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Desert_survivor

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Hi Everyone! I found this today digging in an outcropping of the San Mateo formation in Oceanside, California. I have found horse teeth at this site before. Not sure about this one, but I am wondering if it could be a hoof? Any thoughts are greatly appreciated! Thanks 

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I considered it might be a provocatively shaped rock, but the porous nature of one side is reminiscent of bone. Plus, it just doesn't look or feel like the other rocks from the site. 

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46 minutes ago, GeschWhat said:

The shape reminds me of a whale ear bone, but I don't know if they are porous like yours. Best wait for the experts!

+1 for possible whale bulla

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Great thought! I looked at photos of whale bullae and it looks like a good fit. This is an interesting site because it produces marine and terrestrial fossils (depending on the layer), so it could definitely be whale. Thanks for the thoughts!

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Yes, I would be very happy to be completely wrong, hope it is a whale bulla. :)

It looks like it, now. 

Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Yeah, I think you can get a mix of terrestrial and marine fossils in the lower and upper part of the San Mateo.  It's mostly marine in the upper part but I've seen horse teeth from it as well (Dinohippus).  Some of the fossils are pretty beat-up from postmortem wear so only the more sturdy remains tend to survive in recognizable condition.  That does look like a bumped-around bulla and it's dolphin-sized (dolphin as in an early species of a modern genus like Stenella).  I've seen some pretty well-preserved dolphin petrosals (periotics) from the layer as well.

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