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Today was Martin Luther King day. I had the day off of work. So I slept in and then I got ready, packed my gear and headed back out to the bison site. It was bright and sunny, but 40 degrees with the wind blowing hard. Thankfully I would be down in the creek and the wind would not be much of an issue. There were a few more exposed bones I wanted to collect. One exposed bone was long and thin. I thought it was part of a thoracic vertebra. Just to the right of it was the edge of a very wide and flat bone. The first bone lay diagonal across part of the top of the second bone. I began to remove dirt and realized the wide flat bone was very fragile and broken in many places. This was not going to turn out well for that bone. Here is a pic of the situation. I don't think you can see all the breaks, but they’re there. The long thin bone is to the left. It started about 1.5 to 2 cm wide and 0.5 thick, but quickly broaden and got thicker. I couldn’t tell what it was. I think both scapula may be present, but I didn’t expose them to try to figure that out. I assumed the wide flat bone was a scapula, but I’m not terribly familiar with bovid anatomy so I wasn’t completely sure how long and wide it was supposed to be. I kept digging back into the bank to excavate it, but it seemed unending and quite large. This is the cavity after digging a while. The humerus on the left and the scapula on the right. I think they were actually articulated together, but at a distorted angle. I traced the other bone back and hit another large bone behind it. I tried to go around the other side of the scapula to pedestal it, but I hit bone there too. I am a complete novice with using Butvar 76, but I had received some on Saturday in the mail. Before I left home I decided to make a 50% solution to use to hold stuff together in the field rather than the cyanoacrylate. I knew the bond wouldn’t be strong, but hoped it would help hold stuff in place for transporting back to my house. I knew the scapula was not going to go well at all. It was fractured in dozens of pieces. I chose to pour the 50% solution over it and let it dry before attempting to move it. I walked over to there the end of the tibia was sticking out of the bank. This is the end of it in pic below. The femur was at a 90 degrees angle to it and articulated. I removed the femur on 1/13, but knew I’d have to come back for the tibia. There was another bone to the right of the tibia. I couldn’t tell what it was until I removed it from the bank. It turned out very cute little caudal vertebra. Ugg it is telling me I cannot upload more pics. I sent myself 7 pics and chose 1.8 mb for size. I'll post more in a minute.

Hello!! Just wanted to share with the forum some of my fossils and bones that I do not need identified but would love thoughts on nonetheless. The elephant bone is of a four tusker- the upper part of the tibia, and completely mineralized, and very heavy. It is anywhere from 13-15 myo. The tortoise shell frags include the lip of the shell, as well as a nice slab of the plastron- found separately, but in the same creek. Tortoises were in Nebraska 8-15 mya. The horse tibia has been identified as either the tibia of the small three-toed horse Pseudhipparion, or the one toed horse Protohippus. All of these were found in Nebraska in a creek that runs through the Valentine and Ash Hollow Formations, both Miocene exposures. Let me know your thoughts!!

Collected this partial pelvis yesterday from Pleistocene deposits near Houston TX. I think is bison based on the extra (2nd) acetabular notch but I'm hoping someone can confirm this feature is diagnostic to bovine.

Found on river gravel bar in Sothern Minnesota. I know its a partial bovid skull - any ideas on species? I'm thinking young male bison. Sediments in the area range from cretaceous to holocoen with a good amount of Wisconsin lobe glacial till. Previously we have found bison, mammoth, and ancient horse...

Hey folks! I found this tooth while walking through the castle river in southern Alberta, in the mountains. It was lying on the river gravels; the river is very low currently and would normally be flowing over where i found the tooth. I've read a few posts here regarding the debate of cow vs bison, I think this stylid seems to me quite prominent but, I'm no expert! Heh. Sorry about the ruler being in inches, it was the only one i could find! It doesn't seem to be fossilized at all but from wear and color I would say it is fairly old. Bison used to be in this area in pre-settler times so I feel like it could be a bison tooth from a few hundred years ago? Or I'm hoping? Hahaha. Any help would be amazing!!

Found a good thread by @tracer on bos vs bison metatarsal Below are a couple I have that I would like to get an opinion on. Per the thread above I have my guesses but the smaller diameter is making me wonder if I have the right species or if it’s an age issue. Thank you

Hello. A quick introduction. I have been walking the kaw for decades and have amassed a collection of artifacts and bones. What I have not amassed is the ID skills, especially between bison and cow. There are hints in the area I hunt that at one time, long ago, a butchery that either has eroded off the bank or they discarded items into the river. Guessing it was near Grantville, Kansas. So it can be a bit confusing for me between that and how the river deposits in general can age at different rates depending on where they’ve been hiding out. I really look forward to getting to know the items I have and some of you! My goal is to start pairing down my collection. I want to be accurate and honest about what I am presenting and not just going on Google guessing. Thanks for any help and if there are things I can do to improve my postings in the future please feel free to push this newb around and set me straight. Thank you. and now, the first bone. Am I correct in thinking this is a tibia? Is there a sure way to know if it’s bison or cow?

Greetings I am a Geologist who works in Northern Alberta and B.C., and I have been finding some great Pleistocene Horse and Bison bones in river gravels. My bones were looked at and samples sent for Carbon dating through the provincial Museum and a Professor buddy of mine. The Horse bones were 22-25k years old and the Bison bone was 44k years old. They paid for the analyses and I am donating them to the Museum. All were found within a couple kilometers on the same river. I found these two this year. They were very close to where I found the Horse bones. Does anyone have any idea what animal they came from? (Can't get a hold of my buddy at the moment). The lower bone shows more wear from the gravels. Any Help would be appreciated. Best Regards Rob

Thoughts on this stout metacarpal? Southern Minnesota gravel/river find. I only ask because farmers have run their cattle on the river in this area since I was a young man. This looks like bison to me though based on the proximal end and how stout it is.

Found this along the Kansas River in NE Kansas. I know it is a distal humerus, but am I right to assume this is a bison species?

I'm trying to help someone ID some vertebrae they found recently. They were found in east London, around 4 meters underground in black sticky soil. My first thought was that they looked similar to dolphin vertebrae, and my knowledge of stuff like that isn't great, so any help would be much appreciated! (Actually, I've just realised they're probably from a bison or something similar - I haven't a clue when it comes to mammal verts. The black preservation seems odd though.)

Greetings! I'm new on here and an amateur fossil hunter. It's not something I get to do often but I love getting out on the river and searching the banks when I can. I have a few finds...I'd love to get input on as to what they might be and perhaps how old they might be. I will post a few pics and then individual pictures of each specimen later. Would love to see what others have found in my area southwest of Houston. Thanks for any information.

Found with bison stuff

Yesterday I made one last trip to the Peace River to end this hunting season. When I checked the depth and flow gauges it showed both had increased as a result of recent rain but not enough to make a trip unsafe. The one caveat was the prediction of rain and possible thunder storms in my target area by 2 pm. It is really the threat of afternoon thunder storms almost everyday now that is the impetus to end the season. So, I got an early start and was on the river by 7:40 am with the intention of calling it a day by 2 pm. I headed back to the spot I have been digging in for the last four trips. I have been widening my search area as the gravel continues to be plentiful under an initial layer of sand. On arrival the first sifter turned up what appeared to be a good sized, if somewhat deformed, molar that I guessed to be bison. The next sifter also produced what I thought was a possible broken bison tooth (later I was able too see it was a broken horse tooth). This got me excited to think I already had a couple of nice finds to end the season. As I kept digging, pulling up small shark teeth of every variety in each load I became aware of the dark clouds that were continuously sliding by overhead. I pulled up a partial dolphin bulla, turtle scute and complete turtle entoplastron along with a bone that looked to me to be some kind of scapula. At one point a large black cloud rolled in and it rained for about 20 minutes. I didn't worry it would last as I could see blue skies in all directions beyond the storm cloud overhead. Just before noon I threw a shovel full of sand and gravel into the sifter and as the sand fell away there sat a beautiful and complete dolphin tooth. One of the largest I have found! I went to secure it in my kayak right away when I noticed that the dark clouds were no longer sliding by - they seemed to be filling the sky. I decided at that point that if I came up with one more good find I would call it a day. I didn't want to get caught in a thunderstorm on the river. I kept digging for almost an hour and did not come up with that trip worthy find. Looking at the sky I told myself one more load in the sifter and no matter what I did or didn't find I had better head for home. As soon as I dumped the next shovel full of gravel into the sifter I started to laugh as sitting right on top was a very nice astragalus! Deer based on the size. I scooped it up along with the misc shark teeth around it and loaded up the kayak for may paddle back to the car. Just as I pushed off the shore the sky opened up and the rain started pouring down! Thankfully there was no lightening! So the season came to an appropriate end with some nice finds as the rainy season begins. I may try some creek hunting over the summer but the Peace River will have to wait forSeptember at least. Here is a shot of the nicest specimens found yesterday: The astragalus measures 37 mm long x 23 mm wide x 2 mm tall The dolphin tooth measures 31 mm long x 12 mm wide The crown of the suspected bison tooth is 12 mm x 20 mm and 10mm high. I am going to post more photos of the possible bison tooth in the id section along with what I think is some type of scapula to hopefully get a positive id. Good Luck to all those still hunting - I will admit the story of the guy attacked by the alligator in the Myakka River may have also influenced my decision to end the season -LOL!

My collection of teeth I have tried to ID and want to see if I got any of them right, all came from creek that is QAL. First group I think is bovid, maybe little one on end deer? Next 2 teeth I'm not sure about, last group thinking might be bison. Wasn't sure if pictures of root end are needed.

The tooth is from Missouri it’s dated to 30,000 to 10,000 years old. it’s around an inch in length.

Purchased together as one lot a long time ago from online auction, was also sold as unknown bones. If you need a better photo of anything let me know. I did the repair as well with hydrocal as it was broken. Zero smell with burn test on both. Curious if someone could share opinoin ?

I didn't have much luck trying to ID a group of bones so thought I would try just one and maybe I can figure the rest out. It's from a creek that's all QAL not far from Trinity river. Passed the burn test, it's worn so makes it even harder for me, leaning toward bison. Would appreciate a definite ID!

Hey Everyone I found this at Twelve Mile Coulee. Any idea on what it is?

Went hunting with my Son. That in itself made it a great day. We have grown closer as we age and the separation over the last year has only made our time together more enjoyable. For most of the day, we had the numerous and excellent finds that the Peace River hunts famous. Things picked up in the last hour. Large Tooth: Clearly an upper, could be M1, or M2 or M3. The table below has measurements for a M1 and M2, but not M3. This find 35.1 mm, 22.6 mm, and 67.1 mm respectively, so I thought "maybe" the M2. I also found this photo on the Internet: That tells me that this is the "left" maxilla, and just looking at the "shape" pattern (above and below photos), it is either M2 or M3. So, I am looking for error in my thinking. and most of all I am looking for TFF Bison experts to tell me whether it is a M2 or a M3 and why.... so I'll go after the usual Bison expertise suspects. @Harry Pristis @Brett Breakin' Rocks @garyc @digit @Thomas.Dodson Please add others you think of , Jack

Found this in the bottom of a river bank the other day and was wondering what it was. It was buried pretty deep in the bank, but the river has moved a lot in the past decade and had been grazed by cattle since the 1930s. Watonwan River. Cottonwood County, Minnesota

Need help in this ID

I found this tooth on the Brazos River in SE Texas today. It looks like a Bison p1 to me and is similar to one I found last year. This one is much larger leading me to question whether it is indeed bison

Hey everyone, Staying on some private property with a river in central Colorado. While walking the creeks looking for anything of interest, I came across this. I am not familiar with the horned creatures! Is this bull? Buffalo? Bison? Antiquus? I don’t know, any information would be much appreciated. My wife wanted to get a picture and then looked a little peeved when I said, “Why? I’m taking it home.” Lol Sorry for the pics, don’t have anything to scale. Lemme know what you think. I can post better pics tomorrow. i thought it was driftwood at first, had that exact consistency and texture. -J

I found this on a sandbar along the Missouri River, and in the State of Missouri, and was wanting to get confirmation on if it is a bison vertebrae.