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Kem Kem Dinosaur Rib?


JojoMozza

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Hi there,

I bought this nice dinosaur bone from the Kem Kem basin in Morocco. Just wondering if a rough ID is possible? The seller said it looked like a rib bone but wasn't sure. Is it a theropod or crocodylomorph?

It's had some repairs done to it; few gaps filled here and there.

All suggestions are much appreciated.

Thank you!

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I'm not very proficient with ribs other than the ones at dinner but yours does not look like one.  Ribs are typically not that shape,  more curved and the attachment point your right side are usually Y shaped.  See attached photo of one from a Spinosaurus.  Yours looks more like a partial chervon.   I'm also not certain if your is a composite or just how they repaired it. 

 

Photo from Wikipedia 

Spinosaurus_holotype.thumb.jpg.19cf98fda0652ace073c12013a8b225a.jpg

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@Troodon I think you're right. I've compared it to other rib fossils I have and the curvatures and shape are not right. The repair in the middle may indicate that it could be two different bones glued together? Thank you for your help!

Jojo

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If you take a close up of the repair both sides we can have a better look.  

 

Here is a big picture view of chevrons on Spino

 

building-spinosaurus-07-walking.jpg.17b1d409fcef74579ec466e9b3fa3ae3.jpg

 

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Here are the photos of both sides of the repair. Would close ups of other parts of the bone help?

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Thanks, the fill area is what's bothering me, the Moroccans use it to hide lots of problems.  The bottom line in my photo shows a pinch and the top arrow shows a slight V shape along the top, its not a smooth flow.  The color and preservation look pretty similiar especially with your closeups so I'll lean to it not being a composite just the shape of the bone and a less than perfect repair.   The bone quality looks great. 

 

SAM_8867.JPG.fef637c9db6a1397006b40a984591976.jpg.523755652a9cc8b4a8d50d9ff17cc891.jpg

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That's good! Do you think this came from a theropod of some sort or other reptile?

Thank you!

Jojo

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Troodon made some good points. The repair in the middle definitely looks suspicious, as does that pinch. I think I'll stay in the middle and say it could go either way. It's definitely been repaired. But it might be a composite. It has some suspicious parts, but the two ends of the bone seem to be of similar size and preservation.

 

There is a way you might be able to find out more about this repair. There seems to be some excess matrix. Removing that might reveal more details.

 

I think it looks more like a limb bone than a chevron btw. I don't see any evidence of forking here. but if it's a composite, it might be both a limb and chevron.

Olof Moleman AKA Lord Trilobite

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I've taken another look at it today and that repair still has me concerned, bones just don't fit like that, it just does not look natural.  Can you post pictures of thin side of the bone at the repair (both sides) it might tell us something.  To answer your question I would lean towards this being dinosaurian vs croc.

 

@LordTrilobiteI'm not seeing a limb bone.  I thought it could be a partial chervon with the Y missing but that right end is odd.

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@LordTrilobite I tried removing the matrix, but it refuses to come off. I think it has been glued on. I'll take some more photos of the bone and see if that helps

@Troodon Here are two photos of the edges.

Thank you guys for all your help!

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Too bad the matrix refuses to come off. Those new photos also look suspicious. The one side seems fatter than the other side. I don't think these two parts belong together. Otherwise it's a really nice bone.

Olof Moleman AKA Lord Trilobite

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Those new photos are very telling, the different in thickness is a real problem, I was hoping to see a smooth joint.  Sorry, I'm with LordTrilobite on this and don't believe they are a match.  The ends are cool and we'll preserved.  I still think the left, is dinosaurian.

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43 minutes ago, JojoMozza said:

 Thank you @Troodon and @LordTrilobite for your help. It's a little bit disappointing but the bone is still a really nice display piece. On the upside, you get two in one :D

 

I know that sometimes its not easy but don't hesitate to post items here before you buy to get opinions, especially if it's Morocco 

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And I would still try to clean that join. Maybe even carefullly break them apart if it's clear they do not belong together.

Olof Moleman AKA Lord Trilobite

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There are matching lines that are clearly continous across the join. Could @Troodon or @LordTrilobite explain to a bone novice why apart from thickness variation they think there is a problem with this? I would have been happy with that piece!

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21 minutes ago, westcoast said:

There are matching lines that are clearly continous across the join. Could @Troodon or @LordTrilobite explain to a bone novice why apart from thickness variation they think there is a problem with this? I would have been happy with that piece!

 

Can you show me where the matching lines are.

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This is the only matching line I can see. I'm not offering an opinion, I'd have no idea either way.

 

 

Untitled-1.jpg

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Thanks, I see that line your talking about,  it's hard to say especially with all the matrix around the repaired section, its very subjective..   It's possible that a section of bone is missing why the mismatch in thickness and pinch that is in the other view.  All a guess.  The other item to consider is that there is nothing obvious that this bone would fit being complete.  Not easy and I've changed my opinion a couple of times.  It's harder when you're not holding a bone, pictures don't always gives us answers.

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