Portuguese finds

[Masp]

So as I said before in my other Portugal threads, I unfortunately didn’t have any luck with finding any dinosaur fossil material, however  I did come across some interesting things more modern..much more modern.  These may not be of interest to all,  but most, or all these are modern. I still thought they were interesting and  I’m still not sure on what they are, so I figured I would post them for feedback. 

 

 

 

This tooth below was the most interesting.  I took it over to my buddy paleontologist David Parris over at Trenton State Museum and he identified it as a horse tooth. It could be more on the modern side..but he said it doesn’t look too, too modern because there is some mineralization on the tooth. Said it could possibly even be from plesitocene. 

[Masp]

Probably should’ve just thrown this out lol..but a modern fish vert. ?

[Masp]

Another friend ID’d this one as a modern pine. What do you guys think?

[Masp]

Another modern, mammal bone.  Really don’t even think this one can be assigned to any specific mammel..too fragmented. 

[Masp]

Horse hoof. Modern. 

[Masp]

Shell

[Masp]

No clue but seems like modern baby mammal bone

[Masp]

Because of how symmetric this was I thought maybe it was an arrowhead or something but I’m sure it’s just a regular rock, purely coincidence. 

[Vieira]

8 minutes ago, Masp said:

Another friend ID’d this one as a modern pine. What do you guys think?

 

This I have security it's from a modern pine.

[Masp]

@Vieira

[Vieira]

6 minutes ago, Masp said:

Shell

 

This looks like some type of Oyster to me....

[Vieira]

12 minutes ago, Masp said:

Probably should’ve just thrown this out lol..but a modern fish vert. ?

 

No doubt it's a modern vert of a fish.

 

The other things I'm not sure.... lets see some opinions.

[Masp]

@Vieira my next trip to Portugal I gotta do much better. 

[digit]

Interesting finds. Where are these coming from?

 

The horse tooth is definitely from an Equus (modern genus of horse). I see by the attached fauna (a barnacle and tube worm) that this one was recovered from a saltwater environment. It may be somewhat old but it doesn't appear to me to be fully mineralized. That being said, it could still be hundreds of years old for all I know. I suspect that if you gave it the "flame/burn test" and held a match or lighter to it that you'd smell the rather unpleasant odor of the protein in the collagen burning. This would indicate the level of mineralization. We speak of "fossilized" but what we are often getting at is "old enough to be mineralized". Most people would consider old bones like those of the Cave Bear found in Europe to be "fossils" but most have not gone through mineralization and would not pass the "burn test".

 

Much of the rest of your finds do seem to be on the more modern side. Do you know the geological age of where you are finding these?

 

Also, the black diamond-shaped item does appear to be from a pine cone (likely modern) and the "arrowhead" is only wishful thinking.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Masp]

3 minutes ago, digit said:

Interesting finds. Where are these coming from?

 

The horse tooth is definitely from an Equus (modern genus of horse). I see by the attached fauna (a barnacle and tube worm) that this one was recovered from a saltwater environment. It may be somewhat old but it doesn't appear to me to be fully mineralized. That being said, it could still be hundreds of years old for all I know. I suspect that if you gave it the "flame/burn test" and held a match or lighter to it that you'd smell the rather unpleasant odor of the protein in the collagen burning. This would indicate the level of mineralization. We speak of "fossilized" but what we are often getting at is "old enough to be mineralized". Most people would consider old bones like those of the Cave Bear found in Europe to be "fossils" but most have not gone through mineralization and would not pass the "burn test".

 

Much of the rest of your finds do seem to be on the more modern side. Do you know the geological age of where you are finding these?

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

My thoughts exactly..if anything like David Parris said too. It could be old meaning hundreds of years , but not ancient.. thanks for the feedback Ken! The bones were all found by Belem Tower in Lisbon

[digit]

Interesting. I'm unfamiliar with fossils from Portugal. Are Pleistocene (or older) fossils often found off the coast of Lisbon?

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Pemphix]

Except the shell no fossils here imo.

[Kane]

Just now, digit said:

Interesting. I'm unfamiliar with fossils from Portugal. Are Pleistocene (or older) fossils often found off the coast of Lisbon?

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

Lisbon has a lot of Cretaceous fossils (have a walk around Lisbon and look at some of the buildings to see a lot of oyster fossils!). There are some Pleistocene deposits, too, as there have been mammoth pieces found during construction in the city. The coastline of the river running through Lisbon is mostly built up, and I didn't manage to find any "natural" deposits. Some Cretaceous marine brachiopods can be seen in the walls and ramparts of the Sao Jorge castle.

[digit]

Nice! I'm a modicum more wiser today. Something to look forward to whenever I make it to Lisbon.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Max-fossils]

Cool finds! Really like the fossil oyster.

 

Next time you're in Portugal, I strongly recommend you go to the region in the south called Algarve. Went there 1 1/2 years ago, and my experience there was incredible. 

The people are incredibly friendly, the food is delicious, the coastline is awe-inspiring, and (most importantly) there are tons of fossils!!!

Mainly shells and corals from the Miocene. You can read all about my experience there here:

And especially here:

 

Just one tip: bring a hammer/pick. I made the mistake of not taking one which was a shame.  

[Masp]

14 minutes ago, digit said:

Interesting. I'm unfamiliar with fossils from Portugal. Are Pleistocene (or older) fossils often found off the coast of Lisbon?

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

I believe so but @Vieira would know more than me

[Masp]

12 minutes ago, Kane said:

Lisbon has a lot of Cretaceous fossils (have a walk around Lisbon and look at some of the buildings to see a lot of oyster fossils!). There are some Pleistocene deposits, too, as there have been mammoth pieces found during construction in the city. The coastline of the river running through Lisbon is mostly built up, and I didn't manage to find any "natural" deposits. Some Cretaceous marine brachiopods can be seen in the walls and ramparts of the Sao Jorge castle.

You mean like these I came across?

[Masp]

8 minutes ago, Max-fossils said:

Cool finds! Really like the fossil oyster.

 

Next time you're in Portugal, I strongly recommend you go to the region in the south called Algarve. Went there 1 1/2 years ago, and my experience there was incredible. 

The people are incredibly friendly, the food is delicious, the coastline is awe-inspiring, and (most importantly) there are tons of fossils!!!

Mainly shells and corals from the Miocene. You can read all about my experience there here:

And especially here:

 

Just one tip: bring a hammer/pick. I made the mistake of not taking one which was a shame.  

I was supposed to go believe it or not but ran out of time!! I needed another week in Portugal..haha. Next time I’ll go to Algarve. I’ll check out your post now..Thanks a lot for sharing!

[Max-fossils]

1 minute ago, Masp said:

I was supposed to go believe it or not but ran out of time!! I needed another week in Portugal..haha. Next time I’ll go to Algarve. I’ll check out your post now..Thanks a lot for sharing!

Aaaggh! Shame!

Hopefully you'll be back there soon.

[Masp]

I hope too..I gotta make it a point...loved Portugal.