TJNTM Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 Hello, I bought this dinosaur fossil a while back and have tried to figure out it's id. I was told it is from Alberta and think it's part of leg bone but not sure if it is hadrosaur or theropod? It is pretty large about the size of a football that is why I am thinking it is part of a leg bone. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 Welcome to the Forum. Can we get views from all sides of the fossil? Also, please put a ruler or tape measure in the photo for scale. Regards, 2 Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plax Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 I'm thinking that Alberta vertebrate fossils may not be sold? Could be wrong and welcome enlightenment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJNTM Posted January 17, 2017 Author Share Posted January 17, 2017 I added a few more pics that I just took. It is a bit smaller than a football but I put a measuring tape beside it. I have been told it is ok to own Alberta fossils as long as it was collected before a certain date... I think the laws are more on going out and digging dinosaurs yourself without a permit which is not allowed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJNTM Posted January 17, 2017 Author Share Posted January 17, 2017 It won't let me add anymore photos right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFOOLEY Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 Perhaps a ceratopsian vertebra. "I am glad I shall never be young without wild country to be young in. Of what avail are forty freedoms without a blank spot on the map?" ~Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) New Mexico Museum of Natural History Bulletins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgehiker Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 You have a bone end. Not possible to tell the dino family. The preservation is typical of Horseshoe Canyon Formation...if you look on a map this formation is most common exposed along the Red Deer River from Drumheller up to Dry Island Buffalo Jump. The reddish brown coating is what we call 'ironstone'. Specimens like yours are fairly common eroding out of deposits that were from river floods that that flowed into the inland sea. Re Alberta laws...it depends. If someone is selling fossils from Alberta it 'may' not be legal. However the specimen may have a certificate of ownership if collected prior to the 1980's. If someone outside of Alberta is selling Alberta fossils, then things get murky. Ask for the certificate if buying an Alberta fossil! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJNTM Posted January 17, 2017 Author Share Posted January 17, 2017 Would you know what bone this is the end too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJNTM Posted January 17, 2017 Author Share Posted January 17, 2017 Here is another photo of it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgehiker Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 I cant tell if the lateral side of a hadrosar femur or the end of of a theropod bone. It depends how deep the circular atrachment point is. The second photo looks theropod. Theropod bones are hollow but often the bone has been filled tight with sediment. anyways, look up Tyrannosaur bone ends and Hadrosaur femur ends and try to orient your specimen to these. You may be able to tell if you have a lot of surface coating that is subduing the theropod shape. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJNTM Posted January 18, 2017 Author Share Posted January 18, 2017 Could it be the end of a Tyrannosaur humerus as so far it looks close to that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 No, not a humerus. I think it is a toe bone. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJNTM Posted January 18, 2017 Author Share Posted January 18, 2017 I think you might be right I looked at pictures of Tyrannosaur Toe Bones and it looks very similar to the ones I looked up. Thank you so much I will be posting other bones that I can't identify soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossiling Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 But be careful, the tyrannosaurids are pretty hard to tell apart. It's best to label it as tyrannosaurid indet. than as tyrannosaurus sp. Keep looking! They're everywhere! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJNTM Posted January 18, 2017 Author Share Posted January 18, 2017 Ok thank you so much everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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