Lil Skull with brains and all?!

[AshHendrick]

This looks like a little skull with brains and such still intact - is that wishful thinking? Found this at GreensMill Run, Greenville, NC. It's fossilized, was found in a huge array from horse tooth to shark teeth to whale bone and lots of tilly fish bones etc. Is it a skull, if so is it fish? I am assuming fish because I've not found much of anything mammal fossilized at GMR aside from horse teeth, which this obviously wouldn't be a horse. 

[EMP]

Looks crustacean. Brains and other soft tissues/organs are extremely rare to find fossilized because it's hard for them to mineralize in order to be preserved. That, and animals typically eat them .

 

At any rate it sure is cool looking.

[MSirmon]

It looks crablike to me but to be honest am just guessing 

[abyssunder]

It looks like a hyperostosed neurocranium of a fish.

[AshHendrick]

forgot to note size, it's tiny - took these photos with a digital microscope. the square boxes are 1/8 inch i think. 

[BobWill]

I agree with abyssunder. It looks like some found by @Roz but hers are Pennsylvanian.

[LordTrilobite]

Looks like a partial braincase with an endocast infill. The shape of the endocast looks a bit birdlike to me.

[Ludwigia]

It sure could be an endocast of something. I'd show it to the nearest paleontologist if I were you.

[PFOOLEY]

5 hours ago, LordTrilobite said:

...The shape of the endocast looks a bit birdlike to me.

 

9 hours ago, AshHendrick said:

...took these photos with a digital microscope. the square boxes are 1/8 inch i think. 

 

 

@Auspex

[Al Dente]

I'm pretty sure its not an endocast. You can see cancellous bone around the edges. I think it is part of a fish skull. I'll have to search my collection to see if I can find a similar one.

[njfossilhunter]

7 hours ago, LordTrilobite said:

Looks like a partial braincase with an endocast infill. The shape of the endocast looks a bit birdlike to me.

 

I agree with Lordtrilobite about being a cast of the brain which I think is a wonderful fossil because these things are rather rare......I'm 

[RJB]

Whatever it is, its darn interesting! 

 

RB

[doushantuo]

I think it's time i posted the following

 

[AshHendrick]

and people couldn't understand why I was SO excited about this, much more than the teeth I found which I'll have to post later on my blog (some amazing conditions etc) man this is exciting!! it's killing my soul to be at work right now, sitting here in a cube and not out finding more treasures!

 

I don't know if there is a paleo here at ECU in my town that would find this of interest but I will reach out and ask if thoughts are I should based on the comment from Ludwigia. 

 

It's honestly a wonder I even saw it because it would have fell through my screen given I was using 1/2 inch mesh. I need to go back and sift through with a smaller screen to see what other little oddities might be about. 

[GeschWhat]

Wow...you did hit a honey hole!

[RickNC]

I have a similar piece from there. I can bring it this weekend. 

[Al Dente]

Here are some fish neurocrania from several Pliocene Yorktown Formation localities. Each picture shows the underneath side of the skull. The first is a pair of sea robin skulls. I have several sea robin skulls and no two are alike, the one on the right shows a pair of bumps that look like they could grow into the lobes that AshHendrick’s skull has. The next picture shows a pair of fish skulls (I don’t know the species) that are also different looking from each other but I think are the same species. The one on the right shows a nice pair of bumps that have fused (very top of the picture). The next two are unknown species that also have bumps.

[Fossildude19]

I wonder if @Carl could have Dr. Maisey have a look at Ash's piece. 

Regards,

[Carl]

1 hour ago, Fossildude19 said:

I wonder if @Carl could have Dr. Maisey have a look at Ash's piece. 

Regards,

Stand by!

[Fossildude19]

Brightened:

 

               

[Carl]

Here's what I got from Maisey:

Yes, skull roof, teleost of some kind (great, that narrows it down to 50% of vertebrate spp!). Presumably these fossils represent taxa that are still around. Unfortunately I don't know enough about teleost skulls to be much help. [Maisey specializes in chondrichthyans]

[Fossildude19]

Thanks for the update, Carl.  

[Ludwigia]

Sounds fishy to me Nicely done for Ash, Carl.

[abyssunder]

I recall an image (fig.68) from Geology and Paleontology of the Lee Creek Mine, North Carolina, III, sowing hyperostosed skull roof.

 

[AshHendrick]

Carl, thank you so much!! This is quite exciting!  I will be going back with a smaller screen soon (supposed to rain all weekend) so if I find some more of these wonders and you'd like one for your collection let me know - least I can do for all your help!! If I find 10 then every one gets one, it will be like an Oprah show but on the fossil forum!  LOL!