GPayton Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 Found on the Brazos River just southwest of Houston. I know this is the distal end of a calcaneum, but I can't figure out whether it's horse, bison, or even bear - it seems to both match and not match pictures I'm finding online. Any help is appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 Search TFF for Calcaneum. There are lots of threads and info on identification of Calcaneums... It is based on precise measurements. @Harry Pristis can likely help... 1 The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 Seems too large for deer (I'm not sure about mule deer in Texas), but probably cow or bison. 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...
GPayton Posted July 24, 2020 Author Share Posted July 24, 2020 After going back through some measurements of horse and bison calcaneums I was able to pull up, it seems to match Equus sp. the best. Bison calcaneums are an inch or two too large, and although I don't know the exact names for some of the diagnostic features, this bone lacks some of the defining features that it would have if it did belong to a bison. Thanks for the help guys, and for the awesome photo albums on your profile Harry - I don't know how many times I've used them already, but they've been a lifesaver. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted July 24, 2020 Share Posted July 24, 2020 There's not much left that you can measure, Wendigo. The shaft is truncated, the sustentaculum is sheared off, what's left is the peak with multiple facets (e.g. cuboid facet). The form of that peak is that of an artiodactyl, not a perissodactyl. 6 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...
digit Posted July 24, 2020 Share Posted July 24, 2020 Thanks for the great calcaneum lesson, Harry! Cheers. -Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPayton Posted July 24, 2020 Author Share Posted July 24, 2020 I second what Digit just said - that was an excellent explanation. Those pictures definitely cleared everything up, Harry. The limited amount of images of Equus calcaneums that I could find on the internet didn't properly display the surfaces found on the top of the peak of the bone. The facets that are meant to be there were obviously worn off a long time ago by the river I found the bone in, leading to my confusion. Thanks again! By the way, is there any way to tell whether or not this is a right or a left calcaneum? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted July 24, 2020 Share Posted July 24, 2020 21 minutes ago, digit said: Thanks for the great calcaneum lesson, Harry! Cheers. -Ken Should be able to "pin" or categorize for ease of access "Knowledge Threads". i.e. here is the thread(s) to read if you want to understand or identify a fossil Calcaneum. Harry provides excellent detail and an educational thread. My only "add" would be : 1 The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted July 24, 2020 Share Posted July 24, 2020 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...
Shellseeker Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 @Harry Pristis Harry, I found this a couple of months ago in a water site I consider mostly Miocene. Slightly broken at 108 mm, it fits the profile of Bos and given the lack of water wear on the bone small details, I thought a cow walked into my hunting area. But seeing this discussion made me go back and look again. It is really narrow (half the width of a finger), plus I am not sure that cow fits the articulations... but I have been wrong before.. The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 Not Cow... Found a Holmesina_floridanus calcaneum in an online posting by Prehistoric Florida and then this in @calhounensis gallary: A first for me at 114 mm broken. 1 The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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