Ethologist Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 This question may make me seem dumb, but I can't figure it out and I feel especially slow tonight.... I just got back from a trip to Brownie's Beach/Bayfront Park Maryland, in the Calvert Cliffs Region and I found this bone/fossil. Can anyone tell if it is modern or a fossil? What do you think it is from? I have a guess, but would like to hear what others think first, without biasing them. Photos: http://www.flickr.co.../in/photostream http://www.flickr.co.../in/photostream http://www.flickr.co.../in/photostream http://www.flickr.co.../in/photostream http://www.flickr.co.../in/photostream Thanks in advance, to you fossil experts out there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Tap it gently with something hard. If it sounds like fine china it's mineralized and usually is a fossil. There are bones found there from a variety of time periods though and the distinction between fossil and just very old isn't always clear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethologist Posted January 18, 2012 Author Share Posted January 18, 2012 I have been tapping it, but can't quite seem to decide. Although I am leaning towards fossilized, as it sounds very similar to how a fossil sounds. I will keep tapping it once it dries out. And I will try and get out a known fossilized bone and a known modern bone and try a comparison tap between the three. Does anyone have any ideas on what kind of organism it came from and what specific bone it is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 My guess, based on the fact that it once had a core of cancellous (spongiform) bone, is that it is from a land mammal (vs marine); as such, the odds favor that it is Pleistocene or later. "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...
Rockwood Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Second on those odds. I suspect it will get lighter as it dries out. Even early colonial is still pretty neat though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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