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Hello everyone!  This one might be hard to identify with sub-par photos – even in person the microscope photos were unclear but you're all smarter than I am.  It's about an inch long for scale.

Story: I was looking through a clearly un-sorted bag of hundreds of small pieces of Dominican amber (my favorite SO COOL) and saw this tiny piece with what looked like a tiny lizard hand, even though it had three fingers instead of five (maybe they were separated in fossilization).  There was no loupe available to check for skin patterns and bone fragments so I bit the bullet.  It was cheap so I bought it so I could sleep soundly tonight.  I'm thinking it's probably a botanical inclusion at best but wanted to see what you guys thought!  Let's discuss.  Thanks in advance everyone!

 

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Don't know that I'm smarter than you; but I know you were pretty savvy to consider the idea that this is a botanical inclusion.

Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, also are remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. - Douglas Adams, Last Chance to See

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Thanks man.  Trying to keep the ID's practical here as best I can – lots of other plants and naturally occurring stuff are more plausible than the holy grail of a lizard.

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Botanical seems to be most likely, to me.

How would a lizard's foot alone end up in amber. Possible, but unlikely. 

Not seeing bones, joints, claws or scales. Also, only the 3 toes.  Again, possible, but unlikely.

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    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

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44 minutes ago, Fossildude19 said:

Botanical seems to be most likely, to me.

How would a lizard's foot alone end up in amber. Possible, but unlikely. 

Not seeing bones, joints, claws or scales. Also, only the 3 toes.  Again, possible, but unlikely.

Wasn't there a confirmed occasion of a dinosaur tail and only the tail being found in amber?

If you're a fossil nut from Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Redondo Beach, or Torrance, feel free to shoot me a PM!

 

 

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Like I said, possible, but not likely.;)

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

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__________________________________________________
"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."

John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~   ><))))( *>  About Me      

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2 hours ago, Fossildude19 said:

Like I said, possible, but not likely.;)

Yes, it’s true, it is possible but not likely to find lizard’s limbs in amber, though some gecko/lizard claws or tails are found in amber from Myanmar quite often.  See one of the latest reference on a finding of gecko parts in amber: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283826749_A_100_million_year_old_gecko_with_sophisticated_adhesive_toe_pads_preserved_in_amber_from_Myanmar

 

I agree that is a botanical inclusion, quite nice.

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Lizard feet appear to have more digits than 3 and not formed like yours.  Like others have said looks botanical .

 

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10 hours ago, Fossildude19 said:

Botanical seems to be most likely, to me.

How would a lizard's foot alone end up in amber. Possible, but unlikely. 

Not seeing bones, joints, claws or scales. Also, only the 3 toes.  Again, possible, but unlikely.

Agree with botanical, but I did get to see a lizard foot preserved with a small segment of tail in a fossil shop in Singapore. It was beautifully preserved and came from Mayanmar. I think what happened is that the lizard got stuck in sap and an opportunist came and ate the rest. Wish I could have afforded it. (I know, you said not likely, but I wanted an excuse to talk about a cool fossil :P)

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