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North Carolina Cretaceous Vertebra


sixgill pete

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I found this vert yesterday ina southeastern North Carolina quarry. The vert came from a hill of dark colored Cretaceous PeeDee Formation material. The trip leader was right near me when I found the vert and he commented that he thought it was mosasaur. However, since then I sent some pictures to a forum member and he thought it is Plesiosaur. I am hoping to get some other opinions on this. I really trust both of these persons opinions, but I am inclined to agree with the second opinion of Plesiosaur. 

 

I am looking forward to everyone comments and suggestions on this. 

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Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt
behind the trailer, my desert
Them red clay piles are heaven on earth
I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt

Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers

 

image.png.0c956e87cee523facebb6947cb34e842.png May 2016  MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160.png.b42a25e3438348310ba19ce6852f50c1.png May 2012 IPFOTM5.png.fb4f2a268e315c58c5980ed865b39e1f.png.1721b8912c45105152ac70b0ae8303c3.png.2b6263683ee32421d97e7fa481bd418a.pngAug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png.af5065d0585e85f4accd8b291bf0cc2e.png.72a83362710033c9bdc8510be7454b66.png.9171036128e7f95de57b6a0f03c491da.png Oct 2022

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Sorry I can't help with Identification, but nice find!

Dipleurawhisperer5.jpg          MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png

I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie.

 

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5 minutes ago, JohnJ said:

Definitely not mosasaur: I'd lean toward a heavily eroded plesiosaur caudal vertebra.

 

 

Thanks John. With that link, now there is absolutely no doubt in my mind.

Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt
behind the trailer, my desert
Them red clay piles are heaven on earth
I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt

Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers

 

image.png.0c956e87cee523facebb6947cb34e842.png May 2016  MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160.png.b42a25e3438348310ba19ce6852f50c1.png May 2012 IPFOTM5.png.fb4f2a268e315c58c5980ed865b39e1f.png.1721b8912c45105152ac70b0ae8303c3.png.2b6263683ee32421d97e7fa481bd418a.pngAug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png.af5065d0585e85f4accd8b291bf0cc2e.png.72a83362710033c9bdc8510be7454b66.png.9171036128e7f95de57b6a0f03c491da.png Oct 2022

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Looking at it on this monitor as opposed to my phone I agree that it looks more like plesiosaur. I have a couple if you want to compare. It does not look like the mosasaur verts I have found. 

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nice specimen! Never saw one from the Island Creek Member of the Peedee. I assume that hollowness is decomp of the porous part of the bone.

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10 hours ago, Plax said:

nice specimen! Never saw one from the Island Creek Member of the Peedee. I assume that hollowness is decomp of the porous part of the bone.

 

Thanks Plax, I agree that the hollowness is due to decomp of the bone.  I was wondering just how uncommon Plesiosaur material was from this quarry. Must be very if you have never seen one!

 

 

Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt
behind the trailer, my desert
Them red clay piles are heaven on earth
I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt

Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers

 

image.png.0c956e87cee523facebb6947cb34e842.png May 2016  MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160.png.b42a25e3438348310ba19ce6852f50c1.png May 2012 IPFOTM5.png.fb4f2a268e315c58c5980ed865b39e1f.png.1721b8912c45105152ac70b0ae8303c3.png.2b6263683ee32421d97e7fa481bd418a.pngAug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png.af5065d0585e85f4accd8b291bf0cc2e.png.72a83362710033c9bdc8510be7454b66.png.9171036128e7f95de57b6a0f03c491da.png Oct 2022

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1 hour ago, jcbshark said:

Great find Don, congrats!:dinothumb:

 

Thanks Jeff. 

 

10 hours ago, Jniederkorn said:

Wow!  Congrats, that is really great!

 

Thank You Julie. Ended up being even a better find than the tooth. Did you see the vert Friday?

Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt
behind the trailer, my desert
Them red clay piles are heaven on earth
I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt

Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers

 

image.png.0c956e87cee523facebb6947cb34e842.png May 2016  MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160.png.b42a25e3438348310ba19ce6852f50c1.png May 2012 IPFOTM5.png.fb4f2a268e315c58c5980ed865b39e1f.png.1721b8912c45105152ac70b0ae8303c3.png.2b6263683ee32421d97e7fa481bd418a.pngAug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png.af5065d0585e85f4accd8b291bf0cc2e.png.72a83362710033c9bdc8510be7454b66.png.9171036128e7f95de57b6a0f03c491da.png Oct 2022

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3 hours ago, Al Dente said:

Nice rare find. 

 

Thanks Al Dente. Curious, have you seen one found in this quarry before?

Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt
behind the trailer, my desert
Them red clay piles are heaven on earth
I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt

Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers

 

image.png.0c956e87cee523facebb6947cb34e842.png May 2016  MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160.png.b42a25e3438348310ba19ce6852f50c1.png May 2012 IPFOTM5.png.fb4f2a268e315c58c5980ed865b39e1f.png.1721b8912c45105152ac70b0ae8303c3.png.2b6263683ee32421d97e7fa481bd418a.pngAug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png.af5065d0585e85f4accd8b291bf0cc2e.png.72a83362710033c9bdc8510be7454b66.png.9171036128e7f95de57b6a0f03c491da.png Oct 2022

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12 hours ago, sixgill pete said:

 

Thanks Plax, I agree that the hollowness is due to decomp of the bone.  I was wondering just how uncommon Plesiosaur material was from this quarry. Must be very if you have never seen one!

 

 

There may be many of them in the hands of private collectors that spend a lot of time in the quarry. We won't ever know about them unless they show them on a forum like this or donate them to a museum. When Volume IV of the NCSM encyclopedic work comes out we'll see what has been found in the state as far as Plesiosaurs.

link

http://collections.naturalsciences.org/resultsVertPaleo.aspx

you'll see what the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences has.

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57 minutes ago, sixgill pete said:

 

Thanks Al Dente. Curious, have you seen one found in this quarry before?

 

I've never seen one from there. I've only heard of a few from North Carolina.

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It's Plesiosaur. Nice find. I have a few examples I found in my gallery. 

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Does a Plesiosaurs vet get an larger? I have something similar but it's a little larger. I'll dig it out for a picture.

Coming out of the Meherrin we always assumed it was whale/porpoise.

Craig

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On 12/6/2016 at 9:21 AM, Plax said:

When Volume IV of the NCSM encyclopedic work comes out we'll see what has been found in the state as far as Plesiosaurs.

 

 

From what I can see from e mails with Richard it is in fact very little. I have some suspected teeth from a site in Wayne County, but they are only partial and worn so cannot be confirmed. I do know of 2 verts that are from the same site, Richard has pics of them.

Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt
behind the trailer, my desert
Them red clay piles are heaven on earth
I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt

Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers

 

image.png.0c956e87cee523facebb6947cb34e842.png May 2016  MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160.png.b42a25e3438348310ba19ce6852f50c1.png May 2012 IPFOTM5.png.fb4f2a268e315c58c5980ed865b39e1f.png.1721b8912c45105152ac70b0ae8303c3.png.2b6263683ee32421d97e7fa481bd418a.pngAug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png.af5065d0585e85f4accd8b291bf0cc2e.png.72a83362710033c9bdc8510be7454b66.png.9171036128e7f95de57b6a0f03c491da.png Oct 2022

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On 12/7/2016 at 0:25 PM, Plax said:

it is cetacean if from the Meherrin but yes they get much larger

that is what we were thinking, but after the Rhino tooth from the same spot (and some others to id) we don't take anything for granted.

Craig

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8 hours ago, Can'tGetRight said:

that is what we were thinking, but after the Rhino tooth from the same spot (and some others to id) we don't take anything for granted.

Craig

 

 

To my knowledge there are no Cretaceous exposures in that area of North Carolina. The exposures in the Meherrin are  Pliocene / Pleistocene. 

Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt
behind the trailer, my desert
Them red clay piles are heaven on earth
I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt

Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers

 

image.png.0c956e87cee523facebb6947cb34e842.png May 2016  MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160.png.b42a25e3438348310ba19ce6852f50c1.png May 2012 IPFOTM5.png.fb4f2a268e315c58c5980ed865b39e1f.png.1721b8912c45105152ac70b0ae8303c3.png.2b6263683ee32421d97e7fa481bd418a.pngAug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png.af5065d0585e85f4accd8b291bf0cc2e.png.72a83362710033c9bdc8510be7454b66.png.9171036128e7f95de57b6a0f03c491da.png Oct 2022

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