Cretaceous vertebra fossil id help

[Callahan]

Looks like a fossil vertebra?   Any one know who it goes to etc.

 

first dino or shark cartilage/bone if so!!!!!

 

found in Arlington Texas at construction site in layer with gypsum and few Cretaceous aquatic shell fossils and one shark tooth. 
 

It is pretty brittle etc. will epoxy soon after positive id. 
 

I’ll post a pic of shark tooth also. 

[Callahan]

Lots of this gypsum selinite like mineral in same layer here pic of this stuff if this helps

[Rockwood]

That's a vertebra alright. I think those crystals in that area come from cretaceous sediments.

[GPayton]

The gypsum crystals and the preservation of that shark tooth (which looks like an anterior Cretalamna) make me think that you were hunting in the Del Rio Clay portion of the Grayson formation. If you've ever been to the shale pit at Lake Waco you'd probably recognize it as the same. 

The vertebra is incredibly interesting though. It doesn't look mosasaur since it doesn't seem to have one convex and one concave end, not to mention the Grayson is Cenomanian in age and hardly any mosasaurs are known from that time. 

My best guess would be plesiosaur which is definitely exciting! I've never even seen one from Texas much less found one myself as they're pretty rare. Finding one in the Grayson probably isn't unheard of but if I'm right about it then you might want to show it to a professional. Here's a link to a comment by @Foshunter that I found on the forum with a picture of different plesiosaur vertebrae from Texas: 

 

[JohnJ]

Congratulations, @Callahan!  

 

Click on THIS MAP to determine the geologic formation.  No need to reveal the exact location.

 

 

 

Might be worth comparing to an archosaur vertebra from the Woodbine Formation.

[Callahan]

Man that’s awesome.  My first Dino fossil. I have some other suspects also.  
 

they are very brittle falling apart etc.  

 

Will look around later today at site and see if I can find any more.  
 

yes it is tarrant county Arlington Texas site have permission to look around.  Ton of different layer exposed. 
 

thanks all

[debivort]

32 minutes ago, Callahan said:

My first Dino fossil.

Not technically a Dino(saur), but just as cool!

[Callahan]

I got cha.   I mainly a Native American artifact and Pleistocene bone guy is my true interest. 
 

I will pick anything up similar to this or a suspect bone in the crystal layer etc.  and see what y’all think. 
 

heck there could be the whole skeleton scattered about from the dirt work. Who knows.  

[Jared C]

you got permission to hunt the arlington archosaur site? That's awesome!

 

Mophologically plesiosaur might fit but I don't know if any have been found in the woodbine there, though reasonably they should be. Being a possible archosaur vert, dinosaur isn't the only possibility - there are also some crocs found there. Cool find, whatever it is

[pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon]

Very odd vertebra! I see where the suggestion this might be plesiosaur comes from, but, to me, it looks to have too much of a waist in the middle and too thick bevels on the centrum faces. The width and height proportions also don't quite feel right, especially when offset to the specimen's length. Not quite sure what it could be either though...

[Mikrogeophagus]

Really cool find. I'm gonna hazard a guess and say croc. I thought they were mosasaur at first, but the woodbine (assuming that's where it was found) is so old for such an ID. When I hunt the woodbine, I also find lots of those selenite crystals too in case that is useful info.

[Lone Hunter]

4 hours ago, Jared C said:

you got permission to hunt the arlington archosaur site? That's awesome!

 

 

I don't think he mentioned Archosaur and just so you know the site has long been abandoned, I go kick around there every once in a while. Still a few markers left other than that just loads of selenite.

[Callahan]

Totally different site than archosaur place. This is just a new construction site many miles away. 

[JohnJ]

5 hours ago, Callahan said:

yes it is tarrant county Arlington Texas site have permission to look around.  Ton of different layer exposed. 

 

7 minutes ago, Callahan said:

Totally different site than archosaur place. This is just a new construction site many miles away. 

 

5 hours ago, JohnJ said:

Click on THIS MAP to determine the geologic formation.  No need to reveal the exact location.

 

Good to know.  Did you use the map link above to determine if it is the Woodbine Formation?

 

[Callahan]

Let me look and I’ll let y’all know what formation. 

 

crazy there is a map like this exists. 
 

  Don’t want to give exact location. I’m not stingy just don’t want bunch of people looking around without permission. 
 

I eat lunch there on my lunch break and walk around and have permission from developer. 

[Callahan]

I’ll post more pics also.  Of every side and angle 

[JohnJ]

21 hours ago, JohnJ said:

No need to reveal the exact location.

[DPS Ammonite]

2 hours ago, Callahan said:

Let me look and I’ll let y’all know what formation. 

 

crazy there is a map like this exists. 
 

  Don’t want to give exact location. I’m not stingy just don’t want bunch of people looking around without permission. 
 

I eat lunch there on my lunch break and walk around and have permission from developer. 

Sounds similar to the beginnings of the Arlington Archosaur Site; fossils were found in land ready to be developed. Development was kindly postponed to allow study of fossils. Keep finding more cool fossils and maybe the developer might let in some professions to study them.

[Callahan]

FORMATION DETAILS : split in half by these 

 

1.  half the site is GRAYSON MARL and main-street Limestone Undivided, Cretaceous period 

 

2. other half of site is WOODBINE FORMATION, Cretaceous period 

 

split in half by these 2 formations hope this helps with these new pics. I have some other suspect rocks also I have no idea if related to the vertebrae or not. 
 

Can’t remember what formation side I found vertebrae on. Could of washed down from Rain also to one or another formations etc. 
 

vertebrae and other rocks are very very brittle and very Leary of washing em due to falling apart etc. 

 

I’ll include both shark teeth also below and a amonite and clams 

 

thank you very much with everyone’s help. Will frame this fossil for sure with positive id from y’all 

 
 

pics

 

1-6. Vertebrae trying to id

 

7-10.  Possibly another bone fossil?  Not sure what to look at to id bone that’s very old?

 

11-13.  Possible Some sort of crab or troll bite like creature?

 

14-17.  Shark teeth. Possible sand tiger , amonites and clam in rock.  Clams in rock show the gray sediment layer one of them 

[Callahan]

These also. 
 

Concretion and another rock material similar to vert 

[GPayton]

This just keeps getting more interesting! You really stumbled upon a great site. 

The white shark tooth looks like an anterior Cretoxyrhina mantelli to me now rather than Cretalamna like I said earlier. The lingual protuberance (the raised bump on the front of the tooth) isn't something you see on Cretalamna but do on Cretoxyrhina. There also seems to be some space between the root and the blade of the tooth which is also more of a Cretoxyrhina feature. 

The very first new picture you posted today is definitely some sort of crustacean. It could be either crab or lobster. That bumpy shiny surface looks exactly like a lobster I found in the red beds at the North Sulphur River several years ago. Of course, it's not likely to be the same species given how far apart in age the formation you're in is from the Ozan. 

[JohnJ]

@Callahan, I organized your new photos in your post.  Several were out of place.  You can do this in the future by putting the cursor where you want the photo, then tapping the "+" symbol on the uploaded photo.

 

I wish there was more of that crab preserved.  

@MB

[Callahan]

Thanks John.
 

All I will look around some more at lunch break again and see if I can find some more stuff.  

 

land developer said going to be a year at least till houses there etc. 
 

I kind of know what I’m looking for now due to the good info y’all gave me.  

[Jared C]

What a place! This is very interesting. Geologic maps shouldn't be read like the bible, they're usually generalized so it's up to your discretion about where the boundaries are. Based on the preservation of your fossils, I'm fairly sure your fossils came from the woodbine. Again, awesome, awesome finds. 

[JohnJ]

The two nautiloids and Neithea scallop are evidence of Mainstreet Limestone exposure.  However, I agree much of the rest indicates the Woodbine.