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A friend of mine discovered this, which appears to be a fossilized bone. However, the area where he found it is, as far as I'm aware, pretty much all Ordovician period limestone. And I was under the impression that this was long before vertebrates existed (please correct me if I'm wrong). So because of that, I'm assuming this is not a bone but simply looks a lot like one.
Any ideas? I also considered the possibility that it may not even be a fossil at all, but to my non-scientist eyes it certainly looks like one.
It certainly looks like a large thigh bone, but as far as I can gather, the limestone in that area dates from the Ordovician period, and from everything I've read no large vertebrates existed at that time. The area was underwater and you can find tons of nautiloids, sponges, etc., but I think the only vertebrates at the time were fairly small fish. I found this map:
I just realized I didn't mention in the OP that this was found in middle TN. Right there in the middle of the map in the pink area that signifies the Ordovician Period. I'm certainly no geologist, not even an amateur one, so I'm not exactly well-versed in this. But I have to wonder if maybe it's not a fossil at all. Could it be that an igneous or metamorphic rock could be embedded in the limestone? Maybe as the limestone eroded the harder rock became exposed? I have no idea if that's even possible, I'm just thinking out-loud, er...in type.
I wouldn't rule it out just because of the Ordovician premise. Maybe the fossil was deposited after the area emerged from the sea.(?) You might want to contact a nearby university or one that specializes in paleontology.
Can you tell me exactly where this is? Lats and Lons. I can look on one of my Geologic maps and from that I might be able to see what the faunal assemblage is for that formation.
Can you tell me exactly where this is? Lats and Lons. I can look on one of my Geologic maps and from that I might be able to see what the faunal assemblage is for that formation.
Unfortunately I have no idea what the exact location is. I doubt my friend could tell me the coordinates, just the general area.
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