Big ole bone- north Texas ?

[John S.]

Found this guy today. It was float material in a creek with eagle ford exposure. Much bigger than anything I've found in this area. Maybe a huge vertebra or pelvic piece? Somebody please say Dino ; )

[John S.]

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[John S.]

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[John S.]

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[Auspex]

I am not good enough to proclaim the "D" word, but the cellular structure is very suggestive!

[JohnJ]

Very cool find, John. Is that close to some Woodbine exposures up there?

[John S.]

Thanks guys this is north of Dallas about 5-8 miles from the woodbine. So it appears to be all bone but a big part of it has a strange look to it. I'm not sure what that surface is. Any ideas here? The entire piece is extremely dense and weighs around 10 lbs.

Edited February 1, 2016 by John S.

[JohnJ]

Remarkable. I'd take that one in to let Polcyn see it.

[supertramp]

Hi John,

I think it's a crystal intergrowth.

ciao

[John S.]

Thanks guys. The crystals could make sense. Wondering about plesiosaur or turtle.

[JarrodB]

That is a killer find John.

[John S.]

Thanks. I hope it's not one of those mysteries that I obsess about : )

[JarrodB]

Thanks. I hope it's not one of those mysteries that I obsess about : )

I think it's a Mastodon sacrum. I've attached a pic for reference.

Edited February 1, 2016 by JarrodB

[John S.]

That's a great thought Jarrod. Not sure though, it looks Cretaceous age to me. I have a mammoth/mastodon femur head from the same area. They look much different.

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/gallery/image/37548-mammoth-femur-head1/

[JarrodB]

That's a great thought Jarrod. Not sure though, it looks Cretaceous age to me. I have a mammoth/mastodon femur head from the same area. They look much different.

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/gallery/image/37548-mammoth-femur-head1/

If it's Cretaceous you have a good chance with Dino. I'm sure someone on here will be able to ID it.

[John S.]

I talked to an expert who pretty much ruled out plesiosaur,mosasaur. He votes for Dino limb bone fragment.

[JohnJ]

I talked to an expert who pretty much ruled out plesiosaur,mosasaur. He votes for Dino limb bone fragment.

Since it appears that the exterior of the bone has mostly been eroded away, this one would better be identified by an "in hand" examination. If you're sure of the geology, I still wouldn't rule out marine reptile until an in hand review.

[John S.]

Since it appears that the exterior of the bone has mostly been eroded away, this one would better be identified by an "in hand" examination. If you're sure of the geology, I still wouldn't rule out marine reptile until an in hand review.

I hear that. I always assume marine reptile cause I know the odds of Dino. Might be time to make a visit.

[JohnJ]

To my eye, it has the bone texture found in mosasaurs and other marine reptiles.

[JohnJ]

John, this is one of my largest mosasaur vertebrae from here in Central Texas.

[John S.]

Could it be a huge Tylosaur vertebra?

[JohnJ]

In my opinion, as eroded as it is, ascribing a genus is unprovable.

[John S.]

I was just wondering if mosasaur verts get that big.

[believerjoe]

Did you send this to Mike?

My first thought with that hole where it was that it was a worn mosasaur vert. Seems common. The mess off to the side would have to have been some squished process or something and something has grown into it maybe. if all of that fits, then I see no reason. I hve seen those huge tylosaur verts up there and they are BIG. The convex knob is six inches or so on a few of the ones I saw. Supposedly a 50 footer...

of course, I am not certified in anything, but it was my first thought if that attachment could be explained. I think everything else looks good. So this could be a tylosaur dorsal to me. Again, Tylosaue only because of the pure size.

Fun to talk about anyway!

[believerjoe]

Here are some tail bones to that beast! You might have seen them at the university...