dirtdauber Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Need help in identifying the attached fossil for a friend. I haven't seen the speciman in hand but it was collected in the Ripley Fm., Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) in Alabama. Thanks for any help offered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Looks very fishy to me. There seems to be no shortage of scientific papers on the Ripley Fm. Should be easy to figure out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squalicorax Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 (edited) looks like a big tail or a fin hmm defiantly fish Edited February 20, 2011 by squalicorax My Flickr Page of My Collection: http://www.flickr.com/photos/79424101@N00/sets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Edonihce Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Ya, looks tail-like with those bones coming off in both directions like that. Even looks like a vert on the left end. Nice! That's a beauty there. . ____________________ scale in avatar is millimeters ____________________ Come visit Sandi, the 'Fossil Journey Cruiser' ____________________ WIPS (the Western Interior Paleontological Society - http://www.westernpaleo.org) ____________________ "Being genetically cursed with an almost inhuman sense of curiosity and wonder, I'm hard-wired to investigate even the most unlikely, uninteresting (to others anyway) and irrelevant details; often asking hypothetical questions from many angles in an attempt to understand something more thoroughly." -- Mr. Edonihce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foshunter Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 I am 99.99% sure it is a portion of the tail section from a fish called Xiphactinus Audax, super nice find.--Tom Grow Old Kicking And Screaming !!"Don't Tread On Me" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinopaleus Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 there indeed is a vert by the side. very nice find! im jealous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtdauber Posted February 21, 2011 Author Share Posted February 21, 2011 I am 99.99% sure it is a portion of the tail section from a fish called Xiphactinus Audax, super nice find.--Tom Thanks, Foshunter and others (pirana,squalicorax, Mr. Edonhice, Fossil maniac). I appreciate the help. George Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest N.AL.hunter Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 I have found both Xiphactnus and Enchodus skulls in that formation, but based on size alone, I agree with Xaph. Nice find. Not too many pieces of this fish are found large than single verts/teeth in Alabama. If you have not been there, the area below the Heflin Dam near Gainesville, Alabama is good for this type of thing, but the matrix breaks up very easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtdauber Posted February 22, 2011 Author Share Posted February 22, 2011 I have found both Xiphactnus and Enchodus skulls in that formation, but based on size alone, I agree with Xaph. Nice find. Not too many pieces of this fish are found large than single verts/teeth in Alabama. If you have not been there, the area below the Heflin Dam near Gainesville, Alabama is good for this type of thing, but the matrix breaks up very easily. Thanks, Del. I appreciate the info. I visited the Heflin Dam area a few years ago while working in that area, but didn't have time to look around much. I hope to spend a little time in that area later this spring. BTW, I collected a 20+ inch section of a mosasaur jaw this past weekend. Pretty poor preservation, though. Started working on it today, but will take awhile. I'll post pics when complete. George Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest N.AL.hunter Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 I can't wait to see that mos jaw!! I have only found an occasional tooth and very worn verts. Here is most of the Xaph skull I found: http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php/gallery/image/11403-img-2385jpg/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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