ID help on New Jersey Cretaceous fossils (reptile)

[frankh8147]

Hello everyone!

 

I need some help on identification with a few fossils from Monmouth County, New Jersey. I believe the fossils in the first two groups of pictures are all Cretaceous Marine reptile bone but I was wondering if anyone could link any of them to any particular creature. The second is a vertebra I recently found; I was thinking possible Plesiosaur but was unsure. Thanks! -Frank

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[ynot]

Look like chunkasaurus to Me.

Maybe someone else can tell more.

[frankh8147]

One more picture of the middle group..

 

[frankh8147]

16 minutes ago, ynot said:

Look like chunkasaurus to Me.

Maybe someone else can tell more.

That's what most of the fossil bone I find here gets labeled as. Once in a while you get lucky and find a large chunk of bone with something diagnostic but as a whole, most of the reptile bone I find goes unidentified. I'm just wondering if there is anything about these examples in the structure that can lead to an ID.  

[Al Dente]

Your vertebra is from a shark or ray. The layered edge is consistent with Squatina but I think Brachyrhizodus is possible too.

[Mike from North Queensland]

Your larger piece from the first photo looks to be a section of the neural arch of a vertebra 

Mike

[frankh8147]

19 hours ago, Al Dente said:

Your vertebra is from a shark or ray. The layered edge is consistent with Squatina but I think Brachyrhizodus is possible too.

Interesting! I have never found a Squatina without the cartilage attached so that wasn't even on my radar. Brachyrhizodus tends to have more of an oval shape and this isn't matching up well against my others but I wouldn't necessarily rule it out.

[frankh8147]

On 7/25/2017 at 5:45 AM, Mike from North Queensland said:

Your larger piece from the first photo looks to be a section of the neural arch of a vertebra 

 

Mike

I think that can definitely be the case. Thank you!

[frankh8147]

I wanted to update this post for sake of future research. The vert. was looked at by the museum and ended being bony fish; most likely Xiphactinus vetus. I think most of the other are likely impossible to identify. As always, thanks again and happy holidays!!  -Frank

 

[The Jersey Devil]

The vertebra looks like a typical ray vert. What was their reasoning for it being from a bony fish? Happy Holidays!

[Al Dente]

1 hour ago, frankh8147 said:

I wanted to update this post for sake of future research. The vert. was looked at by the museum and ended being bony fish; most likely Xiphactinus vetus. I think most of the other are likely impossible to identify. As always, thanks again and happy holidays!!  -Frank

 

Not Xiphactinus. They have several large foramina on the sides. 

[frankh8147]

@josephstrizhak @Al Dente

 

Happy holidays to you too and thank you for all of your help and research with IDs'!

 

I understand that everyone gets ID's wrong sometimes (especially with an example as worn as this) so as always, I am open to new ideas. After hearing it was probably fish, I compared some examples, researched online and made the same conclusion myself.

 

From what I read, rays verts. from the time period have an oval shape - that correlates with the rays' I found (pictures below). They also look off when you compare them together. Examples of Squatina I have seen and found just don't pass the eye test for me (but they are pretty rare here so I haven't seen many examples to compare - I'll post a few pics. of some I've found but would be very curious to see more images).

 

So that's what led me to agree with the original ID; Below are pictures. As you know; I'm always happy to change my opinion and most importantly LEARN SOMETHING NEW!!  Let me know what you think!

 

 

 

 

 

 

So to me, it compared better with these know examples (first two pics. are of my fossil, second two are of known Xiphactinus examples)..any chance it could just be really worn, like these two?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[frankh8147]

Finally, here is the Squatina I found (which has been donated). I have other, rougher examples too which basically look like this one. They do not match to me, but other images of Squatina verts., which match mine, would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks again everyone!

[frankh8147]

I found one more comparison.. Mine is the 1st one; 2nd is a Xiphactinus vert. from Kansas https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Xiphactinus-audax-vertebra-Niobrara-fm-Kansas-Cretaceous-fossil-fish-/122185468615

 

 

[Al Dente]

Bony fish bones can have a flaky appearance but the centra  of Squatina and some Cretaceous rays will have concentric layers through the entire centra which is what I think I see in your fossil. Here are some examples I pulled from the internet of Xiphactinus to compare to your fossil.

[Al Dente]

Here are some fossil Squatina centra from the internet with a brief description of their centra. Here is a link to a TFF discussion on a broken Brachyrhizodus centrum that displays the concentric layers- http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/72438-ramanessin-brook-id-please/

 

 

 

 

[frankh8147]

Tough call. On those two charts though, I like G - L (especially G - K) on the first chart, compared to this angle of the one in question ..

 

 

 

 

 

 

As opposed to anything on the second chart, which seem to correlate nicely to my comparison pieces of ray vertabrae (pictured below my fossil in question here)..Mostly based on the oval shape.