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Purisima formation marine mammal?


beach_hunter

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Hello Fossil Forum!

I live in Northern California, and have been learning about the geology and fossils of our area so I am very excited to have found this forum. From what I have found so far, I believe the fossils I have been collecting are from the Purisima formation based on the location and appearance. These were collected near Santa Cruz, so hoping to get some more info and possible identification.

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Welcome to the Forum, beach hunter. I can't help with the ID of your find, but Iike your very good photos! :)

Julianna

 
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Yup, that's a bit of mysticete whale bone alright; not sure what it is, because it's a chunk, so to speak. I've done a lot of research on Purisima Fm. marine mammals over the past decade.

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Thank you for the responses, I suspected it was some sort of whale. In the last photo I posted, there is something very different about the texture of the bottom right portion of the bone. It is not porous and doesnt have the typical bony honeycomb texture, it is very smooth and looks like it is made of a different material. I have seen a lot of whale bones on this forum, but that textured part seems like something different and was hoping that may help identify it. Do you have any ideas on what that part of the bones might be?

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My take is that it is a topographic depression wherein the cortical bone was not subject to (as much) abrasion.

It may be a clue as to which skeletal element the fragment represents, but I suspect it would take a lot of comparison to an extensive collection to even make a guess.

"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!

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That's cemented siltstone that is retained within a void or hole/pit in the bone.

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