dixichick13 Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 (edited) Found this in a creek with walls about 30-40 feet deep in eastern North Carolina. There are lots and lots of fossil shells and such at the bottom. I am clueless. However, we found lots of fish verts nearby. It is the same color and texture. It is very heavy. Update: After all the helpful opinions below, I looked at whale bone fossil pics and it appears to be a piece of whale rib. It is the only bone pic I could find that matches the oblong flattened shape of the fossil I found. What do you guys think? Edited March 1, 2011 by dixichick13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bowen Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 It certainly looks like fossil bone in texture. However, the oblong shape of it has me puzzled as to what kind. I'm no bone expert so I'll let those guys chime in. Dave Bowen Collin County, Texas. Paleontology: The next best thing to time travel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dixichick13 Posted February 28, 2011 Author Share Posted February 28, 2011 I was told the fish verts I found down there are from either the Miocene or Pliocene period but they are much smaller than this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 it definitely appears to be bone. It is very similar to some pieces of whale bone I find occasionally at GMR. What part of eastern NC is this creek in? I am just wondering about what formation it may be. Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt behind the trailer, my desert Them red clay piles are heaven on earth I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 To me, it most resembles mammal bone in texture (vs. fish or reptile). Overall, very similar to what is found in some abundance in the Calvert Fm. of MD & VA. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dixichick13 Posted February 28, 2011 Author Share Posted February 28, 2011 It was found in Edgecombe county in a creek off of the Tar River. In this particular creek there are several visible layers. The different layers are alternating dark(bluish-gray) and light clays, red clay, sandy layers and at least 3 distinct layers of compact shells. The shell layers are seperated by shell free layers. In some places the shell layers are two feet thick and are separated by mostly shell free clay about 5-8 feet apart. So far all the fish verts and this big guy was found digging even deeper in the mud at the bottom of the creek. The creek is very old and deep, the banks are at least 30 feet deep, in some places much higher. Its the deepest creek any of us have found in the area. Every square inch of the bottom of the creek is covered in massive shells. I hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dixichick13 Posted February 28, 2011 Author Share Posted February 28, 2011 I was told the layer of shells above the creek bottom is the James City formation when I had the fish verts identified. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 I do agree the shells could be from the James City layer, however fossil shell are found in the yorktown layer and these layers are bioth found in this area along with the black creek layer. Besides fish verts and shells, have you found anything else? Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt behind the trailer, my desert Them red clay piles are heaven on earth I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dixichick13 Posted February 28, 2011 Author Share Posted February 28, 2011 Shark teeth have also been found. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dixichick13 Posted February 28, 2011 Author Share Posted February 28, 2011 Also coral and barnicle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lonerguy Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 I agree it does resemble a bone. Resembles something like you find in the limb of a modren whale. but I'm not an expert so don't take my word for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coco Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Do you have pics of shells ? They can help to know the age (and they can be nice to see...). Coco ---------------------- OUTIL POUR MESURER VOS FOSSILES : ici Ma bibliothèque PDF 1 (Poissons et sélaciens récents & fossiles) : ici Ma bibliothèque PDF 2 (Animaux vivants - sans poissons ni sélaciens) : ici Mâchoires sélaciennes récentes : ici Hétérodontiques et sélaciens : ici Oeufs sélaciens récents : ici Otolithes de poissons récents ! ici Un Greg... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickNC Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Looks just like the whale bone we find in gmr. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dixichick13 Posted March 1, 2011 Author Share Posted March 1, 2011 Hi Rick, Do you think it may be part of a whale's rib? If not, what is your best guess for which part of a whale it is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 I agree with Rick that it does look like whale bone that we find at GMR, and most of it is in poor shape. It could very well be a piece of rib, Dixichick. Here are a couple pictures of a larger rib bone I found sticking out of the bank at GMR: Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt behind the trailer, my desert Them red clay piles are heaven on earth I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dixichick13 Posted March 1, 2011 Author Share Posted March 1, 2011 Yep, looks a lot like your pics. I can see the same flattened shape from the angle of your bone in the pic. Thanks a bunch! My son will be pleased that we have an i.d. since he wants to take our finds to show and tell. You guys have been so helpful. I am a newbie and really appreciate it. I told my extended family, who also have been going fossil hunting with us, about how pleasant everyone on this forum is and they said "Well whaddya expect from a bunch of people who love to dig in the dirt!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dixichick13 Posted March 1, 2011 Author Share Posted March 1, 2011 Hi Coco, My father has the shells at his house but gave me the bones. I will take some pics tomorrow and post for you. In the meantime, I posted a pic of the other bones and coral. There is also a funny looking rock we found in the picture. It was the only one out there that looked like this and had an interesting pattern. It may not even be rock at all. I'm still trying to i.d. it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 The picture you just posted is a much better picture of the bone, and I say now it is rib bone from a whale. Those fish vertebrates are awesome and in such good shape. The coral, while it is common around Aurora, is something I have never seen in GMR. It puzzles me that you would find it there, but cool. I have no idea what the other thing is, I don't believe its a rock. Show us all some pictures of the teeth and the shells you find there when you can. Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt behind the trailer, my desert Them red clay piles are heaven on earth I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickNC Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Most of the time it is hard to tell what bone it is exactly. I find literally hundreds of pieces of bone like that and they get tossed back unless there is something unusual about them or I feel the bone can be id'd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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