Doctor Mud Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 (edited) Hi Folks, I came across this chunk of concretion recently while wandering on a beach in New Zealand. This is a Miocene marine siltstone. There are several bone fragments that seem to run length-ways along the rock. Since the rock splits cleanly here and I can only carry a limited amount, I split of a piece to get an inside look. The bone looks too thin to me to be mammalian and it could possibly be bird or fish. It looks like the bone should be easily exposed using an air scribe after the block is glued back together. First image: Overview of the block with top view and views A and B. Views A and B look at the ends. The rock on view B has been wet to improve contrast between bone and rock. Second image: Close up of the largest bone in View B. Note the interesting projections (curved pointy bits) on the top. Last image: Split fragment from the top. Note the thin walls on the bone with interior void space. Might be a bit difficult to tell what this is until I expose more with the scribe. Edited January 26, 2015 by Doctor Mud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave pom Allen Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 looks interesting ,i look forward to seeing what you can do with it and what you can expose. its a long walk along the rail tracks in the hot sun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boesse Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 Cute! It's a little long-snouted odontocete. I'll send the link to this to Ewan. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 Woah, how'd you get that, Boesse? Which parts are we looking at?Cheers. "Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe" - Saint Augustine"Those who can not see past their own nose deserve our pity more than anything else." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor Mud Posted January 26, 2015 Author Share Posted January 26, 2015 (edited) Thanks Bobby! Is that the rostrum (skull material) that is exposed in the fracture surface? I can send this send to you at Otago if you are interested in this specimen. I'd also be happy to do this after some prep. Unless you think this is important enough to be done by the professionals. Edited January 26, 2015 by Doctor Mud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor Mud Posted January 27, 2015 Author Share Posted January 27, 2015 looks interesting ,i look forward to seeing what you can do with it and what you can expose. its a long walk along the rail tracks in the hot sun. Thanks Dave, This one is from the Canterbury coast. No walk along the tracks but it has been hot lately, with long hikes along the coast. Plenty of sunscreen and I went through 3 L of water on the day I found this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor Mud Posted January 29, 2015 Author Share Posted January 29, 2015 This specimen now resides in the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch! I was contacted by the curator of natural history who said they would like to add this to their collection. They have found several small odontocetes ("dolphins") like this one from this area. The others belong to the family Kentriodontidae http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentriodontidae They plan to do a CT scan on the concretion and then, if it looks promising prep. it out. I think we are looking at the front of the skull on the left in the second image. My guess is that the braincase is missing. Looks like the lower jaw to the right. There could even be a tooth on the left (the black circular object). All will hopefully become clear after the CT scan. I'll keep you posted. They have had great results with CT scans on this type of rock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 That went quick! Sounds exciting! Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor Mud Posted February 13, 2015 Author Share Posted February 13, 2015 That went quick! Sounds exciting! Yes, the museum contacted me and I was hoping on a plane back to Australia, so it all happened quickly. Funny - I walked for many km this day and found this specimen on the last km before the track back up to the car, or "well picked over" ground. Goes to show that these beaches are changing all the time and there are still cool things to be found even in accessible parts. They said they would CT scan the concretion so I'll keep you posted. I have another piece with bones in, but its not clear what they are. CT scanning would probably be the way to go on this bit too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 This specimen now resides in the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch!... Outstanding! It looks like the whole connection started on the Forum, too Would you please consider posting this donation in the Partner's Gallery"? LINK "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...
Doctor Mud Posted February 14, 2015 Author Share Posted February 14, 2015 Outstanding! It looks like the whole connection started on the Forum, too Would you please consider posting this donation in the Partner's Gallery"? LINK Yes - it all happened right here - posting an unknown, ID by our resident marine mammal expert (Boesse/Bobby) and it being noticed by the curator at the museum. A couple of phone calls was all it took. Unfortunately I couldn't drop it off myself but I now have an invitation to look behind the scenes next time I'm in NZ! I'm off to the link now to catch up on the specimens I donated to science over the last two years via the link! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Congratulations to our newest Paleo Partner! "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...
JohnJ Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Well done. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor Mud Posted February 14, 2015 Author Share Posted February 14, 2015 Thanks guys! It would have been much harder to make the necessary connections without this site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilized6s Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Congrats Doc Mud! ~Charlie~ "There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why.....i dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" ~RFK ->Get your Mosasaur print ->How to spot a fake Trilobite ->How to identify a CONCRETION from a DINOSAUR EGG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roz Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Now that is so very cool! Welcome to the forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
izak_ Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Congratulations, Doctor Mud What on earth is PaleoPartner? Is it new? o.O Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilized6s Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Congratulations, Doctor Mud What on earth is PaleoPartner? Is it new? o.O PaleoPartner- when someone donates their finds to a museum or Paleontologist for further study. And ultimately helping expand the ever growing knowledge and understanding of our past. 1 ~Charlie~ "There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why.....i dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" ~RFK ->Get your Mosasaur print ->How to spot a fake Trilobite ->How to identify a CONCRETION from a DINOSAUR EGG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Congratulations, Doctor Mud What on earth is PaleoPartner? Is it new? o.O Prepare to be amazed: LINK "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...
izak_ Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Oh, cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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