Geology: Very similar to that of other Ventura fossil sites such as:
Coal Point: link
Rincon Point: link
Ojai Trails: link
Sespe Wilderness: link
Paleontology: Black fossil bone about 14-15 inches long, which was found in a layer of sand that was cut into by the waves, was submitted on November 18th, 2016.
Other: If you have any input that would help identify the fossil, feel free to contact us and we will update this find.
I can’t tell you the exact species, but that’s a cannon bone (metapodial) from some kind of ungulate.
My husband is a paleontologist. He says that black colored bone, if truly a fossil and not just a discolored modern bone, appears to be the metatarsal bone of a bison. If it is not old, it is simply a cow bone.
This bone is either an artiodactyl metacarpal or metatarsal. The best way to tell which is to look at the proximal end. If it looks like a letter “D” in cross-section, then it is a metacarpal. If it looks like an “O”, then it’s a metatarsal. It’s hard to tell from the photos.
I’m sure someone has already commented that this looks like a cannon bone – the lower leg bone of an ungulate. It is more robust than would be expected for a deer, it looks more like bison.
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