bigtx Posted May 2, 2021 Share Posted May 2, 2021 Found some bones sticking out of the creek bank in Central TX. Area has confirmed Mastodon remains. Tusks and a tooth all found within 1/4 mile of this site. Bones are 12 feet below the top of the bank. I did a little digging around today to get a feel for what it could be. It appears it could be a large pelvis bone (4-5 feet wide). I also found a small bone that appears to be from the foot/toes etc. Not really sure how I should proceed. Is there any educational value in this type of bones? Who would one contact to ask? I am sure Mastodon bones are fairly common. Not good pics, but the fireants were getting me so didnt get much done. Gonna get some poison and go back again. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyc Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 Can you clean up that bone and post some more pics , especially the ends? It looks like a metapodial to me, but the mammoth/mastodon bones I find are more robust. I’m wondering if this could be eremetherium. @Harry Pristis may be able to shed some more light. If it is something ice age, I would wait for expert advice how to proceed with extraction 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigtx Posted May 3, 2021 Author Share Posted May 3, 2021 Cleaned it up a bit 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 That was unexpected. These look like a large tortoise or turtle limb bones. 5 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...
bigtx Posted May 3, 2021 Author Share Posted May 3, 2021 OH WOW! Never would have suspected that. Im gonna do a little more investigation after I get rid of the fire ants and will follow up. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyc Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 That is unexpected. Now I wonder what the large bone still buried in the side of the creek is! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigtx Posted May 3, 2021 Author Share Posted May 3, 2021 (edited) This small bone was found just on top of the larger one. The shell maybe if some kind of turtle? From what I dug out it is 4-5 feet wide, but doesnt appear to be very thick on the edges. Edited May 3, 2021 by bigtx 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lone Hunter Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 The second picture did look like the outline of shell, curious what it's going to be. Can you tell if it's recent? Maybe a once pet Sulcata tortoise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigtx Posted May 3, 2021 Author Share Posted May 3, 2021 Not recent. The bones are 12' below the top of the creek bank. Exposed bones are very brittle. I went to check out one of my arrowhead hunting spots right after a rain. The arrowheads are found on the top of the bank 12 feet above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creek - Don Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 (edited) Just curious, are you near Waco? I've seen those reddish soil sediments near Brazos river in Waco, Texas. That was the only place I've seen soil like that in Central Texas. Those soil contains Pleistocene mammals like mammoth and others. Edited May 3, 2021 by Creek - Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigtx Posted May 3, 2021 Author Share Posted May 3, 2021 (edited) Mason County. We are in an area with lots of red dirt sandy loam. Right in the middle of TX between Austin San Antonio, San Angelo and Abilene. Edited May 3, 2021 by bigtx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zenmaster6 Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 59 minutes ago, bigtx said: Mason County. We are in an area with lots of red dirt sandy loam. Right in the middle of TX between Austin San Antonio, San Angelo and Abilene. sweet. Im finding mastodon teeth and tusk here in corpus christi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigtx Posted May 3, 2021 Author Share Posted May 3, 2021 Dug up the outline today and it does indeed look like a turtle. Looks like maybe it is on its belly and the top shell has colapsed. There is a defined ring around that is where the top part of the shell meets the edges. I believe the defined curved part is where the head would be located. The the photo the shovel scoop end would be where the tail would be and the curvature toward the end of the handle is where the head would be. No other bones located except for the leg bone yesturday. I outlined what I believe is the shell and the other thing is where the bone was found. I was definitely not expecting a turtle. The area above on the bluff produces arrowheads, not sure how old the bones are but maybe the natives ate the turtle and discarded it into the creek? Kind of far down below the soil from where the arrowheads are, but that may have been the creek bottom when they camped there? Anyhow I appreciate all the help, not really sure what to do now. I covered it all back up to prevent damage. Sorry for the crappy pictures. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creek - Don Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 Significant find. There must been Pleistocene lake or river nearby thousands of years ago. If that is the case there must been more marine or mammal fossils nearby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted May 4, 2021 Share Posted May 4, 2021 I agree; this should be carefully excavated and plaster jacketed. Congratulations on a rare discovery! The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigtx Posted May 4, 2021 Author Share Posted May 4, 2021 We are open to allowing somebody to properly remove it. Any idea who would be interested in that and how do I contact them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrow Posted May 4, 2021 Share Posted May 4, 2021 10 hours ago, bigtx said: We are open to allowing somebody to properly remove it. Any idea who would be interested in that and how do I contact them? Nice find! I'm sure someone on the forum will put you in touch with the right people to jacket and remove this rare find so it can be properly prepared and preserved for study. Good move covering it up to protect it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted May 4, 2021 Share Posted May 4, 2021 12 hours ago, bigtx said: We are open to allowing somebody to properly remove it. Any idea who would be interested in that and how do I contact them? Try contacting Matt Brown at the Vertebrate Paleontology Lab in Austin. If that doesn't work out, then maybe @BobWill can put you in touch with an excavation team from the Dallas Paleontological Society. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyc Posted May 4, 2021 Share Posted May 4, 2021 @Uncle Siphuncle may have some suggestions as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diginupbones Posted May 4, 2021 Share Posted May 4, 2021 This is really an interesting find for me and I’m sure many others, I hope you keep us updated on the progress. Congratulations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigtx Posted May 5, 2021 Author Share Posted May 5, 2021 Thank you everybody for all the info. I reached out to Mr. Brown and we are discussing things. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigtx Posted June 23, 2021 Author Share Posted June 23, 2021 I wanted to update this post so everybody interested had the conclusion. Mr. Brown and his team (Kenny, Chris and Jameson) came out this week and excavated the fossil. All I can say is that they are a great bunch of guys, and answered any questions I had. It took about 14 hrs total to get it removed. Had to use my tractor for some extraction due to weight and terrain. The preliminary theory is that it is a land tortoise 15,000 years or older. There have been few others documented in Texas; one on the coast, one in South Texas May be carbon dated to determine for sure. Thank you to this site for the direction and to the guys for coming out to excavate it. 2 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diginupbones Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 Very cool! Thanks for the update. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDAWG Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 Excellent that it worked out so well! Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 Kudos to you for contacting Matt! It will be awesome to see it when finally prepared. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now