Bones Found in Ocean Cave

[BoneInRaro]

Hey guys, I've found some bones and want to see if anyone is able to identify them for me.

 

So while snorkeling off the coast of Rarotonga in the Cook Islands I found a spine of some sort. It was resting inside the opening of a cave.

 

The length of spine that was visible to me was about half a metre maybe just over half a metre long. Each single vertebrae was about 20cm wide.

 

Please view the photo provided.

(Sorry I'm having trouble uploading the photo, I'm gonna try again in the morning..)

 

Any help or input is greatly appreciated thank you

Edited September 13, 2019 by BoneInRaro
photo won't upload

[Bobby Rico]

Refresh the page and try again. 

[caldigger]

4 hours ago, BoneInRaro said:

The length of spine that was visible to me was about half a metre maybe just over half a metre long. Each single vertebrae was about 20cm wide.

Sounding like cetacean ( whale ) so far.

[digit]

Agreed that from the size that whale bones seem indicated--pictures would obviously help. There is an upload limit of only a few megabytes per post (you can reply multiple times to add more images). Assuming you are taking the photos with a smartphone camera and don't have access to Photoshop or other image processing software. I've heard that if you email yourself your own photos that there is usually an option to shrink the image before sending. You can then try posting this reduced-size image which may work better for you. Curious to see what you have found.

 

Welcome to the forum! We don't get a lot of visitors from the Cook Islands. I have fond memories of Raratonga (and some nice black pearl oyster jewelry). I had the opportunity to visit (and dive) Palmerson Island when I was there doing coral reef research a few years back.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[facehugger]

Tutorial on how to upload pictures can be found here: 

 

 

 

[BoneInRaro]

Thanks everyone for the help and input. Here's the photo

 

P.s Sorry if the photo isn't great, its an underwater shot.

[digit]

The underwater photo is good enough to make a general identification on this one-it's associated vertebrae from a species of marlin (family Istiophoridae). Not sure which species are native to the Cook Islands but some quick internet searches should narrow down a prospect or two. The square processes attached to the vertebrae was the key.

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

 

[BoneInRaro]

2 hours ago, digit said:

The underwater photo is good enough to make a general identification on this one-it's associated vertebrae from a species of marlin (family Istiophoridae). Not sure which species are native to the Cook Islands but some quick internet searches should narrow down a prospect or two. The square processes attached to the vertebrae was the key.

Cheers.

-Ken

 

 

Wow that's really interesting, you guys are good at what you do for sure haha. Thanks @digit and everyone else for the help

 

After a quick search, Blue Marlin is the most common of the species in Rarotonga, so that's likely what it is.

[digit]

Glad we could provide an answer. Not a lot of fossils on most South Pacific islands though many contain some nice coral skeletons.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken