Found bone on beach

[Vikingblood]

This was found on a recently replenished beach in New Jersey. It seems nearly mineralized. Sounds like a rock when I roll it around the coriander table. I just can't find anything on the google that matches it. Anyone wanna take a guess. Seems like larger mammal. I know commercial fisherman use cow parts for bait sometimes. But the cow bone I find do not look like this.

 

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[Harry Pristis]

It appears that you have a distal section of a deer metacarpal (a cannon bone). The section is from an immature individual; the epiphyses (the ridged knobs) fuse to the end of the shaft in a mature deer.

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[mamabear]

Nice find Viking. Harry is it fossilized? How did you learn all this? You never cease to amaze me with your knowledge.

 

[old digger]

I agree with Harry, looks like a deer leg bone.

 

[Harry Pristis]

Nice find Viking. Harry is it fossilized? How did you learn all this? You never cease to amaze me with your knowledge.

Thank you, mamambear. <blush>
Vikingblood suggests that it is mineralized. I can't determine the degree of mineralization from the images; however, green bone does not break straight across like this one is broken. This piece of bone almost looks cut, it's so clean. It could be an artifact which is several hundred, or several thousand years old . . . I can't say based on the images so far.

 

[Vikingblood]

Here is a few more pics. I thought it was to big for a dear. I compared the sound of it rolling on my metal washing machine to a real rock from my driveway and the rock in my driveway sounds harder than the bone, if that helps.

 

[Vikingblood]

Sorry forgot pictures.

 

[Harry Pristis]

Bone is primarily composed of hydroxyapatite and collagen. Hydroxyapatite is an inorganic compound of calcium, phosphate, and hydroxide which is organized in a crystal latticework that gives bone (and teeth) structural rigidity. It preserves well as a fossil under some conditions.

Collagen is a fiberous protein that serves as connective tissue in bones and muscles. It does not preserve well in a fossil. A 'green' bone is one that retains collagen.

As collagen decomposes, it may be replaced in the hydroxyapatite latticework by minerals from the depositional environment (e.g. silica dioxide dissolved in groundwater).

Bone reinforced with exogenous minerals is said to be "mineralized."

A 'burn test' or 'match test' will usually indicate whether there is collagen remaining in a bone -- scorched collagen has an awful smell. I usually use a butane lighter on a thin corner of a bone. (Teeth - dentin and enamel - contain hydroxyapatite, but don't contain much collagen, so the 'burn test' on a tooth would be a waste of time.)

 

[Ninjafossils]

yep. If it smells like burned hair, it has a lot of collagen left and is probably not that old.

 

[Vikingblood]

Ok I will try it.

 

[Vikingblood]

I had to hold the lighter to it for almost a full minute before it started releasing any smell and smoked. And it did smell a little bit. But it was not putrid and awful.