Show Us Your Hypurals!

[Harry Pristis]

When I saw a fish hypural for the first time, I didn't think it was real.  But, now, these obscure bones are better known.  Who here has a fish hypural to show us?  Here's one:

 

 

"The bony structure (often fan-shaped) that chiefly is composed of the expanded, flattened and partially fused hemal spines (ventral extensions of the vertebrae), and that supports the caudal-fin rays in most bony fishes; when counting vertebrae, this composite element is treated as a single vertebra and included in the count. Amia has 10 hypurals, Salmo 7 but in most teleosts the number is reduced or fused into a single structure, a urostyle." 

[Meganeura]

@Fin Lover has one I believe!

 

[Fin Lover]

I do have a few partials.  Here is the biggest:

Edited January 11, 2023 by Fin Lover

[Harry Pristis]

 

 

Your largest?  What is the actual size of your hypural?

[Shellseeker]

Maybe I should compete in the smallest Hyplural category.  After all, I only have the Peace River to fish.

[Fin Lover]

1 hour ago, Harry Pristis said:

Your largest?  What is the actual size of your hypural?

It's my most complete one and would also be the largest out of the 4 or so that I have found.  It's 45 mm across.

[MarcoSr]

Here were mine.  I have to show old group pictures because I've donated these hypurals.

 

Here are some hypurals from the Eocene, Nanjemoy Formation of Virginia, in gem jars (1.25" diameter and 1.75" diameter), that were only part of a donation to the South Carolina State Museum.  To compete for the smallest hypural, I've donated hypurals less than 3 mm.

 

 

 

 

Here was my largest hypural, 3.5 inches, in a 16X12 inch Riker display of Miocene bony fish fossils from Virginia.

 

 

 

 

Marco Sr. 

[hemipristis]

On 1/12/2023 at 4:18 AM, Harry Pristis said:

When I saw a fish hypural for the first time, I didn't think it was real.  But, now, these obscure bones are better known.  Who here has a fish hypural to show us?  Here's one:

 

 

"The bony structure (often fan-shaped) that chiefly is composed of the expanded, flattened and partially fused hemal spines (ventral extensions of the vertebrae), and that supports the caudal-fin rays in most bony fishes; when counting vertebrae, this composite element is treated as a single vertebra and included in the count. Amia has 10 hypurals, Salmo 7 but in most teleosts the number is reduced or fused into a single structure, a urostyle." 

Nice one!  It is from a billfish.  Thickness, pronounced radiating "rays", and the little notch at the back end give it away

[hemipristis]

8 hours ago, MarcoSr said:

Here were mine.  I have to show old group pictures because I've donated these hypurals.

 

Here are some hypurals from the Eocene, Nanjemoy Formation of Virginia, in gem jars (1.25" diameter and 1.75" diameter), that were only part of a donation to the South Carolina State Museum.  To compete for the smallest hypural, I've donated hypurals less than 3 mm.

 

 

 

 

Here was my largest hypural, 3.5 inches, in a 16X12 inch Riker display of Miocene bony fish fossils from Virginia.

 

 

 

 

Marco Sr. 

I am seriously drooling!!  

 

I see billfish, black drum, wahoo, grouper, possibly red drum and my favorites, the mola!  So many jugular plates!  Lemme know if you ever want to get rid of those!

[Harry Pristis]

26 minutes ago, hemipristis said:

So many jugular plates! 

Autocorrect Alert.  Shouldn't this be "gular plates"?

 

[Bobby Rico]

This little beauty was a Secret Santa gift from @Brett Breakin' Rocks 

 

Fish bones including the hypural bone. Unidentified Bony Fish

 

Kazakhstan , Mangyshlak Peninsula, Miocene.

[MarcoSr]

1 hour ago, hemipristis said:

I am seriously drooling!!  

 

I see billfish, black drum, wahoo, grouper, possibly red drum and my favorites, the mola!  So many jugular plates!  Lemme know if you ever want to get rid of those!

 

Thank you.  Yes (billfish, black drum, wahoo, grouper, mola) and there are also red drum specimens.

 

Marco Sr.

[Troodon]

Here are some small ones from the Calvert Fm, Brownies Beach, Calvert Co., MD

 

[hemipristis]

3 hours ago, Harry Pristis said:

Autocorrect Alert.  Shouldn't this be "gular plates"?

 

I was talking with the manager, so "jugular" was on my mind.... LOL

 

Yes, gular

[hemipristis]

My 3 largest hypurals from the Pliocene Yorktown Formation, Lee Creek Mine, Aurora, North Carolina, USA. The largest is 8.75cm (3.44 in). 

 

The top specimen is from a billfish, while the two “facing” each other are scombrids (tuna, mackerel, bonito, wahoo, etc). Note the thickness, prominence of the rays, and the indentation running down the center of the billfish hypural. These are diagnostic, from what I can tell.

 

I haven’t seen enough identified specimens to speculate to which fish the scombrid hypurals belong. I wish I could. If anyone has any leads, I’d be appreciative.

 

Edited January 14, 2023 by hemipristis

[Fin Lover]

Found another hypural today:

[Fin Lover]

Found what would definitely be my largest hypural yesterday.  Unfortunately, it was deep in the matrix and broke a couple times when I tried to remove it.  Put it back together (which I'm not too good at yet) and there is a piece missing.  

[Harry Pristis]

54 minutes ago, Fin Lover said:

Found what would definitely be my largest hypural yesterday.  Unfortunately, it was deep in the matrix and broke a couple times when I tried to remove it.  Put it back together (which I'm not too good at yet) and there is a piece missing.  

 

Your hypural resembles the one I posted -- from a billfish, according to hemipristis.  Nice find!