I_gotta_rock Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 (edited) Found at Matoaka beach, Calvert County, MD. Miocene era. Mostly marine fossils, but I don't think this one is because it's hollow. Found a peccary bone in the same region, though. Sorry it's a bit soft. It's getting late and I'm trying to label things for a display this week. Fortunately, the other 100 or so fossils already have names and data! Edited July 31, 2016 by I_gotta_rock I refuse to give up my childish wonder at the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 If it's hollow, it may be avian (bird). Lets see what others have to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 Standing by also, but my guess is terrestrial mammal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I_gotta_rock Posted July 31, 2016 Author Share Posted July 31, 2016 Some others on the FB forum are saying mammal as well. One says peccary by the size, which would be really bizarre considering (1) the mammal bones you find out there are all whales and dolphins and (2) this would be the second peccary bone we've found but they were several miles and several year apart in roughly the same formation! Maybe the thing ran afoul of a giant alligator and got torn apart, but still, what are the odds? I refuse to give up my childish wonder at the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I_gotta_rock Posted July 31, 2016 Author Share Posted July 31, 2016 So, here's an off-the-wall question: Most theories about large terrestrial animals ending up in the ocean is bloat and float. Could this just as easily - or even more easily- run afoul of a giant crocodilian? I refuse to give up my childish wonder at the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigHyatt Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 So, here's an off-the-wall question: Most theories about large terrestrial animals ending up in the ocean is bloat and float. Could this just as easily - or even more easily- run afoul of a giant crocodilian? Funny you'd mention that. I've often thought the same about the marine upper Cretaceous areas I search. It seems entirely possible for the hard bits of a terrestrial animal or even terrestrial plant matter to be found in such areas. I can especially see this happening for shallow inland seas. My takeaway is, essentially, finding a terrestrial specimen doesn't *guarantee* a terrestrial environment. Not sure about the converse. I suppose a bird could drop a fish far inland or something like that. Or maybe a tsunami. Info: Craig Hyatt, retired software/electrical engineer Experience: Beginner, fossil hunting less than a year Location: Eagle Pass, TX USA on the border with Mexico, hot dry desert Formation: Escondido, Marine, Upper Cretaceous Materials: Sandstone, Mudstone, Shale, Chert, Chalk Typical: Thalassinoides, Sphenodiscus, Exogyra, Inoceramus Reference: http://txfossils.com/Txfossils.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 Flooding would have to be a significant source of dis articulated terrestrial bones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I_gotta_rock Posted July 31, 2016 Author Share Posted July 31, 2016 Though about that one, too! I refuse to give up my childish wonder at the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 Peccary teeth have been found in the deposits of Round Mountain Silt which was an inland sea and most of the fossils found are very much similar to Calvert Cliffs. Shark teeth, Marine mammals, fish, etc. But every once in a while, terrestrial animal parts are found as well. I personally have found a peccary tooth and a gopher skull and bird bones from there. So it is very possible to find terrestrial bones in your deposits. Peccary tooth I found Just a couple of the bird bones (I have several more) from the bone bed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 From what I've seen when you find a land mammal fossil at Calvert Cliffs, it is most often a peccary. I've seen a few peccary teeth ( I have one) and heard of others. I've heard of horse teeth. Some others on the FB forum are saying mammal as well. One says peccary by the size, which would be really bizarre considering (1) the mammal bones you find out there are all whales and dolphins and (2) this would be the second peccary bone we've found but they were several miles and several year apart in roughly the same formation! Maybe the thing ran afoul of a giant alligator and got torn apart, but still, what are the odds? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 The Calvert Museum always a nice visit and here is a link to their site showing the types of mammal found on the cliffs. http://www.calvertmarinemuseum.com/334/Vertebrate-Fossils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 (edited) This appears to be the distal portion of a humerus, but I don't know which animal produced it. It does not appear to be crocodilian. We can eliminate from consideration some mammal taxa, since the bone is without an entepicondylar foramen (EECF). The EECF is a canal occurs near the distal end of the humeri of many mammal taxa. In life, the EECF is traversed by the median nerve and the brachial artery. The EECF is present in didelphids (opossums) and in shrews and moles! (Micro-fossil collectors take note.) The EECF is present in felids; in viverrids (all Old World); in amphicyonids (bear-dogs); in mustelids (weasels and skunks); and in procyonids (raccoons). The EECF is absent in hyaenids, bears, and canids*. An EECF is absent on the humeri of perissodactyls (horses, tapirs, et al.) It is absent on the humeri of artiodactyls (antelopes, camels, et al.) It is absent in lagomorphs (rabbits and related taxa). *The bone is not from a canid since it lacks a supertrochlear foramen. I hope you'll let us know when you have an ID. Edited July 31, 2016 by Harry Pristis 4 http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mako-mama Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 That resembles a seal femur. I cant go further than that. Maybe others can be more help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 This bone looks nothing like a seal femur. And, it doesn't resemble a seal humerus either. http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I_gotta_rock Posted August 1, 2016 Author Share Posted August 1, 2016 So, I heard from the Assistant Curator at the Calvert Marine Museum, which has quite a collection of local stuff. He says that his first thought was deer, but if it really is fossilized then most likely peccary. 1 I refuse to give up my childish wonder at the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmaier Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 And, it doesn't resemble a seal humerus either. Yeah, I determine what's humerus around here... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigHyatt Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 Yeah, I determine what's humerus around here... BAM! That's humerus! Case closed. 1 Info: Craig Hyatt, retired software/electrical engineer Experience: Beginner, fossil hunting less than a year Location: Eagle Pass, TX USA on the border with Mexico, hot dry desert Formation: Escondido, Marine, Upper Cretaceous Materials: Sandstone, Mudstone, Shale, Chert, Chalk Typical: Thalassinoides, Sphenodiscus, Exogyra, Inoceramus Reference: http://txfossils.com/Txfossils.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doushantuo Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 the humerus is not a funny bone 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 So, I heard from the Assistant Curator at the Calvert Marine Museum, which has quite a collection of local stuff. He says that his first thought was deer, but if it really is fossilized then most likely peccary. That is a common problem at that site. Many of the bones aren't clearly mineralized fossils, but seem old enough to not really be thought of as modern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I_gotta_rock Posted August 1, 2016 Author Share Posted August 1, 2016 We tried burning it when we found it because we were sure it was a modern deer bone. 1 I refuse to give up my childish wonder at the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigHyatt Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 We tried burning it when we found it because we were sure it was a modern deer bone. Nice! That's I call doe diligence. ;-) 1 Info: Craig Hyatt, retired software/electrical engineer Experience: Beginner, fossil hunting less than a year Location: Eagle Pass, TX USA on the border with Mexico, hot dry desert Formation: Escondido, Marine, Upper Cretaceous Materials: Sandstone, Mudstone, Shale, Chert, Chalk Typical: Thalassinoides, Sphenodiscus, Exogyra, Inoceramus Reference: http://txfossils.com/Txfossils.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcusFossils Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 (edited) Maybe Pelagornis ? https://vmnhpaleontology.wordpress.com/2011/03/15/in-which-i-misidentify-another-specimen/ and http://www.senckenberg.de/files/content/forschung/abteilung/terrzool/ornithologie/pelagornis_chile.pdf Edited August 1, 2016 by MarcusFossils Website: https://www.instagram.com/paleo_archives/ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- “It is by no means an irrational fancy that, in a future existence, we shall look upon what we think our present existence, as a dream.” ― Edgar Allan Poe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doushantuo Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 (edited) Might be the place to post this: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/229367338_Early_bone_diagenesis_in_temperate_environments_Part_I_Surface_features_and_histology And i DON 'T know where part two is Her RG page is a treasure trove,BTW. Lots on bone taphonomy,also from an archaeological/forensic viewpoint Edited August 1, 2016 by doushantuo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I_gotta_rock Posted August 1, 2016 Author Share Posted August 1, 2016 They are not my best photos, but since this has created such a discussion, I posted them in my gallery for future refrence. I refuse to give up my childish wonder at the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mako-mama Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 This bone looks nothing like a seal femur. And, it doesn't resemble a seal humerus either. I stand corrected Now I know it's time to quit late night surfing and get these darn cataracts removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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