Snake vertebrae on interesting matrix

[Blubby the blobfish]

I have this really interesting piece in my collection. Got it for what seems like a steal. Its a tiny coil of snake vertebrae but the matrix seems to be some sort of crystal. Has anyone seen anything like this? No similar images come up when searching for snake vertebrae.

Edited October 3, 2022 by Blubby the blobfish
Better pictures

[Meganeura]

That's really interesting - are the verts actually in the crystal? or just on top?

[Fossildude19]

The matrix looks like limestone with calcite or quartz on top.

[Blubby the blobfish]

8 minutes ago, Meganeura said:

That's really interesting - are the verts actually in the crystal? or just on top?

Updated with better pics. No verts in the crystal, just fossilized near it I guess.

[Blubby the blobfish]

2 minutes ago, Fossildude19 said:

The matrix looks like limestone with calcite or quartz on top.

I think quartz aswell. The newer picture also shows the bottom. Curious to hear if anyone has ever seen a similar piece

[Meganeura]

2 minutes ago, Blubby the blobfish said:

Updated with better pics. No verts in the crystal, just fossilized near it I guess.

I still can't entirely tell - are the verts in the rock then? Or just on top?

[Blubby the blobfish]

Just now, Meganeura said:

I still can't entirely tell - are the verts in the rock then? Or just on top?

The verts appear to be in rock that just happened to fossilize near a quartz crystal.

[Meganeura]

1 minute ago, Blubby the blobfish said:

The verts appear to be in rock that just happened to fossilize near a quartz crystal.

That's really neat. If they were on top I'd be worried it was an association - but if they're in rock I'd say that gives it much more credibility.

[JohnJ]

This has all the hallmarks of calcite cave deposition, not quartz.  It would also account for how the vertebrae are anchored to the calcitic matrix.

[Blubby the blobfish]

1 minute ago, JohnJ said:

This has all the hallmarks of calcite cave deposition, not quartz.  It would also account for how the vertebrae are anchored to the calcitic matrix.

Hi John thank you for the very informative reply. Does it make sense to be fossilized like this or is it a real oddity? Would this mean the snake died in a cave and fossilized near the calcite crystal?

[JohnJ]

Within cave like environments, this kind of preservation is not uncommon.  Sometimes it happens rapidly enough that this might not be an extinct species.

[Coco]

Hi,

 

14 hours ago, JohnJ said:

This has all the hallmarks of calcite cave deposition, not quartz.  It would also account for how the vertebrae are anchored to the calcitic matrix.

It makes me think indeed of a snake that died in a cave near a stalagmite, we see regular rings on the mineralized part. The bones would have been caught in the settling limestone.

 

Coco

[siteseer]

Interesting.  It reminds me of some of the odd preservation types occasionally seen like dragonfly nymphs inside gypsum crystals or pyrite crystals that formed on the surface of a sea urchin.