roxanneminerals Posted March 28, 2022 Share Posted March 28, 2022 I found this rock in Austin, TX in Waller Creek next to an exposed outcrop of the Maastrichtian (Late Cretaceous) Austin Chalk. I’m wondering if it’s a mosasaur vertebra or humerus? Several mosasaurs have been found in creeks nearby, and the wavy pattern in the rock reminds me of fossilized bone. I’ve included three photos of the rock that I found in Austin, and a photo from Otero et al. (2016) of a Maastrichtian mosasaur right humerus (scale bar = 50 mm) that looks similar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creek - Don Posted March 28, 2022 Share Posted March 28, 2022 (edited) I don't think that is a bone. More like a worn gryphaea oyster shell that are very common down in Austin. Been tumbled around in the creek and eroded. Edited March 28, 2022 by Creek - Don 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted March 28, 2022 Share Posted March 28, 2022 I agree this isn't bone. To me this looks more like a small chert nodule displaying differential erosion. 3 The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
val horn Posted March 28, 2022 Share Posted March 28, 2022 If it is bone you get one answer and if not than it is something else. A broken fragment of bone should show trabeculem which i dont see. I am a great believer in proving things atleast to myself. I would consider breaking or cutting the piece to look again for spongy bone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon Posted March 28, 2022 Share Posted March 28, 2022 Hi there, and welcome to TFF. You've definitely come to the right place with your question Unfortunately, bone has a very distinctive texture, which I'm not seeing here. The morphology also doesn't match what I would expect from marine reptile bone. Nodules, on the other hand - which I suspect this is - can have very misleading shapes and patterns. Keep searching, though! You already know that what you're looking for is it there, and sooner or later you're sure to find it 1 'There's nothing like millions of years of really frustrating trial and error to give a species moral fibre and, in some cases, backbone' -- Terry Pratchett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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