fossil_sea_urchin Posted December 25, 2019 Share Posted December 25, 2019 Hi, does anyone know if theropod bones are completely hollow. I saw this for sale and was wondering whether it was theropod or just float because it wasn't fully hollow but had gaps and holes, the website wouldn't allow me to copy the image though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted December 25, 2019 Share Posted December 25, 2019 Try to do a screen shot. Please do not post any links. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TyBoy Posted December 25, 2019 Share Posted December 25, 2019 Need photo you can take a screenshot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossil_sea_urchin Posted December 25, 2019 Author Share Posted December 25, 2019 @TyBoy, @JohnJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorp Posted December 25, 2019 Share Posted December 25, 2019 Looks like some kind of volcanic rock. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossil_sea_urchin Posted December 25, 2019 Author Share Posted December 25, 2019 45 minutes ago, connorp said: Looks like some kind of volcanic rock. The seller says it's from South Dakota and from the Hell Creek formation. You could be right, but we need a dino-expert to tell the difference between bone and volcanic rock as they do resemble each other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pterygotus Posted December 25, 2019 Share Posted December 25, 2019 I agree with @connorp that it doesn’t quite look like bone. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randyw Posted December 25, 2019 Share Posted December 25, 2019 Looks like volcanic rock to me too with possible traces of sulfur 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoNoel Posted December 25, 2019 Share Posted December 25, 2019 I'd like to see multiple angles for this one, but I'll say it does looks like the bone float common in the hell creek. Theropod bones can be hollow, but not all of their bones are. I found a few pieces of highly porous bone this summer that are most likely theropod. Here's a partial ornithomimid caudal vert where the inner structure is exposed. Again, more photos are needed for your piece. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorp Posted December 25, 2019 Share Posted December 25, 2019 2 hours ago, fossil_sea_urchin said: You could be right, but we need a dino-expert to tell the difference between bone and volcanic rock as they do resemble each other. So us non “dino-experts” should refrain from commenting on your questions? Maybe I’m wrong on this ID, but regardless such statements seem presumptuous. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TyBoy Posted December 25, 2019 Share Posted December 25, 2019 Theropod bones are typically hollow but you can find honeycomb structures in vertebrae. Here is T Rex and you can see the Ornithomimid vert shown above. Sorry but I'm not an expert those are paleontologist. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randyw Posted December 25, 2019 Share Posted December 25, 2019 2 hours ago, fossil_sea_urchin said: difference between bone and volcanic rock as they do resemble each other. True. But there is a certain uniformity or organic appearance to bone wich I’m not seeing in this piece. The randomness of the forms are still saying volcanic to me but I could also be wrong. There is always a level of uncertainty when trying to identify from a single picture. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted December 25, 2019 Share Posted December 25, 2019 Like its been said theropod bones are typically hollow while their vertebrae can be honeycomb. I added a couple of photos of theropod verts from the Hell Creek to show their structure. The specimen you are showing is "possible" but it would be nice to see more views . Given the size it would have to come from a large vertebra. Im not a paleontologist so not an expert... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossil_sea_urchin Posted December 26, 2019 Author Share Posted December 26, 2019 @Randyw, @Troodon, @TyBoy, @connorp 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted December 26, 2019 Share Posted December 26, 2019 Not going to make a call of a fragment without diagnostic features but the honeycomb structure is found on theropod vertebrae and yours is a definite candidate. If its one its size would say Tyrannosaurid not much else would fit in the Hell Creek 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pterygotus Posted December 26, 2019 Share Posted December 26, 2019 This one does look more like bone than the other one. (If it isn’t the same one). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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