Can anyone help me with an id on this please

JoanYoung · Post by **JoanYoung** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 6:20 am

This picture was send to me by the son of a friend of mine and he has given me permission to post it here in order to try to get an id on it. He only noticed it when it was on the computer as it is so small. The size can be judged by the grains of sand. He lives on coastal South Carolina.

Cyclops · Post by **Cyclops** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 7:29 am

At first I thought part of a shell but those two wings at either end make me think of the upper vertebrae of some small mammal?

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 6:25 pm

See...told ya so...

Mike B in OKlahoma · Post by **Mike B in OKlahoma** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 7:27 pm

I'm looking on an itty bittty cell phone screen, but could it be a case for the young of a ray or shark? I don't have expertisee in those but you might check references.

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 7:48 pm

I looked it up Mike but not quite similar to this. The case is called, from what I can gather a "Mermaids Purse." Rectangular in shape with two spines at each end. They do however wash up on the shore when detached from seaweed where they are laid by rays and dogfish. However that is not to say that what Joan has here is not a Mermaids Purse, could very well be but a different species maybe

JoanYoung · Post by **JoanYoung** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 8:08 pm

Thanks Cyclops, Ken and Mike. I am sending Carl the link to this page so he can see the answers for himself.

Ken

See...told ya so...

LOL!! So you did!! ou don't have to be so egotisticle about it.

Cyclops · Post by **Cyclops** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 4:23 am

Mike B in OKlahoma wrote:I'm looking on an itty bittty cell phone screen, but could it be a case for the young of a ray or shark?

Ah someone else who uses their phone to browse the net!

And Ken,what did you mean by I told you so?

beetleman · Post by **beetleman** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 9:26 am

I think it looks like the thorax section of an insect. Like a beetle maybe.

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 10:34 am

Larry asked:

And Ken,what did you mean by I told you so?

Joan had asked me about this earlier and what I thought it was. I told her it looked like a small vertebrate to me too.

Mike B in OKlahoma · Post by **Mike B in OKlahoma** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 7:55 pm

Cyclops wrote:
Mike B in OKlahoma wrote:I'm looking on an itty bittty cell phone screen, but could it be a case for the young of a ray or shark?
Ah someone else who uses their phone to browse the net!

Yep, when I'm traveling, bored in the hotel room in the evening, and don't want to read or watch television, Sprint Powervision is awesome! Surf the net, watch "highlight clips" of television stuff from Discover Channel or Comedy Channel, or what have you. Wouldn't be without it for being on the road. Of course, you do have the disadvantage of looking at everything on a screen about the size of a playing card, but my close vision isn't too bad yet!

As for the mystery object, now that I can actually see it, I agree it doesn't look much like an egg case (though there are many other types besides the skate egg cases Ken talked about). Looks too flimsy to be a segment of vertebra. Maybe it is the exoskeleton of a segment of some worm or invertebrate? Since seashore is very scarce in Oklahoma, I don't really know!

JoanYoung · Post by **JoanYoung** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 1:37 am

Thanks everyone. Carl was out of town for the weekend, but will look at it later today. If he has any comments, I will pass them on. His macro photography is quite good so I hope to convince him to join us here too.

Hey Carl, how about it??

You need not worry, this forum is full of very nice people, I am the only dragon around.

Gordon C. Snelling · Post by **Gordon C. Snelling** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 6:11 am

I agree with Beetleman, pretty safe bet it is a thorax section from a beetle.

JoanYoung · Post by **JoanYoung** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 6:13 am

Thank you very much for this Gordon. I am glad we have been able to help Carl with this.

Harold Gough · Post by **Harold Gough** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 2:23 am

It could be from a tail segment of a marine decapod (shrimp, etc.).