Jump to content

Amazingly Small Osteoderm


Shellseeker

Recommended Posts

Found this one today --- that is a US penny and this fossil is really small.

I think I know what this fossil is, but I did not imagine that they came this small (or smaller?). So, in addition to an ID, is this fossil from a baby? What is a minimum size ?

post-2220-0-99593300-1390961819_thumb.jpgpost-2220-0-31070200-1390961834_thumb.jpg

The White Queen  ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey Jack,I've got one of those too.Only one I've ever found ,I imagine they slip thru my sifter pretty regularly tho lol.

Every once in a great while it's not just a big rock down there!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Measurements are 14mm, by 11mm, by 4mm wide

post-2220-0-47374200-1390965153_thumb.jpgpost-2220-0-11433600-1390965171_thumb.jpgpost-2220-0-31754900-1390965183_thumb.jpg

The White Queen  ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I believe you have may have an osteoderm of Pachyarmatherium leiseyi. It isn't as thick as some of them get to be, but seems thicker than most D. bellus (which is actually Propraopus bellus).

Edited by RichW9090

The plural of "anecdote" is not "evidence".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for all responses, and especially Rich -- I make assumptions on minimal data and as you might guess, I am frequently wrong. I thought that this fossil was Glyptodon.

I have these two recently ---

post-2220-0-79831500-1390966592_thumb.jpgpost-2220-0-09741400-1390966617_thumb.jpg

What are they?

EDIT: I did hunt today within 1 mile of Paynes Creek Park which is one of the few sites for Pachyarmatherium leiseyi. Just additional info Rich

Edited by Shellseeker

The White Queen  ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is an interesting post. It would be nice to see a side by side comparison if possible.

I am not a professional but spend much time with it as a hobby. Love to learn from you all!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Could the second picture in post #9 be Holmesina floridanus?

Edited by calhounensis
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, post 9 are Holmesina.

I am not 100% sure on the Pachyarmatherium, I'd certainly like to see in in hand, but I suspect that it what it is. And in fact, to your comment, it was first thought to be a miniature glyptodont.

The plural of "anecdote" is not "evidence".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a teeny tiny one that measures 3/8"across and 1/4" thick.

I'm having some trouble attaching photos as the toolbar on my "reply to topic" field only offers a "url" option (which I haven't been able to figure out) or a "my media" file so I uploaded 3 photos of little osteoderms that I'm hoping will be visible. It will be obvious which of the 3 is the smallest at 3/8" across and 1/4" thick. The other round osteoderm is about 5/8" across and 1/8" thick. The rectangular one is 1x.5" and 1/8" thick.

image 5

image 4

image 3

Edited by Miatria

Zookeeperfossils.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey Jack,I've got one of those too.Only one I've ever found ,I imagine they slip thru my sifter pretty regularly tho lol.

Take a photo and show us what it look like !! I am learning something here about small osteoderms. They are out there and likely some were slipping away but I suspect for many, I just did not see/recognize them.

Miatria,

Thanks for posting the photos. I really like #5 the edge piece which seems very similar to my 1st photo in post #9.

The White Queen  ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

R. Hulbert identified the scutes on the left as juvenile glyptodont (1/2" thick). On the right looks like Shell's (1/4" thick). All smaller than a quarter.

Looking at his edited book chapter 10, looks like leiseyi on the left and bella on the right.

Suggestions?

post-12135-0-80740700-1391005748_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sacha: Yes, the ones on the left appear to be Pachyarmatherium.

Miatria: Your littlest one may well be Pachyarmatherium, but that is a really, really small one if so.

Rich

The plural of "anecdote" is not "evidence".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Take a photo and show us what it look like !! I am learning something here about small osteoderms. They are out there and likely some were slipping away but I suspect for many, I just did not see/recognize them.

Hey Shellseeker, you asked for some more micro osteoderms. I would love some positive ID on these. They all came from the Peace River.post-14249-0-52687600-1391036335_thumb.jpgpost-14249-0-81671700-1391036367_thumb.jpgpost-14249-0-51822800-1391036405_thumb.jpgpost-14249-0-73501200-1391036353_thumb.jpgpost-14249-0-78711000-1391036386_thumb.jpgpost-14249-0-22485300-1391036533_thumb.jpg

  • I found this Informative 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Your last photo plus 5 of the 6 original photos are Ray Dermal Denticles. These tend to serve as the "base" beneath the skin for anchoring the sting ray spines. They can be beautiful and have numerous variations based on the type of Sting Ray.

If you search for "Dermal Denticle" you will find many variations.

The distinctive one is the last of your original 6. I am not an expert here, but others will ask you to produce photos similar to my post #7 above --- what is the width? SS

By the way, nice finds -- I love seeing dermal denticles in my sieve. Here are a couple of my best below and a couple more in my gallery

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/gallery/member/2220-shellseeker/

post-2220-0-08842900-1391038240_thumb.jpg

post-2220-0-99525400-1391038302_thumb.jpg

Took me a while to find this -- one of the best Dermal Bucklers I have ever seen -- Thanks for olf TFF Threads

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/21564-june-2011-finds-of-the-month/page-2

Edited by Shellseeker
  • I found this Informative 1

The White Queen  ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Take a photo and show us what it look like !! I am learning something here about small osteoderms. They are out there and likely some were slipping away but I suspect for many, I just did not see/recognize them.

Hey Shellseeker, you asked for some more micro osteoderms. I would love some positive ID on these. They all came from the Peace River.attachicon.gifimage.jpgattachicon.gifimage.jpgattachicon.gifimage.jpgattachicon.gifimage.jpgattachicon.gifimage.jpgattachicon.gifimage.jpg

Last two are definitely ray. 1st and 3rd also look like ray.

Marco Sr.

"Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day."

My family fossil website     Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros     My Extant Shark Jaw Collection

image.png.9a941d70fb26446297dbc9dae7bae7ed.png image.png.41c8380882dac648c6131b5bc1377249.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you Shellseeker and MarcoSr. They are ray denticles. Mine look almost ray-denticle (I couldn't resist) like the two you have. The one that remains without comment is this one, which I have taken front and back pics. It is very small, round and concave.post-14249-0-96353600-1391042357_thumb.jpgpost-14249-0-10617900-1391042388_thumb.jpgpost-14249-0-78590300-1391042493_thumb.jpg

I hope these other pics help.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Shrek and Fiona, they all look like dermal scutes from rays with the exception of the 6th photo in you first post.

Great finds!

Zookeeperfossils.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...