Alligator Osteoderm
Alligator mississippiensis
A pitted, keeled plate of bone from the armoured back of an alligator, fossil or modern.
- Typical size
- 1–3 in
- How often it turns up
- Common at river sites
- Collecting
- Archaeological, leave in place
- Handling
- Safe to handle
Vertebrate fossils collected from state-owned land or submerged bottoms in Florida require a fossil permit from the Florida Museum of Natural History. Beach-washed finds above the waterline are generally fine, but know your site.
How to tell it apart
- Oval plate with a raised keel
- Deeply pitted surface
- Light for its size
Found one?
Photograph it and BeachNut will rank the likely matches, then log it to your collection.
Identify a find
