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Buffalo? Bison? Bull? New? Old?


joshuajbelanger

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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

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Cool piece, not sure the age or species though

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It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt

 

-Mark Twain

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2 hours ago, joshuajbelanger said:

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

C'mon Joshua,   You know the routine. Can't find a ruler/tape measure?  Measurements,,  especially tip to tip... It is in the Bison/Buffalo family and tip to tip may be the primary differentiator.

 

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The White Queen  ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"

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36 minutes ago, joshuajbelanger said:

Sorry @Shellseeker, I’m currently in an unfamiliar place with nothing of the sort!  For shame, for shame...I’m sorry

A few of the measurements here:  If fossil, it might be Bison bison.

https://allaboutbison.com/ancient-bison/

http://westerndigs.org/n-americas-oldest-bison-fossil-found-revealing-mother-of-all-bison/

 

More insight:  The B. latifrons species was replaced by the smaller Bison antiquus. B. antiquus appeared in the North American fossil record approximately 250,000 years ago.[41] B. antiquus, in turn, evolved into B. occidentalis, then into the yet smaller B. bison—the modern American bison—some 5,000 to 10,000 years ago.[42][43] Some researchers consider B. occidentalis to be a subspecies of B. antiquus.[44]

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The White Queen  ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"

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54 minutes ago, Shellseeker said:

A few of the measurements here:  If fossil, it might be Bison bison.

https://allaboutbison.com/ancient-bison/

http://westerndigs.org/n-americas-oldest-bison-fossil-found-revealing-mother-of-all-bison/

 

More insight:  The B. latifrons species was replaced by the smaller Bison antiquus. B. antiquus appeared in the North American fossil record approximately 250,000 years ago.[41] B. antiquus, in turn, evolved into B. occidentalis, then into the yet smaller B. bison—the modern American bison—some 5,000 to 10,000 years ago.[42][43] Some researchers consider B. occidentalis to be a subspecies of B. antiquus.[44]

This is great information.  I actually noticed how small the horns look.  I would imagine it’s more recent, but heck, I won’t know until I measure.  It’s a cool find, and I’ve actually been wanting one.

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Alright, @Shellseeker, we are looking at a 25 inch horn spread.  I believe that you are correct with the Bison Bison id.  I also did a burn test, and I’m not getting any kind of burnt protein smell.  It’s a good sign, although far from conclusive, I believe it’s older rather than younger.  

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57 minutes ago, henpecked said:

You did well Josh 

Ditto,  a very nice find.. I have found a few Bison teeth in the Peace River,  but never a horn.

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The White Queen  ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"

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  • 3 months later...

I'm jealous.  I'm a buffalo skull hunter.

 

It's definitely bison.  I'm guessing it's bison bison from the southern herd.  It's definitely a bull. 

 

The lateral horn core morphology relative to the skull looks like the southern herd (more down and back instead of up and out like the northern herd; i.e. more like antiquus than occidentalis in shape).

 

From the photos, it looks like bone, not fossil, but photos are deceiving.  If you lick it and your tongue sticks, it could be bone.  If it doesn't stick, it's more likely a fossil.  Weight can tell a lot too: heavy = fossil, light = bone.  If it was in water or mud then it will dry out and start to disintegrate.  You'll have to preserve it to save it.    

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