historianmichael Posted June 28, 2021 Share Posted June 28, 2021 (edited) This past weekend I had the chance to collect at a number of exposures along the James River in Virginia, including at several exposures of the Late Miocene Eastover Formation (Cobham Bay Member). At one of the exposures I found these two fossils. I was hoping to get some assistance identifying what they might be. Any help is greatly appreciated. @WhodamanHD@sharkdoctor@Gizmo@HoppeHunting I am fairly confident this is a shark vertebra. The only confusing piece is the hole in the middle and the slits in that hole that run to the slits on the outside of the vertebra. Someone told me that it could be tuna, but it does not have the wings to it that would indicate fish. It is also a rather tall vertebra, measuring 3/4" in height. At the same site I found a large bone eroding out of the cliff. Unfortunately it was already heavily eroded and broke into a million shards. I picked up a few pieces and was excited to find scavenging marks on them. It is the first piece of bone that I have found with bite marks. My initial guess is that it is some type of whale bone, but I was confused by the fact that the bone was hollow on the inside and thus the fragment of the bone incredibly thin. Is it a piece of a jaw bone? Edited June 28, 2021 by historianmichael Follow me on Instagram (@fossil_mike) to check out my personal collection of fossils collected and acquired over more than 15 years of fossil hunting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mahnmut Posted June 28, 2021 Share Posted June 28, 2021 Hello Michael, Whale jaw bone sounds plausible, some modern whales have a thin walled, fatfilled cavity in the proximal end of the mandibula that seems to be important for underwater hearing. Not sure when this started in early whales. Best Regards, J Try to learn something about everything and everything about something Thomas Henry Huxley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cck Posted June 28, 2021 Share Posted June 28, 2021 Hi Michael.. the hole in that shark vert looks like damage to me.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historianmichael Posted June 28, 2021 Author Share Posted June 28, 2021 1 hour ago, cck said: Hi Michael.. the hole in that shark vert looks like damage to me.. What do you mean by damage? Follow me on Instagram (@fossil_mike) to check out my personal collection of fossils collected and acquired over more than 15 years of fossil hunting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted June 28, 2021 Share Posted June 28, 2021 That damage to the shark vertebra does not look accidental. Plenty of NA activity along the James River, wasn't there? http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historianmichael Posted June 29, 2021 Author Share Posted June 29, 2021 (edited) 3 hours ago, Harry Pristis said: That damage to the shark vertebra does not look accidental. Plenty of NA activity along the James River, wasn't there? People have found Native American and Colonial artifacts along the James River. It was found on the surface of the slope of a recent fall, rather than along the shoreline, if that makes any difference. The cuts are certainly artfully created. There are these nub-like bumps on opposing sides on the hole. The slits on the inside line up perfectly with the neural spine notches though- it is so strange. Edited June 29, 2021 by historianmichael Follow me on Instagram (@fossil_mike) to check out my personal collection of fossils collected and acquired over more than 15 years of fossil hunting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hemipristis Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 It is a Carcharhiniform shark vert. The central portion of those verts is thin and easily damaged, and I've found vertebra 'rings' before. That said, the hole is of a peculiar shape. What does the flip side look like? 'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.' George Santayana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 Not unusual to have an irregularly shaped hole in the center. Here’s a similar one from the Lee Creek Mine, NC. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historianmichael Posted June 29, 2021 Author Share Posted June 29, 2021 (edited) Thank you @hemipristis and @Al Dente! What about the whale bone pieces? Is it fair to call them baleen whale jaw fragments? I also found these chunks of whale bone in an exposure of the Yorktown Formation (Sunken Meadow Member). They were found on top of each other separated by a thin layer of matrix. One of the pieces has an interesting hole that runs all the way to the inner side of the fragment. Edited June 29, 2021 by historianmichael Follow me on Instagram (@fossil_mike) to check out my personal collection of fossils collected and acquired over more than 15 years of fossil hunting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mahnmut Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 Hi, I had another look at some whale mandibles, and it seems to me that the thin walled section is more typical of toothed whales, although it would have to be a big one to fit your find. Cheers, J 1 Try to learn something about everything and everything about something Thomas Henry Huxley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historianmichael Posted June 29, 2021 Author Share Posted June 29, 2021 15 minutes ago, Mahnmut said: Hi, I had another look at some whale mandibles, and it seems to me that the thin walled section is more typical of toothed whales, although it would have to be a big one to fit your find. Cheers, J Someone else found a partial sperm whale tooth at the site where the thin walled section was found so that is a possibility. Pretty cool! Thank you. Follow me on Instagram (@fossil_mike) to check out my personal collection of fossils collected and acquired over more than 15 years of fossil hunting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mahnmut Posted June 30, 2021 Share Posted June 30, 2021 Sounds like a place to visit again! Best Regards, J 1 Try to learn something about everything and everything about something Thomas Henry Huxley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted July 7, 2021 Share Posted July 7, 2021 Sorry, missed the tag. I agree its a "carcharhiniform" vertebral centrum, though identification with shark verts is always on shaky ground as their diagnostic value is questionable. I think the hole is probably natural, I have found plenty like that as it is the thinnest point of the fossil. The bone does seem to be whale jaw, I wouldn't put too much stock in anything beyond that “...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin Happy hunting, Mason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkdoctor Posted July 8, 2021 Share Posted July 8, 2021 @historianmichael Sorry to be slow in responding. You may want to download Brett Kent's chapter on sharks. He takes some stabs at identifying vertebra that may be helpful and the photos are helpful. Congrats on the whale bone find. That is a handsome piece! Pieces from the Eastover tend to be finely preserved, so scavenging marks seem to be preserved fairly frequently if the piece is recovered before it encounters wave action. Your find is likely whale jaw or a premaxilla. The piece from the Yorktown looks to be a section from the side a whale radius or ulna. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now