Holden Beach Fossil?

Any chance this is a fossilized vertebrate bone? My husband found it at Holden Beach,NC. If so, any idea what it may have come from? It is about 1.5-2in wide.

Hey there,

Thanks for posting to the forum! Unfortunately I’m not seeing anything that I’d immediately associate with fossil bone on this specimen, I’m thinking it is a deceptively shaped rock of some variety. The hole running through the specimen may have been produced by burrowing invertebrates such as piddock clams / angelwing clams (Pholadids) or something similar. Most of your bone fossils will have porous looking cross-sections where they are damaged, such as what is circled on this Sirenian vertebra from Holden Beach. Most fossil bones from Holden are a black color, though some shades of dark reddish-brown to light gray also occur.

Hope this helps! There is a lot of cool material on Holden even 4+ years after the replenishment project, so there is still some good potential there.

-Tony

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Ah,ok. I am completely new to this. Thank you for your feedback, I really appreciate it.