what animal did it come from

[Navychief]

my wife found this while strolling the beach. Not sure what bone it is and from what animal. Any thoughts will be appreciated.

[SomethingIsFishy]

It looks like a sperm whale tooth fragment to me but I'm not an expert. Cool Find!!!

Edited December 28, 2022 by SomethingIsFishy

[Navychief]

thanks for your input!

[garyc]

It looks like a chunk of artiodactyl cannon bone to me

[SomethingIsFishy]

It could be. As i said, I'm not an expert.

[Mahnmut]

At least you could narrow it down to cetartiodactyla... 

 

[digit]

It's a bone fragment heavily phosphatized (the gray/black coloration). The one thing we can state for certain is that it is not a dugong rib bone fragment which are exceedingly common in Florida. Sirenian (dugong and manatee) ribs are solid throughout and quite oversized. In addition to their normal role in the body they also function as ballast to allow these rather porky animals descend through the water column to find the plant materials at the bottom which form the basis of their diet. In effect they are the equivalent of a diver's weight belt (only internal).

 

Your item shows the internal hollow of what would have been the spongy cancellous bone material. This bone material is more delicate and often erodes as in your specimen. Artiodactyl leg bone is a possibility but in worn and partial specimens like this a positive ID without the presence of a very diagnostic feature remaining on the bone limits certainty. We have no dinosaur fossils in Florida (if we disregard the steady parade of "T-rex eggs with embryos" that turn up here for ID). Still, many fossil hunters (myself included) colloquially refer to these fragmentary bone finds as "Chunk-o-saurus" following the term more properly used out west in places like Wyoming where you can actually find non-diagnostic dinosaur bone fragments.

 

Your piece is a genuine Florida fossil but a large number of fossil bone we find here that have been washed, rolled, and tumbled will defy any precise species or skeletal element assignment. Where your wife found this may be additional fossils and possibly an item with more clues for diagnosis.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Navychief]

thank Ken, even though the sea has taken a lot of its identity, I still get a rush knowing I am probably the first human to touch that fossil! My wife now steps over the fancy colored shells and goes for the black fossils!

Thanks again, Richard

[digit]

...and she's hooked. Welcome to the addiction.

 

I'll tell you right know that there are few things better than having a significant other along as an enthusiastic hunting partner. It's awesome to share interests and passions with those closest to us.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken