ID help - possible whale bone

[Alucardsdream]

Hi,

 

I'm hoping someone might be able to identify this bone found years ago at the New Jersey shore. My dad isn't sure of the exact year, but it was found in Wildwood and has been hanging around the house for as long as I can remember. We have always assumed it was a whale bone, but haven't been able to confirm. 

 

It's about 20 centimeters long, and it isn't completely flat but curves up at one end. I included a side view to show how it curves. Any input at all would be great!

 

Thanks!

Jenn

[Enafter]

Hello and welcome,

 

I'm not exactly familiar with the types of fossils found along the new jersey shore.

However, if I was to hazard a guess I would say that that's the top half of a crocodile/alligator skull.

Again, I may be completely wrong so don't stand by this conclusion.

Someone more experienced on this forum may be able to give a more specific ID.

 

Thanks

[Alucardsdream]

Thanks for the reply! When my brother and I were kids we actually did call it an alligator skull because it looked like the top of an alligator head peeking out of the water, but it doesn't have teeth, so I'm not sure what to make of it. I've never heard of any gators at the Jersey Shore, but who knows where the bone originally came from.

[M Harvey]

Superficially it resembles the top of a skull but not seeing any sutures to connect with other facial bones.  Looks like a sternum to me.  The symmetry and even spacing of the concave surfaces could be rib sockets.  Not sure what animal it belongs to.  Something large.  Maybe whale?   

[Alucardsdream]

I think you're right, it definitely could be a sternum. I think I got hung up on the idea that it had to come from a whale, and I got thrown off when I couldn't match it up to anything I saw online. There are other big fish in Jersey, I'm now wondering if maybe it came from a dolphin.

[ClearLake]

That is a very neat looking bone but is definitely not a skull part.  @M Harvey is absolutely correct, I believe it is a sternum of a marine mammal.  While I'm not familiar enough with the differences to identify which mammal, I have copied below a picture from the following website of an Orcinus orca (Killer Whale) sternum, which is very similar (but not identical).

https://ptmsc.org/boneatlas/

 

[Alucardsdream]

Awesome, that looks very similar! I appreciate all the help!