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Hi Richard,
As per the instructions of Leif and S Hamilton, I say be a turtle bone,
too. I do not know precisely the name of the bone, but it looks like the
fin. There are some books and articles that have pictures.

Anything sends an email to people,

Att.

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*Thiago Fossile*
*Bel. Ciências Biológicas* *|* *MBA **Gestão Ambiental*
http://lattes.cnpq.br/6923011110519249


2017-03-05 22:12 GMT-03:00 Richard Wright <[log in to unmask]>:

> A friend showed me this bone. He picked it up in the intertidal zone on a
> sandy beach on the northern coast of NSW.
>
> I told him I thought it was part of the naturally abraded rib of a
> Cetacean. Please correct me if I am wrong. I have never handled Cetacean
> bones.
>
> https://app.box.com/shared/static/qs6n1h2urz9j09bikz0bisbsidjyhymk.jpg
>
> What puzzles me is the taphonomic process that led to the visually odd
> form of the bone.
>
> In particular, why is the left end forked, with ridges and grooves?
>
> My assumption is that the rib of a Cetacean has longitudinal lines of
> differing amounts of bone apatite and collagen, leading to differential
> depth of abrasion.
>
> Is there any literature on this? I would like to know, because some day or
> other a similar specimen will be handed in as an artefact.
>