Kem Kem fossil bone

[Being Human]

This partial bone from Kem Kem was listed as unidentified but possibly Spinosaurus (no surprise there). It's a pretty substantial plate-like piece (154mm long). Not in great condition obviously, with missing material down one complete edge and likely in other directions.

 

I've not really been able to work out what this might be but it has a distinctive concavity at one end and some surface structural ribbing running down one face. I've included an illustration that tries to show (with hatching) where the missing material was.

 

Probably a long shot but maybe someone will recognize the surface ribbing and may be able to place it.

[Fossildude19]

@jnoun11   @LordTrilobite

[LordTrilobite]

It's hard to tell because there's still a lot of junk on there. But there is something I think it has some similarities with, which would be seriously cool. A Spinosaurid frontal bone.

 

There was this recent paper that described some skull roof parts of Spinosaurids from the Kem Kem beds, and while it's not the same, it seems to have some similarities. It's by no means sure it's anything close to what I'm suggesting though. I think to be more sure the piece would need to be cleaned further. But it does seem like a shape reminiscent of skull.

 

 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667117303427

[Being Human]

Thanks for the reply. I did think the concavity at one end looks a little like a skull opening but there's not much to go on and it's very difficult to find images of spinosaurus (or any other dinosaur for that matter) skull bones, especially taken from different angles.

 

I wouldn't really know where to start trying to clean up the convex face of this. Will have to try to do some research.

[jnoun11]

hi

very good piece of half frontal of spinosaurus. very good answer of lord of trilobites.

[Being Human]

I did some cleanup of the convex face which was pretty-much totally encrusted with matrix of one kind or another. Not sure how much it helps, but it seems to have a distinct double bump in the center.