Bone Valley Oddballs - Digested Tooth? Crystal Formations? Bone Predation Marks?

[Bone Daddy]

These are finds from the Bone Valley Formation in south Florida. Dry land site a couple of hours south of Tampa. The site is predominately Miocene/Pliocene marine fossils, with some Pleistocene land fauna mixed in.

 

This first find appears to be a operculum of some kind (not sure which species). What interested me, is the little black crystals(?) growing in the attached remnants of matrix rock. I have seen these little black pieces in shelly-matrix from different sites in Bone Valley, and I am curious as to what mineral they might be. Or, are they organic? Could they be phosphate or something else?

 

 

[Bone Daddy]

Second find. Could this be a digested tooth? Possibly cetacean? I have seen a few photos and read about digested teeth, and this one has a very similar (almost identical) coloration and texture of a digested tooth. The shape is vaguely tooth-like. It actually reminds me of a tektite that has etching from acidic groundwater - but I know it's not one of those. Is this a digested tooth (whale? Lots of whale bone at this site)?  Or is this just a rock with a suggestive shape?

 

 

[Bone Daddy]

Third find. This is a piece of bone, about the size of my hand. It appears to have a series of parallel straight lines gouged into the surface of the bone. Could these be from predators or scavengers? And also, does any have an idea of what species this bone belongs to? I know it's a partial piece, but there is some curvature and shape that is suggestive of a shoulder blade or pelvis of some sort (wild guess). Possible predation marks more easily seen in last photo.

 

[Brett Breakin' Rocks]

1 hour ago, Bone Daddy said:

These are finds from the Bone Valley Formation in south Florida. Dry land site a couple of hours south of Tampa. The site is predominately Miocene/Pliocene marine fossils, with some Pleistocene land fauna mixed in.

 

This first find appears to be a operculum of some kind (not sure which species). What interested me, is the little black crystals(?) growing in the attached remnants of matrix rock. I have seen these little black pieces in shelly-matrix from different sites in Bone Valley, and I am curious as to what mineral they might be. Or, are they organic? Could they be phosphate or something else?

Pretty sure those are a good sign you are in the right spot .. they are little phosphate cobbles cemented in the matrix if I'm not mistaken.  Of course they could also be worn bits of bone/teeth etc .... that have been replaced.

 

Some sea bed phosphate mining for your Monday morning .....

[Brett Breakin' Rocks]

2 hours ago, Bone Daddy said:

Second find. Could this be a digested tooth? Possibly cetacean? I have seen a few photos and read about digested teeth, and this one has a very similar (almost identical) coloration and texture of a digested tooth. The shape is vaguely tooth-like. It actually reminds me of a tektite that has etching from acidic groundwater - but I know it's not one of those. Is this a digested tooth (whale? Lots of whale bone at this site)?  Or is this just a rock with a suggestive shape?

 

 

  It's probably too worn to tell but it has the right density to be a worn whale bulla. It resembles the back 'crest' of the bone ... but it could also just as much be a chunk-a-saurus.  It'd be nice for the garden ?

 

Cheers,

Brett

[Plantguy]

Good stuff..my 3 cents...

Agree with Brett on the matrix with bits of phosphate and other small bits of worn bone/teeth in matrix in the 1st specimen. Dont see crystals but occasionally you will see lighter colored quartz grains in the matrix. I'm not sure about an operculum..thinking more like a flatter valve from an oyster.

Not sure what the 2nd specimen is...not seeing anything I recognize readily...does look to be polished and well worn and boney but from what and whom I just dont know--not versed on digested teeth so I'm not sure if there is anything diagnostic to make that determination...hoping someone else with more knowledge might chime in. 

Last specimen does look to show some predation marks on bone as you have suggested...nice apparent clean sharp cuts...guessing since this is a marine deposit that it could be from some type of shark. 

Thanks for showing us. 

Regards, Chris 

[Bone Daddy]

2 hours ago, Plantguy said:

Good stuff..my 3 cents...

Agree with Brett on the matrix with bits of phosphate and other small bits of worn bone/teeth in matrix in the 1st specimen. Dont see crystals but occasionally you will see lighter colored quartz grains in the matrix. I'm not sure about an operculum..thinking more like a flatter valve from an oyster.

Not sure what the 2nd specimen is...not seeing anything I recognize readily...does look to be polished and well worn and boney but from what and whom I just dont know--not versed on digested teeth so I'm not sure if there is anything diagnostic to make that determination...hoping someone else with more knowledge might chime in. 

Last specimen does look to show some predation marks on bone as you have suggested...nice apparent clean sharp cuts...guessing since this is a marine deposit that it could be from some type of shark. 

Thanks for showing us. 

Regards, Chris 

@Brett Breakin' Rocks @Plantguy

 

Thanks for the feedback. So, those little black pebbles seen frequently around Bone Valley are phosphate. That's cool. I like collecting minerals and rocks also, and I have been meaning to get my hands on some phosphate to connect my mineral and fossil interests. I frequently keep weird rocks that I find while fossil-hunting, especially if they appear out of place and don't match the predominate rocks in the area. The weird black thing (digested?) was one of those finds. I was not even sure what it was, but it looked and felt interesting. I saw a knowledgeable collector in a Facebook fossil group post a photo of what was clearly shaped like a shark tooth, but it had the same odd, etched (rough), black texture and coloration. It was ID'ed as a "digested tooth". I had never heard of that before and did some Googling afterwards (which didn't yield too much). Either way, the black thing will go into a big cigar box full of oddballs that I don't want to discard, but aren't sure what to do with.

I've found a few bones previously with predation marks. I always like finding those. Whenever I first see one, I get excited and hope it's butchering marks from humans, but it always turns out to be animal predators or scavengers.

 

Also, that makes sense about the oyster and the operculum. There were a lot of oyster and barnacle specimens at this site.

Here are some photos of a 9-inch whelk I found that day also.