Kayak-IA Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 My wife found this jaw bone on a river sand bar in central Iowa last fall. I think it is a sloth jaw but not certain. The smallish size is what gives me a little bit of doubt. I have not found anything else other than a sloth that fits. Am I missing something? Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 Can you please post a picture ( focused ) looking straight down on the chewing surface of the tooth? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kayak-IA Posted February 23, 2020 Author Share Posted February 23, 2020 Here is a better pic (taken outdoors). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kayak-IA Posted February 23, 2020 Author Share Posted February 23, 2020 Here is a pic that shows the broken bit of the incisor tooth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 For comparison: 3 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...
Kayak-IA Posted February 23, 2020 Author Share Posted February 23, 2020 OK. It sure does look like a beaver jaw now that I see this. For some reason I never thought to look into beaver teeth. This is our first beaver fossil. Still looking for a sloth! Thanks Much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClearLake Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 Very nice find! I agree it looks very much like a beaver as @Harry Pristis has suggested. But I’m a bit confused. The tooth in the found jaw is in the frontal position, but it looks most like the tooth in the back position in the jaw that Harry posted. Am I seeing this wrong or is the tooth perhaps in the wrong position? On a separate note, is the jaw that Harry posted a modern or fossil jaw? I ask because the teeth have a lot of differences from the modern beavers I have in my collection. I am curious if anyone knows how much variability there is in the tooth pattern of Castor canadensis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 These are Holocene beavers. The jaws are from NA middens which are a few thousand years old. 2 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...
ClearLake Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 41 minutes ago, Harry Pristis said: These are Holocene beavers. The jaws are from NA middens which are a few thousand years old Thanks for that info, I’m going to have to do a little research on beaver teeth! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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