More Horse of Course?

[dbrake40]

Found by my buddy on a river gravel bar/bank in southern Minnesota. As I've stated in some previous posts the geology in our area is upper Cretaceous. However, the river where this specimen was found pulse floods and is like a giant gravel mixer. In the past and more recently Pleistocene fossils have been found in the river gravel deposits in my area (mammoth, bison, etc). It general it is very difficult to age by geology/context. I'm hoping ancient horse but more sets of eyes on it are better. What do you think and thanks!? Any thoughts on age? Ancient horse or not?

 

 

[Harry Pristis]

Yes, Equus sp. -- a lower,  left m1 or m2.

[dbrake40]

32 minutes ago, Harry Pristis said:

Yes, Equus sp. -- a lower,  left m1 or m2.

Any guess on age? Looks partially fossilized to me...

 

[Thecosmilia Trichitoma]

6 minutes ago, dbrake40 said:

ny guess on age? Looks partially fossilized to me...

 You can do the hot needle test. If you put the hot tip of a needle to modern bone, it smells bad. Fossilized bone doesn't smell.

[Kane]

Not the hot needle test, given that it is unlikely you can keep a needle hot enough to perform it. Use something like a butane lighter which would be a sustained heat source.

[dbrake40]

7 minutes ago, Kane said:

Not the hot needle test, given that it is unlikely you can keep a needle hot enough to perform it. Use something like a butane lighter which would be a sustained heat source.

I've heard burn tests don't work so well on teeth but I'll maybe try.

[Kane]

I’ve heard it won’t work on teeth at all given that there is little collagen. Could someone verify the failure of a burn test on teeth? @Harry Pristis

[Tidgy's Dad]

The burn test works on collagen which gives off a nasty smell when burned. 

Teeth contain very little collagen, so the test isn't very useful. 

 

Teeth are mostly made of hydroxyapatite which doesn't burn, I don't think. 

[FossilNerd]

20 minutes ago, Kane said:

I’ve heard it won’t work on teeth at all given that there is little collagen. Could someone verify the failure of a burn test on teeth? @Harry Pristis

@JohnJ recently spoke of the hot needle test in the post below. Saying the test is not a valid one on bone as you would need a continuous heat source to effectively burn collagen. A clean specimen would also be needed (I’m assuming to rule out false positives from contaminants).

 

If teeth have little to no collagen as @Tidgy's Dad Adam says, it would stand to reason that it would be doubly difficult, if possible at all.

 

 

[Harry Pristis]

There is no good way to tell the age of this tooth.