Unknown bone

[CornyCook]

This is the largest bone fragments I have ever found, it was in the river and I’m not sure what it may have come from. 

[Rockwood]

Sorry. I can't resist.

It came from a large animal.  

[CornyCook]

@Rockwood you’re quite the commode’en

[Fossildude19]

Rotated, enlarged, cropped, and brightened:

 

  

 

  

 

  

[Shellseeker]

So, it is a leg bone fragment  of most likely a Mastodon or Mammoth.. A less likely candidate would be giant Sloth.

I believe it is one of the long bones.  Your 2nd photo show a terminal end.

In Florida,  Close to Gainesville ?: Go to the museum (it's open !!!!) and stare at the leg bones of this skeleton. or do the equivalent on the internet..searching for Mammoth Femur, tibia, humerus, etc .  It is also possible that some TFF member will recognize the termination point of this bone...

https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/visit/plan/

 

 

[CornyCook]

On 8/10/2020 at 8:19 AM, Fossildude19 said:

Rotated, enlarged, cropped, and brightened:

 

       

Thank you very much @Fossildude19 for your assistance with the photos!! I’m in the middle of creating a photo light box, I hope to have better pictures in the future of my finds!  

[CornyCook]

On 8/10/2020 at 9:12 AM, Shellseeker said:

So, it is a leg bone fragment  of most likely a Mastodon or Mammoth.. A less likely candidate would be giant Sloth.

I believe it is one of the long bones.  Your 2nd photo show a terminal end.

In Florida,  Close to Gainesville ?: Go to the museum (it's open !!!!) and stare at the leg bones of this skeleton. or do the equivalent on the internet..searching for Mammoth Femur, tibia, humerus, etc .  It is also possible that some TFF member will recognize the termination point of this bone...

https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/visit/plan/

Yes sir, not far from Gainesville. I appreciate you’re knowledge and thank you for pointing me in the right direction @Shellseeker!! 

[Shellseeker]

On 8/10/2020 at 9:13 PM, CornyCook said:

Yes sir, not far from Gainesville. I appreciate you’re knowledge and thank you for pointing me in the right direction @Shellseeker!! 

 

You have another "opportunity"  if you can take advantage of it. You can dig out a Rhino, or Gomphethere. or Mammoth,...... AND you can connect with people who have hunted fossils in Florida for 20 years,  including Richard Hulbert.  Director of the Vertebrate Research Lab at UF.  @digit

https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/montbrook/get-involved/

 

 

 

[digit]

The spring volunteer dig season was a bust this year. You may have heard something about some sort of pandemic going around. Having people sitting closely together at the dig site became COVID contraindicated and so Montbrook never opened for the scheduled spring session this year. Was hoping things would have calmed down by the fall session but as of now it is not looking very promising.

 

When things return to normal and the world starts spinning on its axis again and things we took for granted are allowed again, I'd encourage you to sign-up for the volunteer dig at Montbrook. The site (on private land) is very fossiliferous and it is possible to join the crew from the FLMNH and other volunteers on a scientifically run fossil dig. Volunteers are assigned a 1 x 1 meter grid square to excavate and given tools, vials, and plastic bags in which to place their finds. It is usually softer matrix made up of layers of sand/silt/clay and most of the excavating is done with a flat-blade screwdriver. Finer work is often done with dental picks. Most smaller fossils are pulled from matrix and placed in the collection bags. Specimens that come out in multiple pieces are bagged in smaller zip-top bags to keep the pieces together (glued together back in the lab at a later date). Fragile items are placed in the vials before being stashed in the larger "bone bag". Each bag is labeled with the grid coordinates of the dig site, the collector's name, and the date. Larger specimens are often plaster jacketed and removed for later prepping back in the lab. All of the specimens recovered are property of the museum (FLMNH) so you don't get to keep what you find but you can take lots of photos. You get the experience of digging on an interesting site and you are listed as the collector of record for all of the nice specimens that are worthy of cataloging in the museum's collection.

 

It's a great experience to do something different than your normal fossil hunting. I'll probably make an announcement here on the forum when the next dig season is starting.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[CornyCook]

4 hours ago, Shellseeker said:

 

You have another "opportunity"  if you can take advantage of it. You can dig out a Rhino, or Gomphethere. or Mammoth,...... AND you can connect with people who have hunted fossils in Florida for 20 years,  including Richard Hulbert.  Director of the Vertebrate Research Lab at UF.  @digit

https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/montbrook/get-involved/

 

 

 

Thanks @Shellseeker I’m definitely interested! On another note, there isn’t any chance you would take me under your wing on a dive adventure, hunting fossils? I have 3 tanks and all of my own gear! I’m in northeast FL. 

[CornyCook]

3 hours ago, digit said:

The spring volunteer dig season was a bust this year. You may have heard something about some sort of pandemic going around. Having people sitting closely together at the dig site became COVID contraindicated and so Montbrook never opened for the scheduled spring session this year. Was hoping things would have calmed down by the fall session but as of now it is not looking very promising.

 

When things return to normal and the world starts spinning on its axis again and things we took for granted are allowed again, I'd encourage you to sign-up for the volunteer dig at Montbrook. The site (on private land) is very fossiliferous and it is possible to join the crew from the FLMNH and other volunteers on a scientifically run fossil dig. Volunteers are assigned a 1 x 1 meter grid square to excavate and given tools, vials, and plastic bags in which to place their finds. It is usually softer matrix made up of layers of sand/silt/clay and most of the excavating is done with a flat-blade screwdriver. Finer work is often done with dental picks. Most smaller fossils are pulled from matrix and placed in the collection bags. Specimens that come out in multiple pieces are bagged in smaller zip-top bags to keep the pieces together (glued together back in the lab at a later date). Fragile items are placed in the vials before being stashed in the larger "bone bag". Each bag is labeled with the grid coordinates of the dig site, the collector's name, and the date. Larger specimens are often plaster jacketed and removed for later prepping back in the lab. All of the specimens recovered are property of the museum (FLMNH) so you don't get to keep what you find but you can take lots of photos. You get the experience of digging on an interesting site and you are listed as the collector of record for all of the nice specimens that are worthy of cataloging in the museum's collection.

 

It's a great experience to do something different than your normal fossil hunting. I'll probably make an announcement here on the forum when the next dig season is starting.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

@digit That sounds like an awesome opportunity that I would love to take advantage of when the time comes! Thanks for sharing the information!! 

[digit]

Jack has been known to hunt the Peace River when the water is up chest high and most sane folks have kept away from the river but I don't think he's technically been "diving" for fossils.

 

It's been years since I've done it but I've picked up filled tanks from the one scuba shop in Venice, FL and done shore dives off several of the public beaches in the general Venice area. There are some commercial dive boats that will take you further offshore to do meg tooth diving (though I've only found whale bones on the one time I tried). Did find a number of nice shark teeth including a beautiful Great White tooth just doing beach dives. The conditions on the gulf coast can be really iffy with visibility going to just inches when storms pass through and the winds stir up the fine silt. I pulled a nice 2" meg on one dive where there was a public beach access near some condos. Met another diver in the parking lot who went out further with a kayak and two small scuba tanks. He knew a decent area about a mile offshore and would do a dive towing his kayak with a dive flag on it. Then he'd come up for a snack, swap tanks and do a second dive before paddling back to shore. He said his wife ran an antiques store in Sanibel Island and that he helped her out in tourist season (winter months) but wasn't needed in the slower summer season. This left him free to dive for shark teeth every day in the off season. He pulled out half a dozen nice teeth (3-5 inches) from his mesh bag to show me what he was finding out in the "bone bed" offshore. He was surprised that I'd found a meg just diving off the beach in shallower water.

 

If you've never dived for shark teeth before--or done any other activity while diving, please be safe. Task loading during a dive diverts your attention away from basic tasks (like keeping yourself alive). More than one diver has become focused with the hunt and neglected to monitor things like air consumption, depth and time. Not the kind of statistic you want to be part of. Helps to dive with a buddy, obsessively check your air on a very regular basis, and have some decent diving experience before even trying activities beyond sightseeing while on a dive. Not a recommended activity for newbie divers with a dozen dives under their (dive) belt.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[CornyCook]

34 minutes ago, digit said:

Jack has been known to hunt the Peace River when the water is up chest high and most sane folks have kept away from the river but I don't think he's technically been "diving" for fossils.

 

It's been years since I've done it but I've picked up filled tanks from the one scuba shop in Venice, FL and done shore dives off several of the public beaches in the general Venice area. There are some commercial dive boats that will take you further offshore to do meg tooth diving (though I've only found whale bones on the one time I tried). Did find a number of nice shark teeth including a beautiful Great White tooth just doing beach dives. The conditions on the gulf coast can be really iffy with visibility going to just inches when storms pass through and the winds stir up the fine silt. I pulled a nice 2" meg on one dive where there was a public beach access near some condos. Met another diver in the parking lot who went out further with a kayak and two small scuba tanks. He knew a decent area about a mile offshore and would do a dive towing his kayak with a dive flag on it. Then he'd come up for a snack, swap tanks and do a second dive before paddling back to shore. He said his wife ran an antiques store in Sanibel Island and that he helped her out in tourist season (winter months) but wasn't needed in the slower summer season. This left him free to dive for shark teeth every day in the off season. He pulled out half a dozen nice teeth (3-5 inches) from his mesh bag to show me what he was finding out in the "bone bed" offshore. He was surprised that I'd found a meg just diving off the beach in shallower water.

 

If you've never dived for shark teeth before--or done any other activity while diving, please be safe. Task loading during a dive diverts your attention away from basic tasks (like keeping yourself alive). More than one diver has become focused with the hunt and neglected to monitor things like air consumption, depth and time. Not the kind of statistic you want to be part of. Helps to dive with a buddy, obsessively check your air on a very regular basis, and have some decent diving experience before even trying activities beyond sightseeing while on a dive. Not a recommended activity for newbie divers with a dozen dives under their (dive) belt.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

Yes sir! I’m PADI certified,  Advanced Open Water with Nitrox. I’ve been Recreationally  diving and spearfishing for years. I have recently starting hunting for fossils while diving. I have a couple dive buddies, but they aren’t always available or willing to go on every trip. I’m open to finding someone that has the same drive to hunt fossils as I do!