Two mystery vertebrate? finds, McFaddin Beach, TX

[KingsburyFossilHunter]

Hi everyone! I made a trip with family out to McFaddin beach on Memorial Day (the side closest to High Island). Artifacts and vertebrate fossils wash up here from the Pleistocene to the Holocene. There's some debate as to where they are coming from - they aren't in the Beaumont clay directly below the beach. 

 

A great webpage about the site is here: https://texasbeyondhistory.net/mcfaddin/ 

 

We found lots of fossilized arthropod burrows, some nice conch shells and beach glass (not fossils!), a piece of turtle scute, and a few bones. It was fun, and we saw no nudists on the beach - perhaps they thought it was too busy? We also found two items that we  would love to have help from FF to ID....

 

The first item we think may be a fragment of a sloth tooth - this is only from perusing the fossil forum. Or ? At first we thought it might be plant, not animal, but the rectilinear shape of one side made us think twice.

 

 

 

 

 

The other appears to be similar in form and size to a horse tooth, but no tooth enamel on the one end - just holes (apologize for blurriness of end photos). ??? Did the enamel fall off? Or is it something else?

 

 

 

Thanks for your thoughts!

Edited May 31, 2019 by KingsburyFossilHunter
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[Shellseeker]

Difficult but a few of the photos on the first remind me of turtle scute.  On the 2nd, the ONLY fossil bone I have ever seen with 2 hollow holes has been a Palaeolama mirifica cannon bone.

 

Nothing sure.

 

Check that.. went back and looked at this Eremotherium frag from 2015.  I think it is Sloth.

Edited June 1, 2019 by Shellseeker

[Rockwood]

8 hours ago, Shellseeker said:

Difficult but a few of the photos on the first remind me of turtle scute.

The first one definitely has the texture of turtle bone. 

[KingsburyFossilHunter]

@Shellseeker what I have in the first photo really does look exactly like your photos - plus some additional material attached on interior side. How did you determine your specimen was sloth? (vs turtle). One thing I notice is that there is no 'foamy' type texture in the middle of the sandwich (something you see with turtle scutes).

 

Also, horse teeth are not hollow, are they? So that second item must be some kind of bone?  There is a ridge that looks like it functioned as a space divider for tendons or something like that (most visible in lower left, top middle, and lower right images in photo collage). I couldn't find a good visual match for paleolama but also, my fossil is not in great shape, it is likely missing the ends...

Edited June 1, 2019 by KingsburyFossilHunter
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[Shellseeker]

4 hours ago, KingsburyFossilHunter said:

@Shellseeker what I have in the first photo really does look exactly like your photos - plus some additional material attached on interior side. How did you determine your specimen was sloth? (vs turtle). One thing I notice is that there is no 'foamy' type texture in the middle of the sandwich (something you see with turtle scutes).

 

Also, horse teeth are not hollow, are they? So that second item must be some kind of bone?  There is a ridge that looks like it functioned as a space divider for tendons or something like that (most visible in lower left, top middle, and lower right images in photo collage). I couldn't find a good visual match for paleolama but also, my fossil is not in great shape, it is likely missing the ends...

I have very little Eremotherium fossil material in my hunting area -- only 2 pieces in 10 years. I posted it on TFF and others confirmed it as Sloth... I have never seen the band circled in red on a turtle fossil. I am conflicted... it may be turtle, may be sloth or something else.

I think your 2nd one is clearly bone.