ecclector Posted January 17, 2023 Share Posted January 17, 2023 Hello all, decided to pop over to the Santa Cruz Coast in CA to see if anything notable was churned up by the recent storms we've had. A couple brachiopod fossils turned up, but this is what really caught my eye as I was perusing the beach. Fossil whale bones have been found in the area before and I'm wondering if that's what I have here. Very porous looking structure but definitely made of stone, with striations all going the same direction. Thanks in advance for ID help. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted January 17, 2023 Share Posted January 17, 2023 @Boesse Maybe our sea mammal fossil expert will weigh in. 1 Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy_mnemonic Posted January 17, 2023 Share Posted January 17, 2023 That is very likely a chunk of fossil whale bone. I have found some pieces that have the same coloration from the Miocene age Monterey formation south of you in Santa Barbara County. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boesse Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 This is a fragment of a baleen whale mandible - they look like gigantic ribs because they're curved and don't have any teeth. 2 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ecclector Posted January 18, 2023 Author Share Posted January 18, 2023 1 hour ago, Boesse said: This is a fragment of a baleen whale mandible - they look like gigantic ribs because they're curved and don't have any teeth. Awesome-out of curiosity how does one know its a mandible fragment? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boesse Posted January 19, 2023 Share Posted January 19, 2023 22 hours ago, ecclector said: Awesome-out of curiosity how does one know its a mandible fragment? thanks From the cross section, to be specific - that little canal is one of the alveolar canals that exit through the mental foramina on the side of the mandible. These chunks are so common that I made this comic for my 'fossil explainer' series a couple years ago: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted January 19, 2023 Share Posted January 19, 2023 51 minutes ago, Boesse said: From the cross section, to be specific - that little canal is one of the alveolar canals that exit through the mental foramina on the side of the mandible. These chunks are so common that I made this comic for my 'fossil explainer' series a couple years ago: Bobby, This is one of the few whale jaws I have (Kogiopsis). Is that also "alveolar canals that exit through the mental foramina on the side of the mandible"? The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boesse Posted January 19, 2023 Share Posted January 19, 2023 Apologies if I was unclear - the diagram was meant to illustrate a baleen whale mandible. I figured odontocete mandibles have big tooth sockets and are easy enough to ID. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ecclector Posted January 20, 2023 Author Share Posted January 20, 2023 (edited) @Boesse -thanks for the additional ID helping tips-so its the hole that the nerve and veins passed through? Cool unfortunately your above comic doesn't seem to be loading, is there an internet link I can view it on instead? Edited January 20, 2023 by ecclector Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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