Cretaceous Bone?

[Zenmaster6]

Texas, Cretaceous age.

 

I am thinking this is a bone. Did some sanding and found blood vessel structure, can someone confirm if it is?

 

Also, how can I tell if its dinosaur or marine reptile?

[Zenmaster6]

[Planko]

Quote

Yep, its a bone.

 

 

[Thecosmilia Trichitoma]

It's bone, but I don't think it can be identified any further than "chunkosaurus."

[ThePhysicist]

It's bone, likely marine reptile - very similar to NSR mosasaur bones. Where was it found?

[Zenmaster6]

30 minutes ago, ThePhysicist said:

It's bone, likely marine reptile - very similar to NSR mosasaur bones. Where was it found?

It was in a landscaping bed in corpus christi. So I wont know but I know because of chert and limestone its likely from the cretaceous of san antonio

[ThePhysicist]

2 hours ago, Zenmaster6 said:

but I know because of chert and limestone its likely from the cretaceous of san antonio

Ok, cool. I'm fairly certain it's marine reptile, and probably mosasaur.

[Zenmaster6]

2 hours ago, ThePhysicist said:

Ok, cool. I'm fairly certain it's marine reptile, and probably mosasaur.

I would agree with that. 

The only question I have for you, is 

I found a whale bone in Oregons Coast.

Is there any way to tell the difference between reptile blood vessels and mammal blood vessels in agatized bones? 

 

Because some people can say chunkosaur and chunkothere just by looking at it.

Thanks you.

[ThePhysicist]

18 hours ago, Zenmaster6 said:

Is there any way to tell the difference between reptile blood vessels and mammal blood vessels in agatized bones? 

First, there aren't blood vessels in fossilized bones anymore - I think you're talking about the structures that supported vessels/marrow, like haversian systems/osteons, and trabeculae. Secondly, fossil bones aren't necessarily "agatized," meaning they were replaced by agate; it's more accurate to say "fossilized" or maybe "mineralized." 

 

That's a good question, and I may not be able to answer it thoroughly. For me, there's a degree of intuition that comes from having seen many identifiable pieces from reptiles and mammals (with regard to the structure and subtle qualities of the bones that I can't describe in writing). Speaking very generally, the porous portion of bones (cancellous bone) in ancient reptiles has been filled in by minerals, and not in more recent mammal bones. This is not always true, but at least in Texas I think that is a feature which distinguishes the majority (that I've seen). There's also cancellous bone in-filling in ancient fish bones too, but their bones are typically flaky and otherwise distinguishable from say mosasaurs.' I hope others can give you a more educated or comprehensive answer.