Big Brook Bone

[PaleoNoel]

Hi everyone, I hope you're all having a good start to 2021. Tonight I'm sharing a fossil which has been in my possession for a number of years. I found it on my first trip to Big Brook in Monmouth County, New Jersey when I was only 11. Some veteran fossil hunters took a look at what I found and told me it was a dinosaur bone. Being a novice I took their word at face value, however after a number of years dinosaur hunting out west, I was able to see that this ID was incorrect. When I showed it to a paleontologist at my local university he did not think it was bone at all and perhaps some plant material. At this point, however I am confident it is actually bone, and most likely from a marine reptile. An interesting comparison I made was with a piece of dugong rib I found on Florida's Peace River. I found that both were quite dense, with small outer pores and minimal spacing in the cancellous tissue (especially when compared to true dinosaur bone). Additionally, the presence of apparent bite marks suggest to me that this is not a concretion or plant material. The fossil is about 6.4 cm in length and 2 cm in diameter. I would like to hear some opinions on it. 

Thanks,

Noel

A close up of the bone surface. The quality of the photo was not what I had hoped.

Closeup on one of the apparent bite marks.

[Thecosmilia Trichitoma]

I have heard that there are also more recent tertiary exposures that erode into Big Brook. Although I know very little about the area and different bone textures, is it possible for it to be from a more recent cetacean/mammal?

[Rockwood]

pdf link This paper came up in a search for pachyostotic cretaceous bone. Apparently some marine reptiles had pachyostotic gastralia (belly ribs).

[frankh8147]

I do believe it is Cretaceous bone. Outside of that, identification is tough. I have similar pieces labeled simply as Cretaceous reptile bone.

[PaleoNoel]

8 hours ago, Thecosmilia Trichitoma said:

I have heard that there are also more recent tertiary exposures that erode into Big Brook. Although I know very little about the area and different bone textures, is it possible for it to be from a more recent cetacean/mammal?

It's not out of the question, however I have never seen any cetacean material come out of the brooks, what i've seen online and have found personally have been pleistocene or recent. 

6 hours ago, Rockwood said:

pdf link This paper came up in a search for pachyostotic cretaceous bone. Apparently some marine reptiles had pachyostotic gastralia (belly ribs).

Thanks for the link, definitely makes sense as an adaptation to 

51 minutes ago, frankh8147 said:

I do believe it is Cretaceous bone. Outside of that, identification is tough. I have similar pieces labeled simply as Cretaceous reptile bone.

Thanks, I didn't think it would be identifiable beyond marine reptile.