Bone Valley Creek

[Shellseeker]

Out hunting yesterday. Sun Shining,  pretty warm and I could find deep water...  A lot of small colorful shark teeth and other marine fossils but I was missing most fossils from land based fauna until the very end of the hunt.

 

So,  Hemi, Tiger, Lemon, Bull, Dusky,  most with light roots and blue or cream colored blades. Add in sea urchin spines, Stingray teeth and Barb frags, Sawfish rostral frags. 

The 3 Megs...  One early.  I like the color ,  and the almost perfectly consistent serrations..  Even broken at 39 mm , a nice find

Another Meg 44 mm late.  Complete, good serrations,  a little feeding damage on the tip.  I took the photo on my screened porch.. Not an unpleasant effect.  Also little cusp,  An Atavism... This from @siteseer in an old thread.

....  Having lateral cusplets remained in the genes of the species millions of years after it was basic tooth character. Occasionally, the gene for cusplets, which had been "switched off" would switch on randomly and an individual would have teeth with cusplets. You wouldn't call it a pathology but just a rare expression of an ancestral trait.

 

 

A very good 36 mm Bulla,  that I'll try to identify..  I found a Bulla identified as Beluga whale at this location last year. 

 

Two fossil fragments showed up in the last sieve..

The 1st one at 27 mm,  I think is a mammal ear bone  because I have found similar at other sites.  I am a little mystified by Nerve/Blood vessel canal on the bottom photo.   

 

and then this 34 mm enamel fragment of a mammal tooth... Similar to Mastodon or Gomphothere,  but the best match might be Rhino. I have never found any Rhino fossil here and it would imply late Miocene (8-10 mya).  That would be exciting.

 

 

 

Enjoy...   

[Plantguy]

Nice finds Jack! especially the ear bones...interesting to see the delaminated nature of the 2nd specimen.  Its not been abraded/polished/smoothed by tumbling in the river yet! Quite fascinating to see its inner structure. Kind of reminds me of an early horse but I dont recognize it and that is par for the course! Also looking forward to also hearing what the bulla belongs to. 

 

Can you see any shape/sizes of any other smaller openings within the shadow/larger opening? 

 

 

Regards, Chris 

[Shellseeker]

9 hours ago, Plantguy said:

Nice finds Jack! especially the ear bones...interesting to see the delaminated nature of the 2nd specimen.  Its not been abraded/polished/smoothed by tumbling in the river yet! Quite fascinating to see its inner structure. Kind of reminds me of an early horse but I dont recognize it and that is par for the course! Also looking forward to also hearing what the bulla belongs to. 

 

Can you see any shape/sizes of any other smaller openings within the shadow/larger opening? 

 

Regards, Chris 

out hunting today. Will check when I get home. 

This ear bone is similar to horse, tapir, and maybe deer. but different.  Worked to do!!

[Al Dente]

On 3/11/2024 at 9:34 PM, Shellseeker said:

The 1st one at 27 mm,  I think is a mammal ear bone  because I have found similar at other sites.  I am a little mystified by Nerve/Blood vessel canal on the bottom photo. 

 

The flaky texture reminds me of fish bone.

 

[Al Dente]

The shape reminds me of a fish angular bone. Here's one from a bluefish compared with Jack's find.

 

 

 

 

[Shellseeker]

On 3/14/2024 at 9:57 PM, Plantguy said:

Can you see any shape/sizes of any other smaller openings within the shadow/larger opening? 

Got home late , out to dinner with spouse (had mussels with spinach in a garlic cream sauce)..Back home trying to take photos,  while think of AL Dente's response.

So ,  in the Peace River Mar 5th I found this ear bone...

Many mammals have earbones like this Horse,  Camelid, tapir, etc with bone material from the side of skulls, tiny holes.  I have come to believe the one above might be tapir. 

Now forward to this thread of a similar find on March 10th,  bone, skull,  holes.....

Here is a couple of new photos of this March 10th find...

Bone,  skull,  holes   BUT the holes do not come thru on the other side.  Might be something else that a mammal ear bone... 

Curiouser and curiouser...

[Shellseeker]

12 hours ago, Al Dente said:

The flaky texture reminds me of fish bone.

I did not have that advantage.... I do not find very much fossil fish bone beyond Verts.

 

12 hours ago, Al Dente said:

The shape reminds me of a fish angular bone. Here's one from a bluefish compared with Jack's find.

I had to look up "fish angular bone"..

 

and e) below....

 

I think that you are likely correct,  certainly far more likely than my guess at Mammal ear bone.. Thanks for your help in Identifying it...   Jack

[Plantguy]

On 3/15/2024 at 10:12 PM, Shellseeker said:

Got home late , out to dinner with spouse (had mussels with spinach in a garlic cream sauce)..Back home trying to take photos,  while think of AL Dente's response.

So ,  in the Peace River Mar 5th I found this ear bone...

Many mammals have earbones like this Horse,  Camelid, tapir, etc with bone material from the side of skulls, tiny holes.  I have come to believe the one above might be tapir. 

Now forward to this thread of a similar find on March 10th,  bone, skull,  holes.....

Here is a couple of new photos of this March 10th find...

Bone,  skull,  holes   BUT the holes do not come thru on the other side.  Might be something else that a mammal ear bone... 

Curiouser and curiouser...

 

Jack, thanks for the additional photos! I defer to others expertise and the fish bone makes sense--I was hoping you had an example showing some internal structure of an ear bone.  I've only had one whale petrosal not be one of those dense cherty blobs with various forms that we so commonly find...so I was hoping. Sadly, still not got the time to spend further on this fasinating subject.  I'm still trying to figure out the various openings in these worn things we find and it dries me nuts that I'm not smarter. 

 

I wonder if this linear raised feature in your specimen has a name...and is anyway diagnostic? in addition to the foramen or other openings arranged in that linear fashion in the other view..

 

Too many questions and not enough time, resources and real knowledge...But its dang fun wondering/learning!! A couple more years before retiring and more time! 

 

Regards, Chris 

 

Regards, Chris 

[Shellseeker]

19 hours ago, Plantguy said:

Jack, thanks for the additional photos! I defer to others expertise and the fish bone makes sense--I was hoping you had an example showing some internal structure of an ear bone.  I've only had one whale petrosal not be one of those dense cherty blobs with various forms that we so commonly find...so I was hoping. Sadly, still not got the time to spend further on this fascinating subject.  I'm still trying to figure out the various openings in these worn things we find and it dries me nuts that I'm not smarter. 

 

I wonder if this linear raised feature in your specimen has a name...and is anyway diagnostic? in addition to the foramen or other openings arranged in that linear fashion in the other view..

Chris, 

I agree and sympathize with your points.  I have recently discovered that Tapir ear bone have many similarities with Horse and Rhino,, and some of these terms pop in (and out) of human terminology.. 

Here is Tapir... 

 

and Bos Taurus

 

There are LOTS of ear bone topics that I could spend huge amounts of time comparing and contrasting...

and now we have a connection to a Fish angular bone,  which also likely has its own definitions and descriptions.... So,  much to do .... so little time.  

and I keep telling myself to focus on the Prime Directive of my fossil hunting hobby  which is "GET OUT HUNTING AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE"