Bones from Sharktooth Hill

[ScottM]

Hello,

I returned from Sharktooth Hill (Bakersfield) with a bunch of bone fragments that seem to be mostly whale ribs and unidentifiable fragments. But I did have a few pieces that seemed distinctive enough that I thought someone more knowledgeable than me might be able to recognize. The third one from the top looks very similar to something another member posted (though not identified) - one side looks exactly like driftwood (is this known form STH?) but the other side very different, as shown in the pics. Someday I hope to be on the help-delivering side of the equation in this forum. Until then, much gratitude!

[hemipristis]

The second one from top reminds me of a seal phalange

[JBMugu]

I think the third one down looks like fish, I am thinking jaw section or part of the head. I have found a few of those.

[siteseer]

5 hours ago, JBMugu said:

I think the third one down looks like fish, I am thinking jaw section or part of the head. I have found a few of those.

 

Hi Jesse,

 

Yes, whenever I found a piece like that, it was called a piece of fish skull.  The second bone piece might be the distal end of a metacarpal of Allodesmus, an extinct pinniped perhaps more closely-related to sea lions and seals.  It's tough to ID pieces even when you've dug the STH bonebed off and on for thirty years.

 

Jess

[ScottM]

Thank you very much JBMugu and siteseer for the responses! If that's a fish it must be a pretty big one. Any guesses? Maybe not from that one piece but just large species known to be found at STH perhaps?

Thanks!

Scott

[JBMugu]

3 hours ago, ScottM said:

Thank you very much JBMugu and siteseer for the responses! If that's a fish it must be a pretty big one. Any guesses? Maybe not from that one piece but just large species known to be found at STH perhaps?

Thanks!

Scott

Scott,

 

I dont know of anyone identifying fish bones down to the species. Usually they are just labeled bony fish.