sjaak Posted May 8, 2022 Share Posted May 8, 2022 (edited) Hello again, I also found this bone, both ends are missing, but it seems hollow and the "split" in the end looks characteristic. A couple of years ago I found a pterosaur bone at this same location (Helmsdale, Scotland, late Jurassic, marine sediments): http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/97935-tiny-bone-from-scotland/ I wonder if this is pterosaur as well. I noticed the same "split end" on pterosaur bones, for instance the tibiotarsus. What do you think? Regards, Niels Edited May 8, 2022 by sjaak 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon Posted May 8, 2022 Share Posted May 8, 2022 Hi Niels, Another great find, and a beautiful long bit of bone! I'm not very versed with pterosaur, but at first glance it looks long can narrow enough, with the fact that the bone is hollow and exhibits significant crushing being good supporting arguments. So I'd say it is, but think it'd be useful to have a better, more straight-on photograph of the bone's cross-section, so that the thickness of the bone can be established That said, bone shaped is more informative (see here), especially if there's a chance of finding theropod material at the same site. Unfortunately, my knowledge on pterosaur anatomy is to limited to help you out with that aspect. But I'm sure @msantix, @FF7_Yuffie or @Sassy PaleoNerd would be able to help you further... 1 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...
sjaak Posted May 8, 2022 Author Share Posted May 8, 2022 (edited) Shape of the bone looks a bit like this one: Edited May 8, 2022 by sjaak 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjaak Posted May 8, 2022 Author Share Posted May 8, 2022 Link here: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon Posted May 8, 2022 Share Posted May 8, 2022 Agree, I see the resemblance... Indeed looks like a pterosaur arm or leg bone. Unfortunately, I don't believe @Trahho is still active on the forum. However, maybe @belemniten has seen similar pieces? 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...
belemniten Posted May 8, 2022 Share Posted May 8, 2022 Thats a very tough one! More pictures of the bone cross section would be indeed helpful. It could be a fish bone too but I am leaning more towards a crushed pterosaur bone.The bone structure matches pterosaur bones. Too bad that the end of the bone aren't preserved. 1 1 Many greetings from Germany ! Have a great time with many fossils Regards Sebastian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjaak Posted May 9, 2022 Author Share Posted May 9, 2022 Thanks, I will try to prep the end a bit further for a cross section, although I’m a bit hesitant because the fossil is fragile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon Posted May 9, 2022 Share Posted May 9, 2022 30 minutes ago, sjaak said: Thanks, I will try to prep the end a bit further for a cross section, although I’m a bit hesitant because the fossil is fragile. I think may be lowering the angle of your lens with respect to the pre-last photograph may be enough. It's just to get a good impression of the thickness of the bone, after all. No need to risk damage to the specimen. If you do want to continue prepping, however, make sure you apply sufficient Paraloid to stabilize the fossil as much as possible before working on it any further... '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...
sjaak Posted June 5, 2022 Author Share Posted June 5, 2022 (edited) I took me some time. The outer end is too thin, fragile and deformed for good pictures. As I was curious myself I carefully dissolved the glued middle section (next time I will remember to take pictures before glueing) and made some new pictures. I carefully glued everything back. Difficult to make good focussed pictures, but here are some results. The bone appears to be hollow and filled in with calcium. I wonder if its thin enough for pterosaur? Edited June 5, 2022 by sjaak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjaak Posted June 5, 2022 Author Share Posted June 5, 2022 (edited) Well, seems like a nice fit, I think.... (see here) Edited June 5, 2022 by sjaak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 1 hour ago, sjaak said: next time I will remember to take pictures before glueing Hahaha! Yeah, I do this too whenever I need to glue something. There's always only this very short window in which you get to see the internal structure of something, and it's exactly those kinds of details can can be hard to get at but extremely useful As to the bone itself: to me it looks thin enough to be pterosaur, but lets see what others have to say about 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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