Mtwombly Posted February 4, 2022 Share Posted February 4, 2022 I’m hoping someone can help me out with this ID- it is driving me nuts!! I have looked through all my books twice but I can’t find a match. I was thinking skull or pelvis of some sort but I can’t seem to pinpoint it. Southern gulf coast FL creek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plantguy Posted February 4, 2022 Share Posted February 4, 2022 Interesting! I love those wierd looking things. Its strangely irregular but its size and overall triangular form/shape with the narrow tubular canals reminds of some baleen whale ear pieces I have...my guess is part of a petrosal. Bobby can probably tell you for sure/provide the details. @Boesse Awesome find. Regards, Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boesse Posted February 5, 2022 Share Posted February 5, 2022 This extremely strange lookin thing is surprisingly not a petrosal, but about 2/3 of the squamosal of the dwarf baleen whale Herpetocetus. I can identify the genus because your specimen has this cylindrical hole in it for the posterior process of the petrosal, which is (unusually) exposed on the outside of the skull and also very short and shaped like a cork. Here's the skull of Herpetocetus transatlanticus from the Lee Creek Mine (Smithsonian collections) with your specimen for comparison: 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mtwombly Posted February 6, 2022 Author Share Posted February 6, 2022 On 2/5/2022 at 11:09 AM, Boesse said: This extremely strange lookin thing is surprisingly not a petrosal, but about 2/3 of the squamosal of the dwarf baleen whale Herpetocetus. I can identify the genus because your specimen has this cylindrical hole in it for the posterior process of the petrosal, which is (unusually) exposed on the outside of the skull and also very short and shaped like a cork. Here's the skull of Herpetocetus transatlanticus from the Lee Creek Mine (Smithsonian collections) with your specimen for comparison: Wow, thank you so much!! That is amazing! I’m finding lots of cetacean fossils at this site, but most of them have been from the sperm whale. It is so interesting to see the differences in the anatomy of Florida’s whale fossils. Thank you so much for your help! 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