paul-waxahachie Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Went to Oklahoma and the Red River Saturday July 13, 2013. Found an island sand bank in the river on google earth and ventured to it. I found the Buffalo bones you see in the photos - most were buried in mud. I only had the one day to look, but was happy with what I found. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Cool! Good use of satellite imaging Did the sand bank seem to be a long-lived feature, or were you lucky with a very recent image? "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...
paul-waxahachie Posted July 15, 2013 Author Share Posted July 15, 2013 I have been looking for these isolated river islands for fossils - as they keep coyotes and most people away. I look on both Google Maps and Bing Maps - so those are maybe three years old and many of the islands get washed away. Sometimes I am fortunate and the island is still there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul-waxahachie Posted July 15, 2013 Author Share Posted July 15, 2013 Wish that skull cap was is better shape - as you can see half of it is gone and obviously the other horn. That scapula was so deep in the mud...It came out looking like a moose horn. After I washed it in the river water for a few minutes I could see it was a shoulder blade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul-waxahachie Posted July 15, 2013 Author Share Posted July 15, 2013 Does anyone know what the bone in the 2nd photo at the top is? The one that goes to a point. A broken rib bone??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Does anyone know what the bone in the 2nd photo at the top is? The one that goes to a point. A broken rib bone??? Maybe a fibula? "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...
Rob Russell Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 I believe it's a ulna bone. Finding my way through life; one fossil at a time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramo Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 I like the skull part, but that vert from the hump is super cool! Ramo For one species to mourn the death of another is a new thing under the sun. -Aldo Leopold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul-waxahachie Posted July 16, 2013 Author Share Posted July 16, 2013 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Russell Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 I believe the candy cane shaped bone is part of a rib. Finding my way through life; one fossil at a time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobWill Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 Nice find! That neural spine is huge judging by the toe you included for scale (How big is that toe?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul-waxahachie Posted July 16, 2013 Author Share Posted July 16, 2013 The toe is from the Trinity River in Dallas. Another trip - so I left it out of these pics. It's at home now. I will upload a pic of it beside a quarter tonight. From memory 1.5 inches wide by 2.5 inches long would be my guess. The long back "hump" vertebrae is pretty amazing, usually they are broken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xiphactinus Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 I believe the long bone in your last photo right by the water bottle is the nasal bone from a bison skull. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul-waxahachie Posted July 16, 2013 Author Share Posted July 16, 2013 Nasal bone that makes sense. Thanks for the ID Xiph. I looked at all the bones of a buffalo online and it was not there because it is inside the skull. Also the bone is a different texture and color than the others. All makes sense....Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul-waxahachie Posted July 17, 2013 Author Share Posted July 17, 2013 I measured the buffalo toe it is 3 inches long by 2 inches wide. In the middle of the new pic. Just to make the pic more interesting added the fossilized Horse Hoof Tree Fungus and some smaller ammonites and a trilobite. Also in the pic is two fused vertebrae from the Trinity River in Dallas - not sure if that is normal feature for a buffalo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobWill Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 I measured the buffalo toe it is 3 inches long by 2 inches wide. . Ha Ha. I was talking about the toe in the first bison picture. Bottom left corner, maybe your toe! For a scale you could just tell us the size of the towel everything is on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyc Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 I think what you're calling a toe in the newer pic is actually an astragalus. Cool finds! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul-waxahachie Posted July 25, 2013 Author Share Posted July 25, 2013 Went back the following Sunday. The river was 2 feet higher with a swift current from rain earlier that week. Only half of the island was exposed. I didn't find the same number of bones - but I did find a large Buffalo hip bone "os coxae" - it's a large bone 21 inches long. Also I found part of a buffalo skull with teeth in it. The other light colored leg bone didn't seem like a buffalo bone - I think is from a sheep or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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