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Gainesville Finds - Need help with ID for a couple of items


stephoknee

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Hi guys. I went to Gainesville Saturday to check out the local creeks. We spent most of the day at Alfred A Ring park and then briefly explored a few of the less accessible creeks (Possum, Rattlesnake). Besides easily identifiable small shark teeth and ray mouth plates, etc, I found a large chunk of bone in Possum Creek and this a strange lumpy item in Hogtown Creek. I have no idea what the lumpy item is or if it's even a fossil. It's much rougher in texture than any fossil I've ever found, which makes me think it's not actually a fossil, but I was hoping you guys could help me ID it regardless.

 

Thanks!

Steph

gainesville-1-sm.jpg

gainesville-2-sm.jpg

gainesville-3-sm.jpg

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The first look likes to me a bone fragment...

 

The second one it's not a fossil.

 

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That's what I suspected for the lumpy one. And I knew the other was a bone, but do you have any idea what kind of bone it is or which animal it might have come from? Thanks again for all your help.

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Agreed, the lumpy bubbly item seems to be a phosphatic concretion. I'd need to hold or see the first one closely to check its texture. It does has a suggestive bone-like shape to it but it may also be a piece of matrix masquerading as a bone. I don't recognize what bit of bone this might be as nothing comes to mind with that shape. Can you see any true bone texture or any cancellous (spongy) interior structure when looking closely at the item? If it appears to have a "sandy/grainy" structure instead, then it may just be another faker. I've seen some that I'd think just had to be fossils but closer inspection reveals they are bizarrely shaped matrix chunks.

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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The bone on the left I believe is a neural arch of a sirenian. As for the thing on the right - looks very similar to some coral-like bryozoan colonies I've seen before.

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Thanks again. If there is any interest, I can take better photos tomorrow, as well as include photos of some other bone fragments I found that may be identifiable. The thing on the right puzzles me and I was wondering if it might be a bacteria colony or something like that but wasn't sure. I'll follow the bryozoan path on google and see if I can turn anything up. I found a smaller one that looks almost exactly like that one, but I haven't taken photos of it yet.

 

I plan on taking another trip up to Gainesville in the next couple of weeks and explore some other locations that seem promising.

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