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Bird Toe Bone


Mike from North Queensland

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Sieved through some matrix the other day and found this little specimen that I thought worth sharing.

The scale is in .5 mm so specimen is 4 mm long so fairly small

This is a toe bone from a bird about 100 million years old. 

It is unusual but the bias towards toe bones from this area is high go figure.

The matrix this came out of is marine.

Enjoy 

Mike

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10-8-19 1of3 (2).jpg

10-8-19 2of3 (2).jpg

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Very cool find, Mike. :) 

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

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

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Incredible find! Bird bones are so rarely preserved

Looking forward to meeting my fellow Singaporean collectors! Do PM me if you are a Singaporean, or an overseas fossil-collector coming here for a holiday!

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Here I hope to learn me something:

The proximal end seems complex for a bird, as if it was articulating with a double condyle. Could this be from a small reptile?

Like I said, I'm just asking because it is new to me. I have not examined many enantiornithine toe bones.

"There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant

“Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley

>Paleontology is an evolving science.

>May your wonders never cease!

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I am by no means an expert either and I have labelled this as bird based on the following but it could be reptile.

One of the earlier bones I found was positively identified as a enantiornithine humerus so birds are known from the area.

The preservation of these bones is unique in colour and texture compared to all other fossils from the area found.  

The claws found there have been identified as coming from a bird wing so again bird is known.

When these bones are found broken they are hollow like bird material.

the area is marine from an off shore environment, but wood is found there so if reptile could have got there that way.

Currently the small group of about 30 isolated bone is being written up so hopefully will be confirmed one way or another. 

 

Mike

 

14 3 C2.jpg

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