Harry Pristis Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Two bones from very different animals. Nothing exotic, everyone knows these animals . . . but do you know their bones? Partial answers as to the taxa represented here, and to the specific bones represented, will be mercilessly ignored. No gold for less than on-target identifications. 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...
Roz Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 The larger one, maybe a hip bone from a dire wolf, and the other, a hip bone from a cat. Welcome to the forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bmorefossil Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 dang im no good with land mammal stuff i guess my run ends here )= Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 the one on the left is an ulnar madibulus fossae from a diurnal wombat. I've been a scientist my entire life and I'm positive about this ID, so don't argue with me about it or you just don't understand science. I wrote a rhesus on the distal end of this bone and my rhesus was published in numerous scientific journals to which you can subscribe for a significant annual fee if you wish to become learned. If you analyze the above closely, you might be able to discern how distraught I am about the day I had. Laissez le bon temps roulette! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bmorefossil Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 the one on the left is an ulnar madibulus fossae from a diurnal wombat. I've been a scientist my entire life and I'm positive about this ID, so don't argue with me about it or you just don't understand science. I wrote a rhesus on the distal end of this bone and my rhesus was published in numerous scientific journals to which you can subscribe for a significant annual fee if you wish to become learned.If you analyze the above closely, you might be able to discern how distraught I am about the day I had. Laissez le bon temps roulette! wow tracer im with you 100% on this one (= Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roz Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Guess I should look up mm's, how many in an inch. My guess may be way off! Welcome to the forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Sharks Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Guess I should look up mm's, how many in an inch.My guess may be way off! 1 inch = 25.4 mm or 1mm = 0.039 inch (I convert this stuff daily) There's no limit to what you can accomplish when you're supposed to be doing something else Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nicholas Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Alligator, and Turtle Femurs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bmorefossil Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 wombat and mouse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 I was going to say gator and turtle/tortoise femurs, radii and humeri. Hey tracer, if your rhesus is broken, do you have rhesus pieces? Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nicholas Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 When did Wombats suddenly get to Florida.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 I was going to say gator and turtle/tortoise femurs, radii and humeri.Hey tracer, if your rhesus is broken, do you have rhesus pieces? NO, he's got Rhesus negative-s KOF, Bill. Welcome to the forum, all new members www.ukfossils check it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrehistoricFlorida Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Bird humerus and turtle humerus (possibly Apalone). www.PrehistoricFlorida.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebrocklds Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 alligator and turtle humerii Brock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Bird humerus and turtle humerus (possibly Apalone). The large one has a disconcerting resemblance to a bird humerus, but some things just aren't right; it has a mix of Owl and Penguine features. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted October 3, 2008 Author Share Posted October 3, 2008 You all (well, most of you) are making some logical guesses. For those who are guessing turtle, here is something for comparison. 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...
Harry Pristis Posted October 3, 2008 Author Share Posted October 3, 2008 Bird humerus and turtle humerus (possibly Apalone). Bingo! A golden kudo to Auriculatus! The two bones are the humerus of a turkey and the humerus of a turtle, possibly Apalone. Here is another view of the turkey bone for Auspex: I swear, I'm gonna' have to make the next quiz more difficult -- you guys are just too good. 1 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...
Guest bmorefossil Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 nice job Auriculatus i had a feeling that you would win Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 ...Here is another view of the turkey bone for Auspex: No excuses, I should have known I stopped thinking when I read the size: it is well smaller than the range for even a small hen wild turkey. There are also some subtle structural anomalies that I failed to reconcile. Here is a drawing of a female Wild Turkey humerus: I may have an answer for my initial confusion; I think your fossil may be from an Ocellated Turkey, which is just the right size, was endemic to Florida at the time, and might explain the small morphological differences. If this is correct, your fossil might be cooler than you thought! Well done Auriculatus, and well done Harry! "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted October 4, 2008 Author Share Posted October 4, 2008 No excuses, I should have known I stopped thinking when I read the size: it is well smaller than the range for even a small hen wild turkey. There are also some subtle structural anomalies that I failed to reconcile. Here is a drawing of a female Wild Turkey humerus: I may have an answer for my initial confusion; I think your fossil may be from an Ocellated Turkey, which is just the right size, was endemic to Florida at the time, and might explain the small morphological differences. If this is correct, your fossil might be cooler than you thought! Well done Auriculatus, and well done Harry! We are, after all, trying to identify these animals from photos, often indadequate photos. Hulbert, in his 2001 THE FOSSIL VERTEBRATES OF FLORIDA, suggests that there was only one turkey in the Plio-Pleistocene which he calls Meleagris leopoldi or M. anza. Is your ocellated turkey this species? In the Middle to Late Pleistocene, Hulbert suggests the only turkey in Florida was M. gallopavo. He doesn't offer up any common names, nor does he describe the size of either of these birds. I have another book which illustrates an M. gallopavo humerus, giving length as circa 155 mm (nearly 6 inches!). Perhaps turkeys, like mammal species, increased in size during the Pleistocene. 1 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...
Auspex Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 Extant male M. gallopavo can have a humerus from between 147 and 163 mm, so the Pleistocene example cited is perfectly analogous to the average modern male. Females run 120-128 mm. Since this appears to be an adult bone (the articular surface is completely fused), I suspect it is from a smaller, closely related species. I do not know the species name, but it would have to be the Ice Age analog to the extant Ocellated Turkey, M. ocellata. 1 "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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