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Alberta Horseshoe Canyon Formation Fossil ID


dingo2

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These pieces were both found in the horseshoe canyon cretaceous formation in Alberta. There were multiple hadrosaur teeth and bones nearby, so that could be a starting point. Could anybody help me with an ID?

20200912_200815.jpg

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2 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

Ironstone concretions, methinks. 

Neither are concretions. Ill take pictures to show the obvious bone material later today if nobody can figure it out.

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3 minutes ago, Familyroadtrip said:

Yup... I was wrong, that does look like bone... I don’t know that it’s IDable, but if it is @Troodon @LordTrilobite @jpc can help. Were you on private property?

I'm guessing somebody knowledgeable will easily be able to ID the smaller piece, but I agree the larger one will be a lot tougher. I was pretty shocked at how accurate the ID was last time I posted on here with an obscure piece so I've got high hopes. They were found on public land, legal surface collecting area. I'd prefer if the thread doesnt derail into the standard discussion of AB's fossil collection laws.

 

Some additional information and thoughts on the larger piece.

-The top portion of the bone in the first 3 pictures comes to a long flat point, sort of like a shovel. You can see it best in the bottom of this picture.

20200913_102306.jpg

-The material that can be seen in the first and third pictures I posted is most similar to anklyosaurus scutes I have found in the past, like seen in the following image.

dk21-1.jpg

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6 minutes ago, dingo2 said:

I'd prefer if the thread doesnt derail into the standard discussion of AB's fossil collection laws.

 

 

And it won't. :) 

This is as good an opportunity as any to remind our members to always extend the benefit of the doubt that our collectors are operating within legal bounds. :dinothumb:

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...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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10 minutes ago, Kane said:

And it won't. :) 

This is as good an opportunity as any to remind our members to always extend the benefit of the doubt that our collectors are operating within legal bounds. :dinothumb:

I don’t mean to be condescending or turn it into a legal discussion, I just wanted to make sure it was fine to take stuff from there.

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6 minutes ago, Familyroadtrip said:

I don’t mean to be condescending or turn it into a legal discussion, I just wanted to make sure it was fine to take stuff from there.

Your intentions were good. :) That being said, our Forum rules are clear that we do not condone illegal activities, and have an expectation that members operate within the law. It is far beyond our ability to enforce the laws. By inquiring if the specimen was collected legally can be construed as an implicit accusation, and without evidence. If there is evidence of illegal activity, members should not post it on the open boards, but use the "report" button so that our staff can investigate. :dinothumb:

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...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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13 minutes ago, Kane said:

Your intentions were good. :) That being said, our Forum rules are clear that we do not condone illegal activities, and have an expectation that members operate within the law. It is far beyond our ability to enforce the laws. By inquiring if the specimen was collected legally can be construed as an implicit accusation, and without evidence. If there is evidence of illegal activity, members should not post it on the open boards, but use the "report" button so that our staff can investigate. :dinothumb:

Ok, sorry! My bad!

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11 minutes ago, Troodon said:

The smaller item possible process of a vertebra ?

Clueless on the larger one 

I thought the same thing about the smaller piece, but I am unable to find any pictures of hadrosaur or anklyosaur verts that support the idea. It appears to be rather intact so I would think it should be pretty obvious when a match is found.

Edit: Just saw the image you added, I think its safe to say its part of a vertebrae. I still dont think its a perfect match to anything in that picture, just because of the overall shape. The flat bottom is a dead ringer for the circled sections labelled prz though so I'm satisfied with saying its from a vert.

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I agree on the smaller piece. Seems likely to be a zygapophysis of a vertebra.
The bigger one looks like unidentifiable chunkosaur.

Olof Moleman AKA Lord Trilobite

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On 9/13/2020 at 4:00 PM, LordTrilobite said:

I agree on the smaller piece. Seems likely to be a zygapophysis of a vertebra.
The bigger one looks like unidentifiable chunkosaur.

I agree 100  per cent.

 

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9 hours ago, LordTrilobite said:

Most of this is just much too worn to tell the original shape.

I'm a bit confused as to what part of the fossil you think is worn. Especially to the point that it would no longer be representative of the original shape. There is a clear break on one side, but the rest is in fine condition. There is a flat edge that goes around the entire front end of the fossil, which is clear evidence to me that it is hardly worn at all.

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11 hours ago, dingo2 said:

20200916_000019.jpg

90% of what I see here looks worn beyond recognition. Only the patterns on the bottom and bottom left look to be original anatomical features.

Olof Moleman AKA Lord Trilobite

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I'm throwing out a guess here, but could it be a chunk of frill or skull section? Usually, frill has those large blood grooves. 

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