BosnMate
Gold Member
- Sep 10, 2010
- 6,916
- 8,441
- Detector(s) used
- Whites MXT, Whites DFX, Whites 6000 Di Pro
- Primary Interest:
- Other
Back when I was 7 or 8 years old, which would be in neighborhood of 1945, at Avila Beach, California, there was exposed in sand stone, a very large petrified skeleton. There was no skull, and I don't remember any legs. It was mostly backbone and ribs is all I can really remember. It was probably a whale, but we called it a "petrified dinosaur." I can't believe we were so ho hum about it. I was like, doesn't everybody have a petrified dinosaur in their back yard? I have no pictures, and it's gone now, along with the Indian mound where we used to find artifacts, dozed away to progress, when the county widened the road. The skeleton was located next to the Union Oil Dock, just above the surf line, embedded in sandstone. It was on a bench, low enough that an extremely high tide or storm would wash on it. My brother would dive for abalone in the rocks alongside the skeleton, and I would look for Indian relics above, and the petrified bones were just there, something we could show our friends. I found a bone that had been washed out by the waves, and I brought it home, otherwise that's about the extent of the "petrified dinosaur."
To me this bone is absolutely an astragalus bone, which is located in the "hock," of critters like cattle, horses, elk and deer. The first photo shows where the "hock" is located.
V points to the "hock."
Above is the astragalus bone from a deer, and the next photo shows the location, in the skeleton, this bone is found.
Again, the V points to the astragalus bone.
And below are pictures of the "petrified dinosaur" bone I packed home as a kid, and have hung onto all these years.
Now, after all that, is this a whale bone, or some other prehistoric animal? The astragalus bone is kind of a bearing, where the tendon crosses the joint. Even without legs, could the whale have a flipper with this bone. We didn't actually see leg bones, but is this an indication that there were legs?
To me this bone is absolutely an astragalus bone, which is located in the "hock," of critters like cattle, horses, elk and deer. The first photo shows where the "hock" is located.
V points to the "hock."
Above is the astragalus bone from a deer, and the next photo shows the location, in the skeleton, this bone is found.
Again, the V points to the astragalus bone.
And below are pictures of the "petrified dinosaur" bone I packed home as a kid, and have hung onto all these years.
Now, after all that, is this a whale bone, or some other prehistoric animal? The astragalus bone is kind of a bearing, where the tendon crosses the joint. Even without legs, could the whale have a flipper with this bone. We didn't actually see leg bones, but is this an indication that there were legs?
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