jkjoller Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 Found these pieces in some grey cretaceous mix in Dallas. They were all in the same spot....as I dug one out I saw another and another, etc. I'm guessing they are Plesiosaur vertebra? They are small pieces (indicated by ruler). All pieces together are around 5 inches long. Would these be from a juvenile or are they from an dadult part of the body? The pics show all the pieces together and then various angles of individual pieces. Any help is appreciated. thanks, Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramo Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 Pleisosaur are concave on both ends. Yours are convex on one end and concave on the other= Mosasaur verts. Nice Ramo For one species to mourn the death of another is a new thing under the sun. -Aldo Leopold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vertman Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 I was having trouble telling from the images whether they were convex on both ends or concave on one end and convex on the other. But I agree with Ramo if they are concave on one end and convex on the other they are definitely mosasaur. Very nice finds! I envious! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njfossilhunter Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 (edited) Very cool find.......What you found are Mosasaur vertebra's. Now since you found all these verts in one spot...I would go back and look some more for other parts of the skeleton ......Now If you come across the skull ...Please don't try to dig it up your self because it will only fall apart on you....What you would need to do is call your local museum and tell them what you found and they will either call the right people or send you too them....this is very important since skulls are very rare to find and that would be the only way to tell what species it is......If you have trouble contacting someone a very good friend of mine lives in Texas and does Paleo work with many paleontologist in Texas ....Good luck Edited May 22, 2013 by njfossilhunter TonyThe Brooks Are Like A Box Of Chocolates,,,, You Never Know What You'll Find. I Told You I Don't Have Alzheimer's.....I Have Sometimers. Some Times I Remember And Some Times I Forget.... I Mostly Forget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wfrr Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 Nice find....those are mosasaur verts. Plesiosaur verts would be concave on both ends. Here are some pics of a couple of the mosasaur verts some I've picked up for comparison. I'd sure give that area a good look over for the rest of it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSRhunter Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 Nice!! Associated mosasaur verts are uncoomon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 Jeff, like the others have said they are mosasaur vertebrae and they are caudal (tail) vertebrae - which may explain their size. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foshunter Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 To find that many in one area and all tail verts, would look a little closer, the beast may still be lurking. Posted Plesiosaur verts found in the Sulphur R. for comparison. Nice find----Tom Grow Old Kicking And Screaming !!"Don't Tread On Me" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truceburner Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 Very nice find. To orient yourself as you continue to excavate, the concavity of the vertebrae points to the front of the beast in mosasaurs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boneman007 Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 (edited) It would be good to know the formation you found these verts in. Depending on the formation, they could be very significant. Right now SMU is doing a lot of studying of basal mosasaurs. If this is Arcadia Park formation, or god forbid, Britton, it is very important. If it is older then you simply have a magnificent find! Do you have any idea what formation you were hunting in? Edited May 22, 2013 by Boneman007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkjoller Posted May 23, 2013 Author Share Posted May 23, 2013 (edited) If I post some pictures would that help identify the formation? I'm too new to the hobby to identify what the formation is. I can describe the area in this way: the upper layer seemed to be limestone (maybe this the chalk layer?). Below this was a grey cretaceous mix that had lots of black nodules (I think they're called phosphate nodules?) and where I found whole and pieces of sharks teeth. Below this was a layer of slate material. The pieces I posted above were partly in the grey cretaceuous and slate material. Edited May 23, 2013 by jkjoller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DE&i Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 Excellent finds the mosasaur my 2nd favourite marine reptile. Darren Regards.....D&E&i The only certainty with fossil hunting is the uncertainty. https://lnk.bio/Darren.Withers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boneman007 Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 (edited) If I post some pictures would that help identify the formation? I'm too new to the hobby to identify what the formation is. I can describe the area in this way: the upper layer seemed to be limestone (maybe this the chalk layer?). Below this was a grey cretaceous mix that had lots of black nodules (I think they're called phosphate nodules?) and where I found whole and pieces of sharks teeth. Below this was a layer of slate material. The pieces I posted above were partly in the grey cretaceuous and slate material. Ah.. That is the Eagleford group - Austin group contact layer. Its classic for mosasaur and shark material. Immediately above it in the next two feet you can sometimes find associated dentitions of shark material. Things become pretty rare after that - See Vertman's 100 hours in the Austin Chalk post for an idea of what above that layer. Below that layer is the Arcadia Park formation. The upper arcadia park has some yellow layers that support crabs and amonites. There is also a sandy reworked zone that I have pulled a fetal unfossilized mammoth tooth out of. Farther down is the grey nodule zone, which produces nacir'ed ammonites (still have the original shell) this layer is identifiable by the fact that usually only the living chambers of the ammonites survive fossilization. Below that is the Kamp Ranch formation. It is a single storm layer that supports fantastic shark teeth including some of the best ptychoduses around. It is identifiable by being a thin to thick layer of limestone with the shark teeth on the bottom of the limestone. Immediately below that is the Britton formation. It contains the sciponoceras gracile zone, which is the home of the notopocorhystes dicrus crabs. It is identifiable by the large number of the straight ammonite Sciponoceras gracile. A little lower is the desmoceras scotti zone, which produces some spectacular ammonites and a much higher percentage of the large crab Cenomanocarcinus vanstraelini. This zone is identifiable by the large percentage of desmoceras ammonites. I have a single nodule with probably 75 ammonites in it from that zone. They are generally very small ammonites, although I have a miracle 5" Desmoceras where I found the two halves a quarter mile apart on a construction site. There is also a zone that produces the rarest of the ammonites and some pyritized shark teeth. I've never been able to id it to the exact part of the Britton, but its the only britton layer where I've found agatized ammonites and shark teeth with pyrite crystals attached. The lowest Britton is the vertebrate zone. This zone is incredible. It supports associated skeletons, skulls, and all kinds of beautiful vertebrates. It is a sandy yellow zone as well. Now you at least have an idea of where you're hunting. Having that knowledge is half the battle! Congratulations on a fantastic find that will look great on a mount on a shelf in your fossil room! Edited May 23, 2013 by Boneman007 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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