• Question from:Tom Moorman

I found this bone on the beach of the Gulf of Mexico in Louisiana a few years ago. I thought at the time it was from a large fish - and lots of people ask me since I keep it in my office. Wondering if one of you could possibly shed any light on the animal from which it came? Could it be from an alligator or sea turtle? Thanks!

The bone is about 16-18 com in total lenght, about 3 cm in width at widest point, and the flattened end of the bone is about 8 cm in width.

By the way, the ruler is in inches - sorry it was all I could find that would work in the photo. I measured in centimeteres with a metal ruler that would not photo well.

Here are a couple more photos.

Post's pictures

fishbonephoto2.jpg, 619.96 kb, 1632 x 1224

fishbonephoto3.JPG, 420.95 kb, 1632 x 1224

Photo
  • Horniman Museum, London, UK
  • Posts: 1,105

I think this may be part of the cleithrum (one of the bones of the pectoral girdle) from a very large teleost fish. I'm afraid I don't have access to specimens that might help work out which species, but I'll keep my eyes peeled for something that might help confirm or improve the identification. It'd be from something pretty massive though!