Description: Fish hyperostotic bone, or "Tilly bone". These are bones that have undergone abnormal growth and are actually fairly common, especially in Florida. There are some interesting photos at the Australian Museum Fish site. See the references for further information. Scale is in centimeters. I have a photo of one in a fish I caught and cleaned. The swollen spine is in the top center of the picture.

Age: ?

Found By: JoDeb DeRouin.

Location Found: Peace River near Zolfo Springs, FL.

Current Custodian: JoDeb DeRouin.

Identified By: JoDeb DeRouin.

References: Vertebrate Fossils: A Neophyte's Guide, p.14; Paleopathological Fish Bones from Phosphorites if the Lake Manyara Area, Northern Tanzania - Fossil Evidence of a Physiological Response to Survival in an Extreme Biocenosis, Shluter & Kohring, 2001 http://www.environmental-center.com/magazine/kluwer/egah/art6.pdf; A.Konnerth 1966, "Tilly bones", Oceanus 12, 6-9; Smith-Vaniz, W.F., L. S. Kaufman, and J. Glowacki,1995. Species-specific patterns of hyperostosis in marine teleost fishes. Marine Biology 191: 573-580; Tiffany, W.J., R. E. Pelham, and F. W. Howell, 1980. Hyperostosis in Florida fossil fishes. Florida Scientist 43: 44-49