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Do I have a tusk fragment?


Macacoty

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Found this in the Peace River, Florida. It looks different than any of the countless bone fragments I’ve collected in the past. Looking at photos online I feel like I have a good chance of this being the outer layer of a tusk! Any thoughts?

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Hello,

 

Clearer pictures of the cross section will help identification. Do you see a cross hatch pattern on the cross section?

 

Jay

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It could be a mammoth tooth plate fragment.

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Definitely not tusk. The layers in the tusk material are very thin and even and the entire fragment would have a smooth curve to it matching the diameter of the complete tusk from which it came.

 

I've found pieces similar to your object. I don't believe it is a mammoth tooth fragment either. I've seen that shiny black striated surface covering before on some other fragments that I believe were simply unidentifiable bone bits. Doesn't really match my search image for tortoise shell either. Somewhat confident in what it is not but it would be good to hear from someone who has a good feeling for what it is.

 

My vote is bone bit.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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I think you would really need to clean a good facet to get a look at the structure of the material on both sides of the transition from dark to lighter colored.

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A clean cross-section (using a rock/tile saw) would provide better visibility of the layers but still may not provide much more information. It's not fossil ivory and so no Schreger Lines will be visible.

 

Though there is not much to provide diagnostic clues to its identification, I'm wondering is someone like @Harry Pristis has seen enough fragments similar to this to confirm it as a particular type of bone (though not a specific bone)?

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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