Unusual vert, any ideas?

[SULLY]

Not sure what this is, but I don’t believe it to be dinosaur. It’s roughly 9” long and 4” at the widest point. Supposed to be Cretaceous. I don’t have any more information at this time about it. Just curious on what the group thinks.

[LabRatKing]

I'd question if this is actually a fossil. An all white cretaceous bone is a big red flag in my book.

 

[SULLY]

I definitely agree. I know surface finds can be light in color, but they are always severely weathered which this one is not. The long process is really throwing me off also 

[Brett Breakin' Rocks]

29 minutes ago, SULLY said:

Not sure what this is, but I don’t believe it to be dinosaur. It’s roughly 9” long and 4” at the widest point. Supposed to be Cretaceous. I don’t have any more information at this time about it. Just curious on what the group thinks.

Yeah I'm with @LabRatKing Beyond the unusual process, does this look like a thoracic vertebra from a bovid/cow ?  

 

Cheers,

Brett

[Tidgy's Dad]

Looks like some sort of deer / antelope to me. 

[jpc]

This is certainly a mammal.  It is most certainly NOT Cretaceous as those mammals got no bigger than the neural canal in this vert.

We need better photos to say if it is fossil or mammal.  

[LordTrilobite]

Yeah, not a cretaceous vert. Looks like large mammal.

[Lorne Ledger]

Agree, mammal - looks like Cervidae (deer) but not clear enough to tell for sure.

[LabRatKing]

9 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

Looks like some sort of deer / antelope to me. 

This was my thinking too, however my limited mammal knowledge prevents me from even making an educated guess.

[jpc]

The huge knob on the end of the neural spine should be diagnostic.  Something with a hump... bison, moose?  It looks a lot like my Titanothere vert, but I cannot tell if this is fossil.

 

Edit:  I just went and looked at out mammoth skeleton, and this could certainly be mammoth.  Mammoths have that  knob on the end of a few thoracic verts.   

 

[hemipristis]

21 hours ago, Brett Breakin' Rocks said:

Yeah I'm with @LabRatKing Beyond the unusual process, does this look like a thoracic vertebra from a bovid/cow ?  

 

Cheers,

Brett

I was thinking bison myself

[jpc]

Bison doesn't seem to have the big bulb on the end of the neural spine. (I googled it). 

[HuckMucus]

Yeah, that is not bison.  If it is, then there is a cancerous growth or some other deformity on the end.