Desrosiers1718 Posted April 24, 2023 Share Posted April 24, 2023 Hi found this vertabra on a beach near Los Angeles. Even though it is not a fossil I was wondering if anyone can ID it for me, I was thinking dolphin or porpoise but I’m not 100% sure. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted April 24, 2023 Share Posted April 24, 2023 Welcome to TFF. My 1st reaction is not Dolphin or whale. I am not familiar enough with seals and sea lions to discount this possibility.. Possibly @siteseer or @Boesse can comment. The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desrosiers1718 Posted April 24, 2023 Author Share Posted April 24, 2023 Found this on the web this might be it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notidanodon Posted April 24, 2023 Share Posted April 24, 2023 Isn’t the steller sea lion extinct? Either way this bone looks modern to me maybe try the burn test? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desrosiers1718 Posted April 24, 2023 Author Share Posted April 24, 2023 I was thinking maybe not a Stellar Sea Lion but maybe a California Sea Lion (I forgot the Latin name Californicus something. If it looks shiny I did coat it with B72 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mahnmut Posted April 25, 2023 Share Posted April 25, 2023 13 hours ago, Notidanodon said: Isn’t the steller sea lion extinct? Either way this bone looks modern to me maybe try the burn test? Stellers sea cow was slaughtered to extinction 30 years after its discovery, Stellers sea lion is at the moment categorized as only near-threatened, which is not that bad considering mankinds success at reducing pinnipeds so far... Stellers sea-ape by the way is a cryptid, seen and described by Steller once and never again. Not sure if pinniped vertebrae can be ID´d to species level? Best Regards, J 1 Try to learn something about everything and everything about something Thomas Henry Huxley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boesse Posted April 30, 2023 Share Posted April 30, 2023 This is a thoracic vertebra of a modern pinniped, looks to be an otariid- most likely California sea lion, Zalophus californianus. Vertebrae typically can't be ID'd to the species level but if you know what species are present rough IDs can be made based on size. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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