cnehas Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 Just went out for a quick kayaking trip to scope out the END of the English river. River Junction to be exact, ran up on the sand due to low water levels. As I was walking over the sandbar I notcied several fossilized corals, that I'm sure of. However, I also found this tooth and it seems to have started my newly found hobby of fossil hunting. I love this site just from browsing for a few mins and I would appreciate all the help I can get on this tooth. My curiosity is driving me nuts! Bison? Cow? Horse? Sasquatch? Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichW9090 Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 Bison or Bos upper molar. 1 The plural of "anecdote" is not "evidence". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cnehas Posted September 25, 2013 Author Share Posted September 25, 2013 Thanks! How old could this potentially be? Some of the coral I found supposedly is in upwards of 325 tp 425 million years old. Forgive me if I ask a silly question, the fossil world is a newly opened door for me, as in this afternoon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichW9090 Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 This could be anywhere from 300,000 years old to as recent as a few decades ago. The plural of "anecdote" is not "evidence". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cnehas Posted September 25, 2013 Author Share Posted September 25, 2013 Any way I could narrow it down? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichW9090 Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 In practical terms, no there is no way to narrow it down. 300,000 to around 1900 is the biochronological range of Bison, and 1540 to the present is the range of Bos. 1 The plural of "anecdote" is not "evidence". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cnehas Posted September 25, 2013 Author Share Posted September 25, 2013 Thanks! I appreciate the information. Hopefully I'll have some decent luck finding more fossils. Not to sure what's around SE Iowa but I do know someone in Oskaloosa found most of a mammoth skeleton. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 In practical terms, no there is no way to narrow it down. 300,000 to around 1900 is the biochronological range of Bison, and 1540 to the present is the range of Bos. Rich, I am curious. If it is fossilized -- then it is not BOS. Whenever this topic comes up, posters suggest the hot needle trick to determine if it is mineralized. I did note the phrase "in practical terms". SS The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 Thanks! I appreciate the information. Hopefully I'll have some decent luck finding more fossils. Not to sure what's around SE Iowa but I do know someone in Oskaloosa found most of a mammoth skeleton. Here is a great link http://www.extension.iastate.edu/publications/ian702.pdf Almost makes me wish I lived is SE Iowa (at least for a little while) . Welcome to TFF. The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichW9090 Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 Shell, the problem is that I have seen well mineralized bone which I know to be recent in age - the best examples are domestic pig bones from some of the Florida Rivers which are quite well mineralized. The plural of "anecdote" is not "evidence". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cnehas Posted September 25, 2013 Author Share Posted September 25, 2013 Hot needle trick? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 Hot needle trick? Burn the specimen in an inconspicuous place: a whiff of burning hair indicates the presence of collagen. The result is not definitive of age, only that the specimen is old enough that the particular depositional environment either has, or has not, leached it of collagen (which under the right conditions can occur within a human lifetime). 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...
PleistoGuy Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 Just went out for a quick kayaking trip to scope out the END of the English river. River Junction to be exact, ran up on the sand due to low water levels. As I was walking over the sandbar I notcied several fossilized corals, that I'm sure of. However, I also found this tooth and it seems to have started my newly found hobby of fossil hunting. I love this site just from browsing for a few mins and I would appreciate all the help I can get on this tooth. My curiosity is driving me nuts! Bison? Cow? Horse? Sasquatch? Thanks again! Hi. Your piece its an left first upper molar of a bison. The fossae in bison are almost square and the enamel is thick, in Bos the fossae are more thin and comb shaped, also, the crenulations are stronger in Bison than in Bos. Have a nice day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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