1st of 3 Toebones

[Shellseeker]

Out today with a couple of friends.  Mostly small teeth but a few Megs and 3 toe bones.  Here is the 1st.  Late Miocene site with only a few Pleistocene fossils found. I hope to identify mammals with similar bones.

 

 

[Harry Pristis]

I don't think it's a mammal bone.  It looks like turtle to me.

[Shellseeker]

11 hours ago, Harry Pristis said:

I don't think it's a mammal bone.  It looks like turtle to me.

Thanks Harry,  gives me a path to follow, Tortoise, sea, land turtle toe bones.

 

@siteseer  Jess, I think you have some expertise on small turtle bones form STH...  recognize this ?

@digit Ken, I heard there was someone at UF analyzing turtle bones for PRiPP ? 

 

[Lorne Ledger]

Looks caudal to me and not a phalanx

[ClearLake]

On 11/2/2021 at 10:17 AM, Shellseeker said:

Tortoise, sea, land turtle toe bones.

I am with @Lorne Ledger, I think this looks like a tail bone.  I took a look at some of my specimens to compare.  I know they are recent and this may be older, but I think some of the important features still apply;

 

Here are toe bones from a turtle (hind foot and fore foot) and an alligator, note how the individual bones have very distinctive ends which articulate with each other.  I don't think this matches yours at all.

 

    

 

Then here are some tail bones from a few mammals (L to R: Cat, Deer, Horse)

 

       

 

To me it looks more in line with a horse caudal bone.  Could be another mammal, but something along those lines.

 

A modern turtle tail looks nothing like your specimen.  I didn't take a picture of the alligator tail but it was similar to the turtle.

 

[Shellseeker]

47 minutes ago, ClearLake said:

Then here are some tail bones from a few mammals (L to R: Cat, Deer, Horse)

Impressive !!! and logical.  You have made progress....It does look like a tail bone.  Thanks