Possible Cetacean Verts? ID Help Appreciated!

[JennLRM]

Hi again from West KY. Hope these photos are OK. I've wrestled with them for a couple hours now. (LOL) This was found with some others while I was walking a creek in the Jackson Purchase area of KY, Graves County to be exact. This was on the surface, as were the others, all near each other. They look to have been washed out, as the banks of the creek are, in some places, as high as 15 - 20 ft. The other side was cut out in the 1800's to make a railroad track. The ruler didn't come out clearly, but, this measures about 9mm x 7mm x 5mm, weighs 552g.

This area is known to have been under water, but most of the fossils I find are the small ones. When I saw this, I wondered if it was possible to have had a creature this large swimming HERE? That led to learning about the Western Interior Seaway, and yes, it DID reach here, (very exciting!). After researching this and another bone found with it, I came to think that it was a possible cetacean with signs of Osedax, during the Cretaceous perhaps. (?) After reading about Osedax, I found that now, the various species usually are separate from each other, but that in the W.I.S., many species would feed off of the same bones. *I added a photo of one of the others found with it. Just the one.

I've second-guessed myself 1000 times about this and the other "bones", looked for other things that seemed more plausible, and been through tons of photos, websites, & scientific papers. The University of KY website didn't help to squash my excitement - here's a quote from them:

 

"Cretaceous sediments are almost completely absent in Kentucky; only small areas of Cretaceous deposits occur in and near the Jackson Purchase Region in extreme western Kentucky. During most of the Cretaceous, Kentucky was land. If Cretaceous sediments covered any of this land, they have since been eroded away. However, during latest Cretaceous times, sea level rise coupled with subsidence in the Jackson Purchase Region led to deposition of coastal sediments in environments that included coastal plain, river, delta, and shallow sea. Because of the limited outcrops in the flat Jackson Purchase Region, very little in the way of fossils have been found in the Cretaceous sediments there. The most common fossils are coalified tree limbs. The potential exists for dinosaur fossils to be found in these sediments in Kentucky. Much more new research needs to be done on the Cretaceous in this region."

 

I know some of you all can help, and it's very much appreciated! Even if it IS nothing more than a coral or whatever, at least I will know! 

Edited August 30, 2019 by JennLRM
Photo add

[Scylla]

Sorry to say this looks like limestone to me. I don't see any features of vertebrae. You should take it to the University to make sure though. Pictures are just not as good as having the object in hand.

[JennLRM]

Thanks. I wish I could take this & the others to UK, but it's pretty far from me. Appreciate your help!

[caldigger]

I'm on the "just limestone" train on these.

There is nothing resembling bone to indicate anything from cetaceans. Sorry!

 

[JennLRM]

OK, thank you!

[JennLRM]

This photo had me thinking it was, but now I can see what you guys mean. Thanks for your help!