Found Some Much Larger Fossils At The Peace River...but I Can't Identify Them All

[TourmalineGuy]

So, as the title says I found some fossils in the Peace River, FL which are considerably bigger than what I've found the past two times. For example:

This I have deduced is a small whale/porpoise/dolphin vertebrae. (any corrections gladly accepted though!) It was very exciting finding this.

But amongst the various bones I could find out (An equus astragalus for example) were some that I couldn't deduce. Any help is greatly appreciated!

#1: I thought this was a artiodactyl astragalus at first(I was thinking deer)...but I now have doubts after looking at Harry Pristis' Bone Gallery, it doesn't quite look like the arti astragali.

#2:These two bones are the same bone, from different animals(probably same species). Both are broken, but together they make almost a complete bone with some overlap (which is why I assume they are the same type of bone).

#3:This, to me, looks like a spur of some sort...it has whorl like striations going from underneath to the "peak."

#4:I don't particularly care for an exact id of the animal on this, its broken. I was just curious what bone movement would cause the very smooth surface on the end?

#5: This one I just have a question about. Does anyone know what causes the regular markings on these bones? Is it just growth patterns of most bones, or is it a specific bone, specific animal...etc?

#6: This bone is practically whole. So I thought someone could ID it!

Alright, time for the unknown verts. They're in pretty bad shape...

#7: I was thinking this was a fragment of another cetacean vertebrae

#8: Sorry, this is pretty broken, but its a vertebrae. I was thinking reptile. The Vert is 3/4" long.

#9: This one is in horrible shape...but I think its a vert because of the flat surface (perhaps someone can advice on the terminology).

#10: Is this a bovine incisor?

Thanks everyone! I especially want to know 1, 2, and 3. The other things would be freebies. (Although I guess everything on here is free...)

[Metopocetus]

#4, Dugong rib fragment, their ribs are very dense showing little to no pores, they tend to break in that fashion leaving smooth edges.

#5, those are from dolphins, the markings are what is left of the tooth sockets.

[PrehistoricFlorida]

#1 is a sloth phalanx.

#2 appears to be a process off of a vertebra.

#3 is indistinguishable.

[TourmalineGuy]

Thanks, both of you! Now a few problems are solved. Exciting to have a piece of sloth! Any idea which phalanx it might be? I know its not the distal phalanx. This image makes me think a proximal:

http://www.ansp.org/museum/leidy/paleo/images/litho_sloth_X.jpg

(ahh, the things you know when given a better clue)

I think I'll try to get another picture of #3 up tomorrow. I feel like someone will know what it is.

[Harry Pristis]

The #1 sloth toe bone is a medial (middle) phalanx, I think.

The #3 object reminds me a cusp from a mastodon tooth - is it enamel?

[TourmalineGuy]

Thanks Harry,

#3 doesn't seem to be enamel, or have enamel.

Also, this sight also makes it look like I have a proximal phalanx, not a medial (it looks almost exactly like bone 2).

http://www.ansp.org/museum/jefferson/megalonyx/gallery.php

What makes you think medial?

[Harry Pristis]

Thanks Harry,

#3 doesn't seem to be enamel, or have enamel.

Also, this sight also makes it look like I have a proximal phalanx, not a medial (it looks almost exactly like bone 2).

http://www.ansp.org/museum/jefferson/megalonyx/gallery.php

What makes you think medial?

Looks like I struck out then. You have the bone, so if you can distinguish between proximal and medial from the web-illustration, good for you!

[TourmalineGuy]

Thanks! I was just curious if you had some further insight. This happens to be the only sloth bone I've analyzed in person, so I didn't want to jump the gun with my ID.

#2, I don't think its a vertebral process(but I'm not convinced otherwise, by any means), can anyone help further with this one?

[tracer]

sloth

back on the sloth phalange issue - i too would have considered it a medial phalange. but the primary illustration you have labeled what i would consider the proximal phalanges to be metacarpals. i have read that there is at times some fusions of phalanges and/or metacarpals in sloths, but i don't have access (or haven't found it yet) to information clarifying the point. that is the problem with being a layperson and not having contacts to just shoot an email to in the expert community. but at any rate, you at least know which bone it is, and can definitively establish which "official" designation humans gifted it with at your leisure.

with regard to the "process" bone, it appears to be one to me. but you will find that many of the smaller, more fragmented things you find will just end up more or less defying classification and ultimately end up in your "whatzit" pile. and by the way, you were fortunate enough to get an answer from "prehistoricflorida", who has seen and id'd huge numbers of fossils. when he gives a response on something, i strongly tend to believe him. he has a very good eye.

[Pool Man]

#3 is a fragment of a whale bulla I think. The first pic shows the "wrinkles" I usually associate with ear bones.

Definatly nice finds from the Peace!

Dan

[TourmalineGuy]

Thanks further,

Things to look into: Sloth phalange fusing, various large mammal vertebral processes, whale bulla.

As far as the "process" goes, what sort of animals would have such a large vertebral process? Its relatively unworn, so it seems I may be able to find it. It is fairly large, so that narrows things down greatly.

Looking at some whale bulla, I think you may be right, Pool Man. It has a breakage running 3/4's of the rim of it then the top "wraps" underneath through the non-broken part. Very much like the bulbous end of the bulla wrapping into the interior. I haven't seen any quite as wrinkly, but that doesn't mean much, I haven't seen many in general. Maybe I'll label it "pleistocene walnut."

Thanks a ton, guys. I really don't mean to be contradictory to peoples ids, I simply like clarity.

[Auspex]

I continue to be inspired by your continuous quest for a depth of understanding about your finds! Collecting is a lot of fun, but it doesn't have to stop at sticking a generic label on it and going out for more .

[tracer]

As far as the "process" goes, what sort of animals would have such a large vertebral process? Its relatively unworn, so it seems I may be able to find it. It is fairly large, so that narrows things down greatly.

yeah, maybe. since you've been looking at things from sloths, you might consider looking at xenarthrous processes and see what you think of them. but i'm definitely not saying that's what you have, because i'd have to have the comparative material in hand and see an exact match before i'd consider a fragment like that identified. and not even then if other taxa had similar processes.