allee016 Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 (edited) Hi, everyone! Got a strange one for you and would appreciate any helpful advice! Found in a cave in Scotland. Would have normally considered it a cranial fragment due to the rough texture on the flat side, but the strange, raised honeycomb/chain pattern on the other side is throwing me off. Not necessarily versed in fossils so figured this would be the place to go just to check for that. Photo is a bit misleading, btw - it’s a dark brown colour. Sorry for the lack of photo scale, used a 1p coin which was all I had on me. Edited June 8, 2018 by allee016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fifbrindacier Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 Hi, and welcome . It looks like a bit of septaria, an odd concretion that can give really lovely stones. See those photos for comparison : 1 "On ne voit bien que par le coeur, l'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry) "We only well see with the heart, the essential is invisible for the eyes." In memory of Doren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allee016 Posted June 8, 2018 Author Share Posted June 8, 2018 Hmm, the shape is right but the texture is most certainly bone or something. If it weren’t for the weird patterning, I would have said it’s a juvenile cranial fragment (although the flatness of the specimen makes this suspect as well). Will certainly look into septaria though as a reference! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fifbrindacier Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 Could you take photos in bright day light and give us its size ? "On ne voit bien que par le coeur, l'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry) "We only well see with the heart, the essential is invisible for the eyes." In memory of Doren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 Mammoths and mastodons have similar bone in their skulls. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allee016 Posted June 8, 2018 Author Share Posted June 8, 2018 It’s approx. 5.5 inches long. Here’s more photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allee016 Posted June 8, 2018 Author Share Posted June 8, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allee016 Posted June 8, 2018 Author Share Posted June 8, 2018 Well, I think this has been resolved: it’s just a cranial fragment of a cow, haha. Thanks for the help though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 11 minutes ago, allee016 said: Well, I think this has been resolved: it’s just a cranial fragment of a cow, haha. Thanks for the help though! Curious how you came up with cow all of a sudden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fifbrindacier Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 2 hours ago, caldigger said: Curious how you came up with cow all of a sudden. Yes sure, with the new pics it looks more bony and i'm sure @Al Dente has it, but Bovids have nothing to do with Elephantids. Anyway, it's a nice find, congratulations. "On ne voit bien que par le coeur, l'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry) "We only well see with the heart, the essential is invisible for the eyes." In memory of Doren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 It seems to be a skull fragment, but I am not convinced it is from a cow. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fifbrindacier Posted June 10, 2018 Share Posted June 10, 2018 On 08/06/2018 at 5:52 PM, Auspex said: It seems to be a skull fragment, but I am not convinced it is from a cow. No, @Al Dente spoke of Mammoths or Mastodonts, not of cow. I think @allee016 misunderstood. "On ne voit bien que par le coeur, l'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry) "We only well see with the heart, the essential is invisible for the eyes." In memory of Doren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 My gut reaction when I first saw it was a fragment of proboscidean skull. Not sure cows have this texture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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