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Bone ID request


dsludden

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Good morning,

 

i found this this item while walking the beach near the old Boy Scout Hut at Cherry Point located near the Navy Boat Docks just past the Grants Landing housing area. This area is known to produce fossilized sharks teeth and other fossilized bones. I believe it is a bone but the shape is confusing. Can anyone help me identify the bone such as where it is found on a skeleton and possibly what type of animal? I had it  posted in a facebook group but haven’t had any comments posted. Thank you

73D870A2-1721-4753-B762-9FDA79FD9334.jpeg

A38B4DE5-05AC-4B46-B6B9-01690E4401D9.jpeg

B383501A-8616-46FF-822C-BBA338CA04AE.jpeg

D8A67C4E-7703-4AAF-A5C3-B553F869B9EF.jpeg

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It may be difficult to know 100% because it is so far worn. What bones have been found there before? That will help you to the possible finds from that location.

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Thank you Al Tahan for responding to my inquirey. Extinct Whale, dugong, alligator etc but those bones/teeth are black. This part of NC also has more recent animals (ice age to current) such as mammoth, mastodon, sloth, bison, camel, bear, deer and such. This bone doesn’t appear to have the same black/dark color tones that are typical to fossils of the area leading me to believe it isn’t millions of years old. I do believe it is old, just not that old. The military base has several archaeological sites from post ice age to recent.  Not certain where the ancient sites are located on the base. I requested more info from the NC State Department of Archaeology so that I can appreciate but avoid violating the protected areas. FYI-On this same trip I found what I believe to be antler and other assorted bones but the specimens are black not light brown. 

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Arapahoe and Minnesott Beach had a lot of pleistocene mammal finds a few decades ago. this being on the other side of the Neuse perhaps it's the same fauna. Try googling those two names with ", fossils" or some such.

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Play thank you for the suggestion. I will research Minnesota Beach and Arapahoe Fossil finds. Hopefully I will uncover the type of bone. I’m leaning towards lower limb or hip but open to anything I can find. 

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A worn bone fragment. Most likely you cannot I.D. it beyond that. There are several areas along the Neuse on both sides of the river in the general area of the dog leg in the river that produces these frags in both black and the color of yours. 

 

It is not Minnesota beach, it is Minnesott beach. The area where the ferry docks on the Pamlico County side of the river. Unfortunately there are no longer any public access areas there, everything is private property. This includes the beach down to normal water level if I am correct. This area does have a good amount of Pleistocene fossils, especially horse teeth. If you have a boat you can anchor it and walk in the water. Low water (during a southwest wind) is the best time to search. 

 

I suspect access in the Arapahoe area is pretty much the same.

Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt
behind the trailer, my desert
Them red clay piles are heaven on earth
I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt

Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers

 

image.png.0c956e87cee523facebb6947cb34e842.png May 2016  MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160.png.b42a25e3438348310ba19ce6852f50c1.png May 2012 IPFOTM5.png.fb4f2a268e315c58c5980ed865b39e1f.png.1721b8912c45105152ac70b0ae8303c3.png.2b6263683ee32421d97e7fa481bd418a.pngAug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png.af5065d0585e85f4accd8b291bf0cc2e.png.72a83362710033c9bdc8510be7454b66.png.9171036128e7f95de57b6a0f03c491da.png Oct 2022

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what sixgill said! Don't forget that I'm going by the literature and old literature at that. This is why I suggested to do some googling. Virtually all fossil sites are owned by someone or some entity. Perhaps the meg beds of Wrightsville beach are an exception. It's the only one around here I can think of.

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Sixgill Pete, 

 

darn spell check! Yes, I meant Minnesott Beach. Typically if water hunting my husband and I put our kayaks out on the military base and paddle to an area near shore that looks interesting. We also do this for other areas we hunt. Beach hunting is limited to Camp Lejeurn and Cherry Point. I haven’t had much luck anywhere else. 

 

Thank you for knowing the laws and sharing them them along with you extensive knowledge of fossils.  I actually shared your comments with someone that messaged me about hunting sites along the Neuse River.  I have to say I am sad to see the public access areas are slowing going away. 

 

Thank you for the the ongoing support! This site is really a wealth of knowledge because people like you care!

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9 hours ago, dsludden said:

Extinct Whale, dugong, alligator etc but those bones/teeth are black. This part of NC also has more recent animals (ice age to current) such as mammoth, mastodon, sloth, bison, camel, bear, deer and such.

Try the process of elimination...

At greater than 4x5 inches, it is not deer, or alligator.. This is a fragment and it is large.. It is more similar to the texture of land rather than marine mammal. I also think it is part of the leg bones of large land mammals, and the largest are mammoth and mastodon. With lot of speculation, I would look to leg joint bone due to natural indentations in photos #1 and #2.

I do not think a specific ID is possible..

The White Queen  ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"

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@dsludden I know that area very well, as I grew up in Havelock. There were many great areas on the base long ago when they excavated some ponds around the hunting and fishing lodge (not sure if that's still there) It was off of the road to the right off of Roosevelt Blvd. after you crossed the runway but before you got to 3rd LAAM Btn. (not sure if that's still there) I have not been on the base since 1980 or so. There were also some spots out by the rifle range, that I am sure are off limits now. 

Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt
behind the trailer, my desert
Them red clay piles are heaven on earth
I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt

Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers

 

image.png.0c956e87cee523facebb6947cb34e842.png May 2016  MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160.png.b42a25e3438348310ba19ce6852f50c1.png May 2012 IPFOTM5.png.fb4f2a268e315c58c5980ed865b39e1f.png.1721b8912c45105152ac70b0ae8303c3.png.2b6263683ee32421d97e7fa481bd418a.pngAug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png.af5065d0585e85f4accd8b291bf0cc2e.png.72a83362710033c9bdc8510be7454b66.png.9171036128e7f95de57b6a0f03c491da.png Oct 2022

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Shellseeker,  thank you for the information. I will continue to focus on lower leg bones to help identify the possible original  location of the bone. I just love a mystery.

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