Found on the beach yesterday….

wow - that would make a lovely addition to a sea themed room or even a unique paperweight,

it is pretty isn't it?

Sorry, but yuk!

Oh I love things like this: beach combing is my favourite pastime. If you check out Newbiggin by the Sea dolphin watch on Facebook they might be able to tell you more about it. One year thousands of cuttlefish bones were washed up on the shore. I put many of them outside for the birds remembering how my budgie used to have one. If I find anything unusual I ask them.

You may well say Yuk! Germanshepherdsmum - when I went to have another look this morning (we’d left it outside) there were lots of tiny white wiggly things coming out of the central bone marrow bit. So we’ve left it in the sun to be well baked. But when I looked again just now, lo, a trail of ants were carting the tiny white wrigglers away! By the time we go home in another 8 days I’m hoping it will have been well cleansed by sun and Nature.

I'm sure your dgc will be excited to see it.

Four or five years ago, I found a badger skull while out walking near my house.. I knew that my nature-loving dgc, who was about six then, would love it, so I washed it and gave it to him.
Recently, I was both surprised and pleased when I noticed that he still has it on display on his bedroom shelves.

Ooh, double yuk!

Interesting!

I think it's from a mammal rather than a shark.
A shark's verterbra is more circular, just a round I think and are cartilage rather than bone.

We had a dead minke washed up last year they re really smaller than I ever expected
Are you sure you can carry it home on a plane and get through customs!!
I too love beach things especially glass and seasoned timber and stones pummelled over the years into various shapes

BlueBell. Seaham beach in Co Durham is famous for sea glass as Sunderland was a leader in glass making and lots was just dumped in the sea. Over the years it’s been smoothed by the waves, collected by beachcombers and made into jewellery - lots of it sold too.

I’ve just bought these sea glass and silver earrings for a friend’s birthday. Her son lives in Seaham.

That's lovely georgesgran. I just have a 'thing' about bones, despite avidly watching them being dug up on archaeological programmes (except when I'm eating or about to eat).

They re beautiful georgesgran and yes I live on the coast too and love glass now referred to as sea glass which I always used to hunt for for a child pummelled and shaped and smoothed by centuries of washing and moving

Wonderful. Beachcombing is a big part of my life. I love that you just never know what's going to come in on the next tide.

Definitely mammal, whales evolved from the same line as cattle and sheep along with dolphins and other sea mammals.

This was from the last time I went hunting for sea glass. I’ve only found lots of colours at Seaham but they were very small pieces. I couldn’t see any at first but my friend who grew up there knew how to spot it. This was from Berwick. There was a lot of pale green glass that day.

Witzend, if you plan to keep it, soak it in bleachy water overnight. We have found the odd bone or skull and my DH has done that to clean it. Same with any shells found.

I wouldn't travel with it though...

What I was told when I once found a large and smelly seashell was to bury it in the garden for a couple of months. When I dug it up, Lo and behold, the garden creatures had done their job and after rinsing the earth off it was as fresh as a daisy !

That's a nice vertebra. My son climbed on a dead whale and dug out one of his teeth.

nanna8

What I was told when I once found a large and smelly seashell was to bury it in the garden for a couple of months. When I dug it up, Lo and behold, the garden creatures had done their job and after rinsing the earth off it was as fresh as a daisy !

Yes, Nature does a good job, given time. When we lived in the Middle East, any possibly smelly beach finds of dds were just left out in the hot sun, for that and ants or whatever else, to quietly get on with it.
I might well dunk the vertebra in a bleach solution overnight before we go home, but TBH I’m not sure it’ll be necessary by then - that is if we have several more sunny days - not guaranteed here.

More teeny little white wiggly things appearing this morning! - we’d assumed that they were all gone. The ants are having a field day.
We’re all finding it very interesting to witness Nature’s clean-up operation - very efficient!

?

Germanshepherdsmum

?

? - can’t say I’m surprised, GSM!

Thank you for your understanding!