DAS_Rex Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 Hoping for a little assistance. I acquired this little vertebra a while back. Its nice color and detail caught my eye. It was being identified as a dinosaur caudal (I see a lot of similar ones being pushed as “raptor”) but I thought it looked to be a champsosaur caudal. The origin was said to be Hell Creek Fm. in Montana and that is about all I know. I’d like to get a second opinion on this if possible. Pardon the pics. I don’t have the best setup at the moment. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAS_Rex Posted March 13 Author Share Posted March 13 Not sure why the text is grayed.🤔 But anyway. Origin is Hell Creek, Montana and was originally labeled as dinosaurian. Any help would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPS Ammonite Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 While you still can edit the first post on this thread, cut the text and paste the text again making sure that you paste without any formatting. 1 My goal is to leave no stone or fossil unturned. See my Arizona Paleontology Guide link The best single resource for Arizona paleontology anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAS_Rex Posted March 13 Author Share Posted March 13 Here’s an easier to see copy of my original statement. Somehow had rich text format on. I’ll get the hang of this yet…maybe Hoping for a little assistance. I acquired this little vertebra a while back. Its nice color and detail caught my eye. It was being identified as a dinosaur caudal (I see a lot of similar ones being pushed as “raptor”)but I thought it looked to be a champsosaur caudal. The origin was said to be Hell Creek Fm. in Montana and that is about all I know. I’d like to get a second opinion on this if possible. Pardon the pics. I don’t have the best setup at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 (edited) Champsosaur verts do not fuse the centrum and neural canal/spine. This is more like a Thescelosaurus or Pachycephalosaur. But I welcome other opinions. Definitely a caudal; I see chevron attachment points. Edited March 13 by jpc 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 3 hours ago, DAS_Rex said: Not sure why the text is grayed.🤔 But anyway. Origin is Hell Creek, Montana and was originally labeled as dinosaurian. Any help would be appreciated. Copy and pasting causes this. I've fixed it by removing the formatting. 1 Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAS_Rex Posted March 13 Author Share Posted March 13 Thank you all for the assistance. Thescelosaur had been suggested by the original owner as a possibility as well. The little notochordial bumps in the centrum made me lean Champsosaurus. It’s not easily seen in the photos but is present on both faces. I had read in other choristodere papers, that some distal caudals could have a closed neurocentral suture and possessed a mid centrum feature. I just guessed that might possibly be the case here as well. My sources on these creatures are mostly limited to internet searches and that is frustrating to say the least. Few discuss champsosaur tails and images are usually low quality. Sorry for ranting and thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted March 14 Share Posted March 14 "that some distal caudals could have a closed neurocentral suture" I was not aware of this. May have to look into it ... at some point. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAS_Rex Posted March 14 Author Share Posted March 14 Prehistoric jigsaw puzzles, gotta love it The paper from: Bruce R. Erickson,1972 “The Lepidosaurian Reptile Champsosaurus in North America” It handles C. gigas and C. laramiensis. I believe it says fusion can, but not always, start around Caudal 9 or so varying on species and individual. Other papers on a few species make comments about fusion but I don’t have the titles on hand. They are very varied creatures. lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted March 14 Share Posted March 14 I have that paper at home...somewhere. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFOOLEY Posted March 14 Share Posted March 14 The Lepidosaurian Reptile Champsosaurus in North America paleontology-publications-lepidosaurian-reptile-champsosaurus.pdf The osteology of Champsosaurus Cope _v2_dspace_ingest_pdfSource_mem_M09Pt01.pdf 1 "I am glad I shall never be young without wild country to be young in. Of what avail are forty freedoms without a blank spot on the map?" ~Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) New Mexico Museum of Natural History Bulletins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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