Hi All,
Any chance someone can please help with determining if these are fossilized bones? They were found on Holden Beach a couple of years ago after they rebuilt the beach by pumping sand in from deeper water. It was prime shark tooth finding! Several people found Megalodon teeth and we also found what we think are fossilized alligator fangs.
Thanks!
These are indeed fossil bones! I believe these really dense bones are Sirenian rib fragments, which are pretty devoid of marrow to act as a ballast since their bodies are very buoyant. I’m not really sure what the age of the Holden-specific bones are and I’m not sure if they could really be narrowed down; at the very least I couldn’t do it. The dugongs were the most prominent in the Carolina area from the Eocene to the Miocene(?), after which the manatees moved in during the Pleistocene.
I’d be interested in seeing the proposed alligator fossils as well, I might be able to help identify and narrow those down.
-Tony
