CJBuhler Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 My daughter and I were fossil hunting near our farm last night and she found this. It looks like a vertebrae to me. Is it a vertebrae? If so, what might it be from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 It would really help if you could state where geographically it was found and if you know the age of deposit. It does look rather shark to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilized6s Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 Neat. It does look like a shark vertebra. ~Charlie~ "There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why.....i dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" ~RFK ->Get your Mosasaur print ->How to spot a fake Trilobite ->How to identify a CONCRETION from a DINOSAUR EGG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJBuhler Posted June 10, 2017 Author Share Posted June 10, 2017 We just went into the hills near our farm and started digging in the areas of rain runoff. We're in Graham County, KS. If that helps. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 I think it might be a bony fish vertebra but would need pictures of the sides to be sure. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*THEO* Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 23 minutes ago, CJBuhler said: We just went into the hills near our farm and started digging in the areas of rain runoff. We're in Graham County, KS. If that helps. Since you are from Kansas this is most likely Xiphactinus or another Cretaceous bony fish vertebrae I think. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJBuhler Posted June 10, 2017 Author Share Posted June 10, 2017 Here's the side with striations Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJBuhler Posted June 10, 2017 Author Share Posted June 10, 2017 I looked up a geologic map of our county and it has the area we found the fossil vertebrae in named Niobrara Chalk. Does that help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Speeding Carno Posted June 11, 2017 Share Posted June 11, 2017 On 6/10/2017 at 5:41 PM, CJBuhler said: I looked up a geologic map of our county and it has the area we found the fossil vertebrae in named Niobrara Chalk. Does that help? It certainly does, my best guess is indeed Xiphactinus as, to my knowledge, it is rather common in this formation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fun Finding Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 I find these in the smokey hill chalk of kansas all the time because of the sise i would think to say Xiphactinus .But then that would have come from a small Xiphactinus. ( Or a Really BIG Shark). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squali Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Publications/Bulletins/225/02_intro.html CJBuhler- above is a good paper to check out regarding the world famous Niobrara Chalk that you are so fortunate to be located amongst. I'm thinking your vertebra is from a bony fish as well. An important thing to remember is that the Niobrara is known for preserving articulated specimens. So there may be some more vertebrae down there in the wash. good luck and keep us posted. It's hard to remember why you drained the swamp when your surrounded by alligators. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJBuhler Posted June 13, 2017 Author Share Posted June 13, 2017 Great! Thanks for the help guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobWill Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 This could certainly be from an x-fish but without any sign of a process attachment it could just as easily be from a shark. Google images of each for comparison and you will see the similarities and differences. I have seen shark verts in Texas almost 5 inches across so it's not too large for shark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJBuhler Posted June 13, 2017 Author Share Posted June 13, 2017 We're returning to the wash where it was found tomorrow, as well as checking out the quarries nearby. My daughter is so excited about paleontology! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 It is a fish vertebra in my book. It doesn't look shark-like enough to me. (Notice that a single piece of backbone is a vertebra, several of them are vertebrae). The Niobrara has a lot of fish fossils, but nearby quarries might be in Quaternary (= Ice Age) deposits that sit above the Cretaceous Niobrara Chalk. But good luck in the draw and the quarry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KansasFossilHunter Posted June 20, 2017 Share Posted June 20, 2017 I'm thinking some kind of Elopiform (Like Pachyrizodus) or a Plethodid (like Pentanogmius). Not a shark and not a Xiphactinus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doushantuo Posted June 20, 2017 Share Posted June 20, 2017 Pentanogmius evolutus(taverne,2004) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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