fossilized6s Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 Just finished the prep on this guy. When i first found this i thought it was a jaw. Now after it's finished it looks more like a possible pectoral girdle or gill plate/skull element from a lobed finned fish/tetrapod. What do you guys see? I can not find anything like it on thee ol' interwebs. It's late Carboniferous and i have found everything from micro to large fish scales, flora, Orthacanthus teeth and other bone chunks in this same layer. Also there is a neat impression of a Lepidodendron on the underside of this piece. Kinda a nice touch when fish were evolving to walk on land. And pictures really don't do this thing justice. It's very detailed and three dimensional. As Found After some prep and still thinking 'jaw' Finished prep. It's not a jaw. Haha Lepidodendron Any help or direction is much appreicated! @Fossildude19 @Archie @jdp @Carl any thoughts? ~Charlie~ "There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why.....i dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" ~RFK ->Get your Mosasaur print ->How to spot a fake Trilobite ->How to identify a CONCRETION from a DINOSAUR EGG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 Nice, I have no idea what it is, but it looks neat. Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 Very cool, but I have no idea, either. Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDAWG Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 Are you sure that it is bone? The structure on the right in the second to last photo looks like a hinge of a clam. I have seen examples of clams with that dark preservation that looks like bone at first (or second) glance. Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archie Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 Great prep job! Its very similar to skull elements of large lobe fins in the formation I hunt, it does seem pretty chunky for fish though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archie Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 Could it possibly be a pectoral girdle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 Very interesting. My gut says fish skull bone but I don't know vertebrates well as pieces that far back yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilized6s Posted October 2, 2018 Author Share Posted October 2, 2018 3 hours ago, FossilDAWG said: Are you sure that it is bone? The structure on the right in the second to last photo looks like a hinge of a clam. I have seen examples of clams with that dark preservation that looks like bone at first (or second) glance. Don Yes, it's 100% bone. ~Charlie~ "There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why.....i dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" ~RFK ->Get your Mosasaur print ->How to spot a fake Trilobite ->How to identify a CONCRETION from a DINOSAUR EGG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilized6s Posted October 2, 2018 Author Share Posted October 2, 2018 Thanks guys. I wish @ckmerlin was still around. Looks like i need to take a roadtrip to the Field Museum. ~Charlie~ "There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why.....i dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" ~RFK ->Get your Mosasaur print ->How to spot a fake Trilobite ->How to identify a CONCRETION from a DINOSAUR EGG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilized6s Posted October 2, 2018 Author Share Posted October 2, 2018 I found something similar in a paper from 1929 Australia. My piece is a shoulder girdle bone (like i had originally thought). The closest species i can see is a Lungfish from the Devonian. ~Charlie~ "There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why.....i dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" ~RFK ->Get your Mosasaur print ->How to spot a fake Trilobite ->How to identify a CONCRETION from a DINOSAUR EGG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdp Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 It's quite the puzzle but it doesn't look like any cleithrum or anocleithrum I've seen from a Carboniferous lungfish. One possibility is that you're looking at an internal surface of a bone from a large coelacanth, or alternately that this is one of a handful of tetrapods. I think it's the latter, but I would need to see the other side as well and get a good sense of the three-dimensionality of the specimen. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilized6s Posted October 2, 2018 Author Share Posted October 2, 2018 1 hour ago, jdp said: It's quite the puzzle but it doesn't look like any cleithrum or anocleithrum I've seen from a Carboniferous lungfish. One possibility is that you're looking at an internal surface of a bone from a large coelacanth, or alternately that this is one of a handful of tetrapods. I think it's the latter, but I would need to see the other side as well and get a good sense of the three-dimensionality of the specimen. I found the missing link too! Lol Yes, this is definitely the underside of the bone. And honestly, i didn't plan on removing any of these new finds from their matrix. This one especially is very fragile. I felt like a neurosurgeon prepping this one. ~Charlie~ "There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why.....i dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" ~RFK ->Get your Mosasaur print ->How to spot a fake Trilobite ->How to identify a CONCRETION from a DINOSAUR EGG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilized6s Posted October 3, 2018 Author Share Posted October 3, 2018 Quick update if anyone cares, this look very simular to a unknown fish opercular bone. It's very hard for me to find a species given my limited access to other known fossils. ~Charlie~ "There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why.....i dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" ~RFK ->Get your Mosasaur print ->How to spot a fake Trilobite ->How to identify a CONCRETION from a DINOSAUR EGG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmerlin Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 Hi just seen this interesting specimen I think you may have something like a cleithrum or clavicle bone lying ontop of an operculum , the operculum is similar to Rhabdoderma s.p ones I have although mine are all external surface ones , it could be another tetrapod species of course very interesting whatever it turns out to be , worthy of further investigation either at your local museum or via email with any experts in your area 4 "A man who stares at a rock must have a lot on his mind... or nothing at all' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilized6s Posted October 3, 2018 Author Share Posted October 3, 2018 6 hours ago, ckmerlin said: Hi just seen this interesting specimen I think you may have something like a cleithrum or clavicle bone lying ontop of an operculum , the operculum is similar to Rhabdoderma s.p ones I have although mine are all external surface ones , it could be another tetrapod species of course very interesting whatever it turns out to be , worthy of further investigation either at your local museum or via email with any experts in your area Thank you for your insight and pointing me in a good direction. ~Charlie~ "There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why.....i dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" ~RFK ->Get your Mosasaur print ->How to spot a fake Trilobite ->How to identify a CONCRETION from a DINOSAUR EGG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now