

[Uncle Siphuncle]

I'd go with a cetacean vertebral disk. When dolphins (and I think whales as well) are juvies these pads are not fused to the vert. Later in life they become fused to the centrum, giving it a crenulated surface. I found some good whale and dolphin material last weekend at Calvert Cliffs as well as the Yorktown in coastal VA which I'll post once UPS ships them to my house (too big to take on the plane).

[Harry Pristis]

I found this in North Carolina, either at Oak Island or the Boiling Spring Lakes area (Both in Brunswick County). Really not sure what it is. The bottom is smooth. The entire thing seems porous, with tiny holes. So is this some sort of seaweed?

I sure wish I could be more confident of the answer to your ID question, but I cannot fully open your very large image.

A portion of the image does open verrry slowly, but not the full image. Nor can I simply scroll left or right, up or down, to see the image -- the image is just too large for my 17-inch monitor.

When I make a SHQ or HQ image with my six megapixel camera, the resulting image is as large as 39 inches wide by 29 inches high. I have to reduce the image size with my editing software to even work with it conveniently.

Judging from the thumbnail images, I'd say that Dan has it right. This appears to be the epiphysis or "growth plate" to the centrum of a large vertebra, easily from a sub-adult whale.

------------Harry Pristis

[Gatorman]

I agree with Dan, It's most likely a porpoise vert disk.

[hybodus]

Agree with Dan and Anson - cetacean vertebral disk - species would be tough to nail down based on a single disk with no associated centa.

[PaleoRon]

Good call Dan. It is an epiphysis from a large porpoise or a small whale. They are fairly common finds but it is uncommon to find them complete. On an adult animal they are fused to the ends of the vertebra. The ends of juvenile limb bones can also be found in an unfused state.

[Flagponds Pirate]

Well it seems to be unanimous, its a vert disc. I didn't want to take it to CMM because it wasn't found in the Calvert Cliffs formation, but does anyone think I should to see if they can match it to a distinct species? Also, can anyone tell me what the time period might be from? I would make a guess that it is Miocene.

[obsessed1]

They have it exactly right. If you want to find more of them try hunting at Randle Cliffs. I seem to find a complete one almost every time I'm there.

[Boesse]

I definitely agree with dan. One feature that occurs sometimes on these vertebral epiphyses is a small little bony cone in the center, and all the ridges are oriented radially around this small nubbin, as in your specimen.

To identify a cetacean to a genus pretty much requires a good skull or periotic (or hopefully both). Sometimes mandibles are useful. But forelimb bones, vertebrae, and ribs are not diagnostic to a genus, and usually not even to a family level. In fact, many baleen whale and toothed whale vertebrae look exactly the same (e.g. small mystices, and Squalodon spp.)