truceburner Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 An acquaintance found this in a Marble Falls (TX) thrift store - provenance otherwise unknown. With help from a capable lab assistant, the following pics were provided, with scale in inches. Might this be from a whale? Hoping we can narrow down the possibilities (and age) for the owner. Thanks in advance for your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 I do believe that is a whale vert, looks modern. “...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin Happy hunting, Mason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDudeCO Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 @Boesse will help with this one!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted October 24, 2017 Share Posted October 24, 2017 I am on board with the modern cetacean vert. It resembles a couple I have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Posted October 24, 2017 Share Posted October 24, 2017 I, too, see a whale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truceburner Posted October 24, 2017 Author Share Posted October 24, 2017 Thanks for the replies. I do hope @Boesse can chime in on the previous owner's familial kinship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max-fossils Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 I agree with the others for whale vertebrae. Though from the looks it seems modern, you can confirm this by doing the flame test. (Light a match on the bone: if it starts to smell, more likely modern, the smell caused by the collagen in the bone burning; if it doesn't smell at all, you probably have a fossil, and a mighty one too!) Max Derème "I feel an echo of the lightning each time I find a fossil. [...] That is why I am a hunter: to feel that bolt of lightning every day." - Mary Anning >< Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier Instagram: @world_of_fossils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boesse Posted October 28, 2017 Share Posted October 28, 2017 Caudal vertebra, likely from a baleen whale. That's all that can be said - vertebrae are not diagnostic within most cetaceans. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truceburner Posted October 30, 2017 Author Share Posted October 30, 2017 Got it. Thanks for the information, @Boesse! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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