Lt.Mike Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 (edited) Paula took a walk to the stream behind our home to get some more fossil time in this afternoon. Last night she said she's fossiled out, now she's at it again??? Ok our stream is not the hot spot like other areas of central NJ but we do find teeth and other cool stuff on occasion. Today she pulled what I shrugged off as a soup bone but took a better look as it was riddled with the gnawing from rodents seeking the calcium it provided. As I held it, it was apparent that nothing has chewed on this in a very long time. It is heavy and feels more like stone than bone. Could this be a horn? Probably not enough here to make an ID but the weight and feel say fossil, I don't know what to think. I just wish I could put this in your hand. How long does it take for bone to make the transition to fossil? At any rate it the chew marks make it really cool. Hey if I had a couple more they'd make nice dinner napkin rings. Mike. Edited July 1, 2015 by Lt.Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 I'll bet that it will smell of burnt hair if you burned it, indicating the presence of collagen and suggesting that it is not of great antiquity. "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...
RichW9090 Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 My guess is that it has been chewed by a porcupine. Pretty cool! The plural of "anecdote" is not "evidence". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lt.Mike Posted July 1, 2015 Author Share Posted July 1, 2015 I can't bring myself to test that for fear of marring a cool piece. Paula suggests that it is a cows horn which seems right and I'd say that it had gotten buried long ago. It just feels unusually heavy and hard like stone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lt.Mike Posted July 1, 2015 Author Share Posted July 1, 2015 Though most likely not a fossil it will go on the shelf with the other non-fossil things of interest we've found out back, including arrowheads, clay lamps, colonial clay pipes and other native American artifacts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Horn doesn't fossilize. What you have is a section of the shaft of a long bone. What the rodent was chewing is called cortex, the exterior hard shell of a long-bone shaft. http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bone2stone Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Horn doesn't fossilize. What you have is a section of the shaft of a long bone. What the rodent was chewing is called cortex, the exterior hard shell of a long-bone shaft. What Harry said..... Additionally: That is a fine specimen of rodent scavenge. Don't see many that good. Jess B. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lt.Mike Posted July 1, 2015 Author Share Posted July 1, 2015 Thank you, always happy to learn. I've found antler sheds that were chewed up pretty well but this piece is like art work. It wouldn't be much of anything without those marks. Paula has a pretty good eye for the cool stuff. Now that we are both retired we will hitting the fossil sites probably a couple times a week and have tentative plans to make a couple out of state trips. It's gonna be a good summer. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpevahouse Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 (edited) Interesting bone because of the chew marks. There are no porcupines here in NJ I know of. However, beavers have had a substantial come back in central NJ. Not likely to be an old bone. Edited July 2, 2015 by jpevahouse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankh8147 Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 There actually are porcupines in New Jersey but they are up north; I don't know if you are familiar with Stokes State Forest, but I saw one there. They are very rare though, I go camping up there all the time and have only seen one in my life. I agree with beaver or other smaller rodents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 All rodents gnaw on bones (and I have been known to, but to not so great an effect). "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...
Lt.Mike Posted July 3, 2015 Author Share Posted July 3, 2015 (edited) Though maybe not fossilized I wouldn't doubt this piece is possibly 100 + years old. I have seen porcupine in NJ in the northern third of the state which is only 30 miles out. I have no doubt their range was much greater 100 years back. Coyotes and wolves ran the entire state back then. Couldn't find any in the second half of the 1900's now the coyotes have come back pretty much through the entire state. Got'em in my backyard from time to time. Maybe the porcupines will expand their range too. If you want to see a porcupine your best bet is around the Water Gap. The first will most likely be a DOR though. (Dead On Road) Edited July 3, 2015 by Lt.Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dryptosaur Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Actually, coyotes are not native to New Jersey. They have recently migrated to the east, the first one was seen in NJ in 1938. They probably are filling the niche that wolves left when they were wiped out in this area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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