Aurora Fossil Museum Mystery Fossil

[fossil_lover_2277]

Hi all, I found this fossil at the Aurora Fossil Museum in North Carolina (so Miocene Pungo River formation sediments. Any idea what it is?? It’s 3cm x 2cm in size.

[Plax]

You sure it's Pungo?

[fossil_lover_2277]

24 minutes ago, Plax said:

You sure it's Pungo?

I mean the overlying Yorktown formation is also possible, James City too but I believe James City is mostly shells. I definitely collected it from the dirt at the Aurora Phosphate Museum though. I’ve seen one before in a picture with some other east coast Miocene/Pliocene stuff, I believe it was from the Calvert Cliffs. The one in my pics is only half of it, it’s not complete.

Edited January 4, 2022 by fossil_lover_2277

[fossil_lover_2277]

2 hours ago, Plax said:

You sure it's Pungo?

This is the pic I was thinking of, although seeing it now not sure it’s an exact match

[FossilDAWG]

What you circled is a fragment of a ray tooth.  Your specimen is something quite different.  My first impression is that it is a phosphatized burrow (trace fossil), with the ridges being scratch marks made by the limbs of whatever dug the burrow, likely some sort of an arthropod.  You will notice that the ridges are mostly made of two closely paired lines, which is typical of arthropod traces.

 

Don

[abyssunder]

Maybe it's a chunk of hyperostosed bone (tilly bone)?

[fossil_lover_2277]

5 hours ago, abyssunder said:

Maybe it's a chunk of hyperostosed bone (tilly bone)?

 

5 hours ago, FossilDAWG said:

What you circled is a fragment of a ray tooth.  Your specimen is something quite different.  My first impression is that it is a phosphatized burrow (trace fossil), with the ridges being scratch marks made by the limbs of whatever dug the burrow, likely some sort of an arthropod.  You will notice that the ridges are mostly made of two closely paired lines, which is typical of arthropod traces.

 

Don

 

8 hours ago, Plax said:

You sure it's Pungo?

Is there any way it might could be part of some sort of cetacean ear bone? The texture of those lines/ridges and the density of the material matches that closely. Although the overall shape doesn’t really match of course. Just throwing that out there, doubt that’s the case though.

[FossilDAWG]

I have never seen a cetacean ear bone with that "texture" or shape.  Perhaps you could post some photos of examples?

[sixgill pete]

Although the piles at the Aurora Museum ate often called "the pit of the Pungo" The piles are mixed. Your item, at least to me appears to be a broken, worn piece of random bone. 

[fossil_lover_2277]

6 hours ago, FossilDAWG said:

I have never seen a cetacean ear bone with that "texture" or shape.  Perhaps you could post some photos of examples?

Again, I’m not saying it is part of an ear bone, I doubt it is. Just throwing that out there. But the ridges, I’m referring to the ridges on well preserved baleen whale ear bones. I have a large one and the texture/density is fairly similar. Like I said wrong shape though unless there’s some something out there I haven’t seen, which could be the case, I’m not an expert in zoology/anatomy.

 

 

Edited January 6, 2022 by fossil_lover_2277

[fossil_lover_2277]

50 minutes ago, sixgill pete said:

Although the piles at the Aurora Museum ate often called "the pit of the Pungo" The piles are mixed. Your item, at least to me appears to be a broken, worn piece of random bone. 

Thanks, yea bone fragment or something random that can’t be identified sounds probably right.
 

Yes true, they can be Yorktown too, but supposed to be heavily biased towards the Pungo the way the dirt is mined, at least according to the AFM staff I spoke with. Btw I do love their staff, they do a great job running the museum and dig pits.

 

I’ve also read it can be Pleistocene James City formation. My understanding though is James City is mostly invertebrate shells, and I read some shark teeth like great whites. But I’m unfamiliar with this formation, never intentionally collected it. 

 

 

Edited January 6, 2022 by fossil_lover_2277