KSRebel Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 First, I am clueless as to what this is. I am guessing whale because the vertebral body is concave on one end and convex on the other. It is pure stone, and I am wondering if it could be hadrosaur based on some pictures I saw. Cretaceous is just a guess as most of what I found was from that period. I bought it from the son of a fisherman who found it on the banks of the Kansas River in the Kansas City area. Any help is really appreciated. My dream as a child was to be a paleontologist so this is specially cool to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 I can say that it is not a whale. @Troodon can help. Welcome to TFF! Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDudeCO Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 I believe Hadrosaur would be concave on both sides, and they are definitely more squished and thinner. I am thinking bison, but there seems to be something odd about this one that mine doesn't show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 The end on view of the centrum looks hadrosaurian, but hadr verts are generally less concave and convex than this on. Otherwise it doesn't look very hadrosayrian. I think fossildude may be onto something with bison. Also, i don't think there is any cretaceous anywhere near KC. Western kansas, yes. Eastern KS, nope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 Does not look dinosaurian all I can add, much more recent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXV24 Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 Hi, @KSRebel, I agree with @FossilDudeCO,I may be wrong but I think it's a thoracic vertebrae from either the extinct Bison occidentalis or the extant Bison bison, if you compare with this specimen from google images (below) it seems to show some strong similarities with your vertebrae (yours is missing the spinous process and some other processes), it's from B.occidentalis and was (according to the site) collected from the Kansas River Beds in Wyandotte County, Kansas, which from a search on Google Maps is also on the outskirts of Kansas City along the Kansas River, the same area as where your specimen was found. Therefore I'd say it's a Bison (either B.occidentalis or B.bison) and judging from the locality is possibly from the Kansas River Beds meaning it would date anywhere from the Ice Age until recently (although if it's fossilised then probably the Ice Age). Hopefully this is helpful, like I said I could be wrong but the locality and morphology seem to add up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordTrilobite Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 The lack of articulation surface for ribs and the lateral processes indicate that this is a lumbar vertebra. The postzygapophyses are consistent with bison. Olof Moleman AKA Lord Trilobite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xiphactinus Posted June 5, 2017 Share Posted June 5, 2017 Kansas River is Pleistocene to Recent. That is a bison vert., and based on the mineralization and size, I agree with B. occidentalis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSRebel Posted June 6, 2017 Author Share Posted June 6, 2017 (edited) WOW! You all are awesome. Thanks so much for your help. It seems to be a Bison from what, 3.5 to 4 million years ago? My only question about being a B.occidentalis is that the item is is fully stone. Would it have had enough time to fully 'fossilize'. You are the pros. I also have a very large bone that I think is mastadon or mammoth that I bought from the same guy. It was a package deal. It is too big for a cow and came from the same river. it is about 8-10% fossilized but basically bone. The head is 8" x 6" and is 4" x 4' where it is broken off about 9" from the head. I am thinking it is a humorus. Can we put bones on here?" What a great forum and wonderful contributors. You are all appreciated. KSRebel (Rebel refers to University of Mississippi) Edited June 6, 2017 by KSRebel appreciation and question Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xiphactinus Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 KSRebel - The Kansas River deposits are from multiple glacial periods. The river cuts through the various deposits and drops the bones on the sandbars after rains. The level of mineralization how much they feel like "rock" is more dependent upon the minerals in that area than the age of the bone. I have mammoth bones from the river that are pretty light and tan and bones that were cut by a butcher saw that were dark and more mineralized. If I were to label the bison bone, I would label it. Bison vertebra. Kansas River deposits. Late Pleistocene. Would love to see the photos of your other bone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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