Necropedia Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 Hello everyone. I was wondering if anyone can confirm or deny my ID on this fossil. My father in law found this in Montana when he was 16 along with associated bones. Some of the bones have dissolution features on the surface, but this phalanx is in decent shape. I identified it as a hadrosaur assuming Cretaceous age, but don't have much information on where it came from. The proximal end of the bone shows a clear darkened band where cartilage was once present, but rotted off. The notch on the proximal end of the bone makes me question my original identification. The bone is good sized and the proximal end shows a bumpy texture which indicates the epiphyseal plate may have detached, though it's hard to say for sure given the clear dissolution features on the surface of some of the other bones .I've also included a photo of the end of what I'm thinking is a limb bone if that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocket Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 (edited) interesting one, looks like a phalange bone do you know this? Edited March 2 by rocket Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 are your pix all t=of the same piece? the last two look very different. the first two photos do look like a hadrosaur toe bone but the next two show it is not the right shape. May be one of the metatarsals (the bigger 'toe' bones). But that notch is weird, and t looks real , as opposed to an erosional factor. Mystery bone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psittacosaur9 Posted March 3 Share Posted March 3 Do you know exactly where it was found? It is probably impossible to narrow it down to a specific species, but we could provide a shortlist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Necropedia Posted March 10 Author Share Posted March 10 On 3/2/2024 at 10:45 PM, Psittacosaur9 said: Do you know exactly where it was found? It is probably impossible to narrow it down to a specific species, but we could provide a shortlist. Near Dupuyer Montana. My father in law is in his seventies now and was sixteen or so when he found it in association with other bones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Necropedia Posted March 10 Author Share Posted March 10 (edited) On 3/2/2024 at 10:44 AM, jpc said: are your pix all t=of the same piece? the last two look very different. the first two photos do look like a hadrosaur toe bone but the next two show it is not the right shape. May be one of the metatarsals (the bigger 'toe' bones). But that notch is weird, and t looks real , as opposed to an erosional factor. Mystery bone. They are not all of the same piece. From top to bottom the first 4 are of the phalanx. The last 2 are of an associated bone that is probably a limb bone. The prominent ridge I think is natural but the surface of the bone is where I see clear dissolution features ( the raisin- like texture). The notch in the toe bone I believe is a biological structure as opposed to something that occurred post mortem. Edited March 10 by Necropedia Wanted to add something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Necropedia Posted March 10 Author Share Posted March 10 The specimen is bizarre in the sense that you can clearly see where the cartilage used to be ( there's a sort of rim) around the proximal end of the bone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
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 accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now