DinoMonkey Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 Hello Everyone, I acquired the fossils years ago through an estate sale. The original owner had poorly packed them in a cardboard box and some pieces were broken. They have been repacked very carefully since I found the damage and repacked them 20+ years ago. I am just taking the time to study them and trying to ID as many as possible. I appreciate and am thankful for any help! The original owner was an amateur archy sometime in the 1920s - 1930s. The only information available was these were found "Out West". The last member of the family was elderly and she had been suffering from Alzheimer's for years. Scant info I realize but it is all I have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawTooth Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 It's some sort of vertebrae, without more specific locality I'm not sure we can get any more accurate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawTooth Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 My best guess would be cetacean (whale), but I can't know for sure. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 2 hours ago, DinoMonkey said: I acquired the fossils years ago through an estate sale. The original owner had poorly packed them in a cardboard box and some pieces were broken. They have been repacked very carefully since I found the damage and repacked them 20+ years ago. I am just taking the time to study them and trying to ID as many as possible. I appreciate and am thankful for any help! The fossil you show id a marine mammal vertebra.. Marine mammal, in this instance, means Dolphin or Whale. How Do you tell the difference ? Size Here is a Whale Vertebra Dolphin verts tend to be smaller, but Whales and Dolphins overlap in size. Your find is missing the Epiphysis... That means these marine mammals died before reaching puberty... The centrum of your Vert looks to be 3 inches or less, so pre_puberty dolphin vert. Welcome to TFF 2 The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DinoMonkey Posted February 23 Author Share Posted February 23 I did not see a way to edit my post. The original owner worked in Mexico City during the 1920s and 1930s. He was an Engineer on numerous construction projects. He would pay the workers for any artifact found. Built an incredible collection. I am ASSUMING the bones came from the same general area but the best info I got when I asked was an answer along the lines of "I guess So". From what I understand he did explore sites out and about from the city. Hope this helps. So it looks like I have multiple Mastodon fossils and an aquatic animal most likely in the Whale family. Very, very happy with that info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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