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possibly a worn claw are you in mesezoic era rocks

Thanks so much for your comment. We are not sure what era we are in. We are just getting started with finding out about fossils. I am actually 5 years old and my dad is helping me (he is typing) I included the photo of all the other fossils we found that day to try help but we are really unsure. Any information you might have would be super helpful. Thanks so much. We have been researching together, we are having loads of fun learning.

I’m very new too but I’ve never found anything like that it may be just a strange rock but it looks more promising than that. are there any near by muesuem.

what beach did you find it on

those shells are lovely too happy hunting!

Thanks for your reply. All fossils were found about 7km from current day beach named 90mile beach in Victoria, Australia. Great idea, I will contact Melbourne museum

that’s ok zac sorry I might take a little longer to reply next I’ll do some research on Australia

oops sent before finished. I’m on the Isle of wight. uk. or you into finding an particular fossil like dinosaur fossils fossil shells etc.?

if your doing research I definetly recommend books over the Internet. I know there are some books on Australia fossil hunting or books like dinosaur atlas which contain all the continents, what dinosaurs lived there, what they looked like and what sites there are. I’m sorry I didn’t make myself clear last post I meant what fossil do you like finding best? is it shells, dinosaur bone or cephlapods. this may help me recommend some fossil sites near where you are hunting.

Thanks for clarifying. I would love to find a dinosaur fossil. So far I have been finding clams, scallops and shells.

been doing a bit of research and talbragar NSW. it is jarasic rock and one of the. richest deposits there. only fossils fish site In New South wales

are you near talbragar?

We are very excited to have heard back from Melbourne museum. Wanted to share with you all. Thanks for your help too. This is a small part of their email to us. We can’t wait till covid is done so that they can come visit.

Melbourne museum response “And now for the exciting bit – the fossil bone. This strange hook-shaped bit of bone isn’t a claw, but I can understand that interpretation. It’s actually a fragment from a skull of a small baleen whale, or Mysticetid. It’s from a part of the skull called the zygoma, from near where the jaw hinges with the skull, a bit like where your eyes, temple and cheek all meet on your face. If you feel your cheek just under your eye, you can probably feel a ridge of bone – it’s like that, only from a whale.

Because it’s only a fragment, we can’t say too much more yet, but we are very interested to know more about this piece in particular – do you know the exact spot where this bit was found, and do you know if any more bony-looking pieces were found nearby? Our Senior Curator of Vertebrate Palaeontology is an expert in fossil whales, so he’s keen to know more, and hopefully one day have a look at this specimen in person – perhaps even one day we can come and visit the site? “

Well done! I would much rather this than a claw. Skulls are extremely rare – even fragments. Amazing joob

job!

Thanks smudge-smith 😁

that’s ok