Jr. Bison? or Bos

[dbrake40]

Found on river gravel bar in Sothern Minnesota. I know its a partial bovid skull - any ideas on species? I'm thinking young male bison. Sediments in the area range from cretaceous to holocoen with a good amount of Wisconsin lobe glacial till. Previously we have found bison, mammoth, and ancient horse...

Edited September 19, 2021 by dbrake40
clarity

[val horn]

Is it an actual fossil?  Does it pass the burn test?  In a juvenile i would expect to see open suture lines  and an expectation that the fossil would have separated into pieces along these lines  do you see sutures along any of the borders?

[dbrake40]

Unfortunately I no longer have it. Was hoping someone could ID by morphology

Edited September 20, 2021 by dbrake40

[val horn]

there are lot of folks who are alot more knowledgeable than i am so hopefully someone else is better

[tombk]

19 hours ago, val horn said:

Does it pass the burn test?

Is this where you hold the specimen up to a flame and see whether a distinctly organic odor emanates from it? The odor suggesting that it is recent and still an actual bone? I've read about this somewhere online and don't know how sensitive/specific it is though. 

[val horn]

that is the test that I mean.  A fossil will not burn.    If i am at home, I will hold the "fossil" to a lit burner on the stove.   if the bone chars, or burns it is recent, if it smells like burning hair, that is protein burning and a fossil should not have protein to burn.  if it passes the test it is clearly a fossil, if it fails it is not fully fossilized or not at all fossilized.  Pleistocene fossils can be a problem.    A 10,000 year old mammoth bone or tusk may not be fossilized or may be only partially fossilized.    water logged samples may need to fully dry out before they can be tested.  Does that help?

[Harry Pristis]

Collagen is a fiberous protein that serves as connective tissue in bones and muscles. It does not preserve well in a fossil. As collagen decomposes, it may be replaced in the hydroxyapatite latticework by minerals from the depositional environment (e.g. silica dioxide dissolved in groundwater).

Bone reinforced with exogenous minerals is said to be "permineralized." If the bone components (including the hydroxyapatite) are entirely replaced by exogenous minerals such as silica, it is said to be "replaced by -". If a bone is permineralized, it is more likely to be a fossil. If a bone is not permineralized, it is less likely to be a fossil. No absolutes, only likelihoods, because there are exceptions.

In the case of leaves and wood, as with bones, permineralization depends on the circulation of mineral-saturated groundwater. If there is limited or no circulation (or no suitable minerals in solution), then there is no permineralization. BUT, the organic remains - the leaves, or wood, or bone - are still fossils ("fossilized" if you like).

A 'burn test' or 'match test' will indicate only whether there is collagen remaining in a bone -- scorched collagen has an awful smell. Briefly apply an open flame (I prefer a butane lighter) to an inconspicuous area of the object . . . you cannot keep a pin hot enough long enough to scorch collagen. Tooth enamel contains hydroxyapatite, but doesn't contain collagen, so the 'burn test' on tooth enamel would be a waste of time.

[dbrake40]

100% this is not a fully mineralized. It is heavier that most 'modern bone' I find so probably partially mineralized. And that said, from what I gather, anything newer than 10K years isn't really considered a fossil anyway.

 

I'm really just trying to determine if its Bison Bison or Bos Taurus (cattle). I have found bison in the area before and had it verified at the Science Museum of Minnesota. So they were around. This specimen just seems unusually small to me.