Bone Valley Earbones

[Shellseeker]

I was out yesterday and i found an earbone.  My initial impressions was that this was a Dolphin periotic, but I soon changed my mind.

Over the years in hunting the Peace river,  the 1st Earbone that I found was Equus,  and I have found 30 at least since the first. Most hunters I discuss horse ear bones, say they either throw them back or leave them laying in a dusty drawer as unidentified bones. Usually they have a lot of wear , but here is a pristine one,  with many more features than normal including some skull material. It is 45 mm Length and 30 mm width.

 

Yesterday,  I found this earbone in the Peace river. It is considerably smaller than horse. 

 

 

More than a year ago, when hunting a Miocene location, my hunting partner found this fantastic find.  It also has some skull material, and I believed , due to the limited Miocene fauna found, plus similarity to Equus earbones,  that it was from a pre_equus horse. Steve sold it to me for far less than I would have paid.

 

In July,  I found another !!! small earbone.

 

Richard Hulbert, director of the Vertebrate Laboratory at University of Florida Museum of Natural History identified the 1st photo ear bone in this thread (along with many other earbones I found) as Equus .sp.

This is now my 3rd small earbone out of the Peace River that seem to me, as similar to Equus,  and likely form pre_equus horses.

 

I am looking for anyone who has found a similar mammal ear bone to provide photos of that find and any identification notes. It just seems to me that I can not be the ONLY Florida Fossil hunter finding these small ear bones. Obviously , all comments and suggestions greatly appreciated.

@fossillarry @Harry Pristis @PrehistoricFlorida

 

 

[PODIGGER]

Jack - It was good to see you and Steve again on Friday.  I get jealous every time I see the two of you with those extra long shovel handles!  Funny you should post that small ear bone find from Friday.  Last Monday when I was hunting to the south of where I saw you I came up with a small ear bone that I just thought of as a "partial" of possibly Equus.  It was very close to yours in size as it measures 27mm x 15mm.  Let me know what you think it is.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Friday I got back to the launch site at about 3 pm and hustled to get the kayak out before the rain started. Luckily I was loaded up and in the jeep when the downpour.  With the coming summer rain and the price of gas ($70+ to fill the tank) I am seriously considering calling it an end to the season.

[Shellseeker]

1 hour ago, PODIGGER said:

 Funny you should post that small ear bone find from Friday.  Last Monday when I was hunting to the south of where I saw you I came up with a small ear bone that I just thought of as a "partial" of possibly Equus.  It was very close to yours in size as it measures 27mm x 15mm.

 

Jim,

I think all 3 of mine plus yours are from pre_Equus horses, but How do I prove that.....? One problem is that we are finding them in the Peace River, which normally pulverizes teeth and bones over millions of years. Many I just missed them, but know have seen/found 5 of these small earbones over the last 18 months when I had never found one in the prior 10 years.

Also , did the Scientists/Paleotologists pull lots of small horse skulls and skeletons out of Thomas Farm

https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/vertpaleo/volunteering/previous-digs/tf-2009/

Quote

Many thousands of fossils were discovered by museum paleontologists and volunteers. As is usually the case at Thomas Farm, horses were abundant, especially Parahippus leonensis and Archaeohippus blackbergi. About 20 horse jaws and skulls were recovered, along with hundreds of isolated teeth, vertebrae, and limb bones.

@digit I'll send some of these photos to Richard Hulbert,  but your thoughts appreciated. Do you think you have permission to look at those skulls from Thomas farm?

 

1 hour ago, PODIGGER said:

With the coming summer rain and the price of gas ($70+ to fill the tank) I am seriously considering calling it an end to the season.

The summer rain brings deeper water,  which is a saving grace for my lower back,  but my gas costs are running $50 a trip and if I try 3 times a week, that's starting to add up. I'll see you in the fall.  My most precious resource is time.. while I can still hunt.

[Shellseeker]

On 5/29/2022 at 11:00 AM, PODIGGER said:

ack - It was good to see you and Steve again on Friday.  I get jealous every time I see the two of you with those extra long shovel handles!  Funny you should post that small ear bone find from Friday.  Last Monday when I was hunting to the south of where I saw you I came up with a small ear bone that I just thought of as a "partial" of possibly Equus.  It was very close to yours in size as it measures 27mm x 15mm.  Let me know what you think it is.  

 

Jim,

I sent and email to Richard Hulbert..   his response:

Quote

These petrosal bones are a mix of animals. The one with the label of April 2021 is most likely a Pleistocene or modern deer. The one in the images named 27X15 most likely is horse. Not sure about the other two.               

Richard

He identifies one of mine (3rd set of photos) as deer,  and yours as horse  !!!!  Note he did not say Equus .sp.  Up to you to interpret.   Jack

[PODIGGER]

Thanks Jack!  I am going to really have to follow up on that, see if I can find any comparisons.

[Plantguy]

Cool stuff guys! Great images.

Regards, Chris