Is it a fish or .....

[chrissimalta]

Hello everybody,

 

I have been interested in fossils since I was around 10 years old and am 46 now and now my 8 year old son is also showing an interest in fossils which I am really happy about.

I had found the fossil I am attaching photos of around 30 years ago in the South of Malta (Birzebbuga, Malta) in an archaeological site. The fossil itself (bones) measures around 20cm (8 inches) long x around 8cm (3 inches) wide.

I showed it to my son and he was being very imaginative as to what it could be of :-) so I would really like to be able to give him a good indication as to what it could be of.

 

Thank you all so much in advance for your help in IDing this fossil.

 

[Rockwood]

Something tells me this is slightly more advanced than a fish. An amphibian perhaps.

It's little more than a guess though.

[chrissimalta]

Hi Rockwood,

 

Thank you so much for your prompt input.

 

What I can add is that close to where I found the fossil, there is a cave where lots of fossils were found and discoveries from the caves include an elephant molar, hippopotamus tusk, bear jaw, human bull tooth, dear skull, dwarf swan, bat bones, jaw of a shrew and the endemic Armadillidum ghardalamensis.

 

This is some history of the cave close to where the fossil was found:

 

Large animals such as freshwater tortoises, dwarf elephants, hippos, foxes and other vertebrates roamed around for food.

The history of the islands due to the findings inside this cave, can be decoded from the Stratigraphy which are distinguished in six principal layers.

1. Domestic Animal Layer - The top layer known also as ‘cultural layer’, giving evidence of the existence of human settlement on the Maltese islands, dates to 7400 years ago.
2. Calcareous Sheet - 0.6cm
3. Deer Layer - 25,000 to 18,000 years ago
4. Pebble Layer - 25,000 to 18,000 years ago
5. Hippopotamus Layer - 500,000 years ago
6. Bone-Free Clay Layer - 500,000 years ago

 

[caldigger]

That was a very busy cave!  

[chrissimalta]

4 minutes ago, caldigger said:

That was a very busy cave!  

The fossils were not actually all discovered in the cave but in the surrounding areas, they are just displaying them in the cave museum so form part of the cave inventory

[Carl]

I could definitely believe bony fish.

[Tidgy's Dad]

Nice find! 

And a very warm welcome to TFF from Morocco. 

[chrissimalta]

31 minutes ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

Nice find! 

And a very warm welcome to TFF from Morocco. 

Thanks Tidgy's Dad