Drizzt0000 Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 Found this in the river having a hard time figuring out if it's an old cow or Bison jaw 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuMert Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 Hmm, the teeth look a bit too whitish, but otherwise seems old enough. Will probably need sound and burn tests My sites & reports Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drizzt0000 Posted January 7, 2020 Author Share Posted January 7, 2020 Ya but bison ran the plains here so could be old but not fossilized. Just hoping for someone to id it as bison or cow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drizzt0000 Posted January 7, 2020 Author Share Posted January 7, 2020 Also I just did the tongue test it does not stick to it at all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kmiecik Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 7 minutes ago, Drizzt0000 said: Also I just did the tongue test it does not stick to it at all I thought that was only for coprolites. 1 Mark. Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drizzt0000 Posted January 7, 2020 Author Share Posted January 7, 2020 Nah thought it was for all bone as bone that is not a fossil is porous and will stick to your tongue. Fossils are not porous Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuMert Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 Mark meant this very special test was reserved to very special fossils only And not everybody is brave enough to perform it My sites & reports Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 18 minutes ago, Drizzt0000 said: Also I just did the tongue test it does not stick to it at all So did it taste like a rock or nasty decay? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drizzt0000 Posted January 7, 2020 Author Share Posted January 7, 2020 Didn't taste like anything....was hoping for beef but.....nothing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuMert Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 My sites & reports Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kmiecik Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 It's more fun to get neophytes to lick poop and watch their faces. I should have taken pictures, but that would have made the reason too obvious. Mark. Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drizzt0000 Posted January 7, 2020 Author Share Posted January 7, 2020 Yeah still not so much looking to see if it's fossilized as to id if it's bison or not lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClearLake Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 To me this appears more like a cow jaw. The picture I have attached are of a modern bison (top) and a cow (bottom). I know they are from somewhat different sized animals, but one thing I think you can see is the shape and angle of the coronoid process (the part sticking up in front of the jaw/skull articulation). In bison, the angle with the tooth line is more obtuse and the coronoid process has a more swept back look. The equivalent part if the cow mandible is more upright. To me, yours looks more cow-like. I can’t see your teeth clearly enough in the pictures but there are some subtle differences there that may also help. Go to @Harry Pristis gallery and you will find some photos specifically comparing bison and cow teeth. That’s my two cents. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creek - Don Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 I found this bison tooth past summer. Notice the stylid. From an external source: When the stylid is isolated you can have pretty high confidence in "bison" and rule out cow. When the stylid is attached you can have pretty high confidence in cow and rule out bison. Here's a bison molar with an isolated stylid. It's attached to the tooth by cementum but not actually joined to the main cusps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 28 minutes ago, Creek - Don said: I found this bison tooth past summer. Notice the stylid. From an external source: When the stylid is isolated you can have pretty high confidence in "bison" and rule out cow. When the stylid is attached you can have pretty high confidence in cow and rule out bison. Here's a bison molar with an isolated stylid. It's attached to the tooth by cementum but not actually joined to the main cusps. Don't put too much confidence in the website where you read about the stylids. Every one of 'em merges with the main body of the crown when worn down far enough. These jaws are individually variable. At one time, I believed the isolated stylids were more important to distinguishing between bison and cow. Now, I think that clue is more subtle than frank size. Of course, context of the find is also important. 4 http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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