elske58 Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 Found this whale bone in Fort Bragg, CA . Two questions 1) Is it a Fossil? 2) Can you legally sell whale bones in the US? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zachj Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 it looks modern to me. I know you can sell fossil ones but not to sure about modern ones. 1 one day i will find a tooth over 3 inches in good conditon haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowsharks Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 Not sure if fossil whale verts show up in the area where you found this specimen, but it does sorta look like it might be fossilized. In any event, based on it's thickness being so small/thin, I think this is a vertebra from the cervical/neck region. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wibrown Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 I've never heard of them from that area. Its possible it was transplanted. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vertman Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 It is really hard to tell from just the image but I tend to agree with Zach. It looks more modern than fossil to me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boesse Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 It's a modern specimen. I assume you found this on a beach? There aren't any Miocene or Pliocene marine rocks in the Fort Bragg area, so I highly doubt this is fossil. It looks like its been weathering on the beach for a few years. The other possibility is that it's from a midden. Either way, it's not legal to possess (or sell). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elske58 Posted June 27, 2013 Author Share Posted June 27, 2013 Thanks everyone. I've had it for about 20 years, and who knows how long it had been on the beach. Do you think I should donate it ? If so, where? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowsharks Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 Thanks everyone. I've had it for about 20 years, and who knows how long it had been on the beach. Do you think I should donate it ? If so, where? Not sure that a museum would take it if they know the laws governing the possession of marine mammal parts. Reading various articles on the US Fish and Wildlife Service website (link below), there are exceptions for folks that are Native Alaskans; they are allowed to hunt, kill, possess various types/parts (meat, hides, bones) of mammals. In some cases people can take a specimen to the Fish and Wildlife Service and request a permit to register and own a piece/part of marine mammal. You could try contacting them to ask what they would recommend you do with it. http://www.fws.gov/habitatconservation/marine_mammals.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adkfinnigan Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 i have one like that and i was wandering which whale that is from Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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