Calcaneum & Crab Claw?

[Shellseeker]

Finds from today-- a little chilly, but doable.

1st up -- seems to be fossil -- very heavy, sounds like rock, gash on outside of bone, but it is in great shape for a calcaneum. At 3.5 inches, is this deer?

Next -- Can this be a crab claw? Not sure that it is a fossil.

Thanks for all responses and even wags!!

[obsessed1]

Your second item doesn't appear to be a crab claw. We find several different speices of crab claws in my area and that doesn't appear at all like the ones we find. To me that looks more like something designed to grind, as in a mouth/jaw part.

Edited November 28, 2013 by obsessed1

[Fossildude19]

The second item reminds me of a grass carp tooth.

Regards,

Edit : to add link.

Edited November 28, 2013 by Fossildude19

[dozer operator]

I found one of those before its a Grass carp tooth. http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/36409-unknown-fossil-from-caloosahatchee-river-florida/

[Shellseeker]

Thanks to fossildude and dozeroperator, I think we've got it for the 2nd ID ---

I also looked up the USGS report on Grass Carp and the Peace RIver -- the Grass Carp was stocked!!! -- likely to attack the hydrilla.

What an odd looking tooth -- not fossil but modern. SS

[Sacha]

There was a short period of time that I thought I was pretty extreme in my commitment to river digging, but compared to you, I'm a real wuss!! Drive a hundred miles on a day like today with midlin water levels and still find cool stuff......you are extreme and commendable!!

[Shellseeker]

There was a short period of time that I thought I was pretty extreme in my commitment to river digging, but compared to you, I'm a real wuss!! Drive a hundred miles on a day like today with midlin water levels and still find cool stuff......you are extreme and commendable!!

My better half tends to describe my addiction to fossil hunting with adjectives less positive and less glowing. Thanks for your endorsement and kind words. The thrill of finding something unique is worth almost any price for me. SS

[RichW9090]

Shell, the calcaneum isn't a deer, or any artiodactyl. It is a carnivore - looks felid to me, but some pictures of the standard views would be helpful. The big, flat articulation on the end for the cuboid is the key.

Rich

[Shellseeker]

Shell, the calcaneum isn't a deer, or any artiodactyl. It is a carnivore - looks felid to me, but some pictures of the standard views would be helpful. The big, flat articulation on the end for the cuboid is the key.

Rich

CAT? CAT!!!! Now you got my attention.

I have seen your excellent comments in this post: http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/36826-calcaneum-id/

Here are some more photos: I believe it measures a tad under 90mm

[garyc]

Rich, this looks a lot like the one I sent you, except this one is way better condition.

Even the measurement matches. So are we looking at another atrox?

[Hemi-God]

SS, the River Gods sure do have a way of shining upon you.

Even if your Better Half is less than glowing. :-)

I'm going to start taking along a notebook and pen. Then, should I ever run into you again, I'll follow you stealthfully and take notes.

My luck has been good so far this season, (3 trips out so far). More than anything, your posts get me fired up and chomping at the bit to get out there as often as time allows.

Keep up the excellent work. And keep a keen eye out for a rather haggard looking guy following in the distance.

[Shellseeker]

Hemi-god,

I enjoy your threads also. You seem to find those unique fossils, and seeing the success of others only feeds the hunting frenzy in me. I appreciate the gifts of the river gods and they have been smiling on me this season. I need to keep perspective for leaner times but I am enjoying these days.

On this Calcaneum, I did not know what I had. I was digging in a productive spot that had produced the 6 plate half mammoth tooth, finding a lot of small teeth, an occasional pretty hemi, and some large chunks of fossilized wood. Up came this bone and because it was in such good shape, I originally thought modern not fossil. I was hoping for Bison but it turned out too small. Thanks to Rich for the initial ID. Adult human male Calcaneus are about 3 inches and this is from a right paw.

I have learned a lot in the last year or so -- hunting with one of the river elders who knows more about the Peace River than I'll ever be able to learn.

Good luck out there -- the fossils are calling your name

[RichW9090]

Gary and Shell,

I've just moved my comparitive collection to my office at home, and am re-housing it today. I'll take a look at your (Shell's) calcaneum later and figure out if it is P. atrox or another of the big cats.

Rich

Edited November 30, 2013 by RichW9090

[Shellseeker]

I have donated this calcaneum to UF Vertebrate Paleontology lab. Richard Hulbert compared to calcaneums from Smillodon and the American lion and stated

As its size overlaps those of large jaguars, and is smaller than the smallest known American lion, then I think it is a jaguar. Sorry that is not the result we were hoping for. It is still a useful specimen for my research on Peace River fossils, because of its large size and precise locality information, but not as critical as if it were the lion or Smilodon.

So a large panthera Onca Jaguar instead of a small panthera Atrox3.

[Hemi-God]

Still, an excellent find none the less.

[RichW9090]

Still a very cool find, Shell. Highlights how important good measurements can be. And when you are comparing animals really close in size, it can all depend on measuring the unknown in exactly the same was as the reference you are using measured theirs - and believe me, there is a lot of variation in how even a relatively straight-forward measurement such as "Length" is measured.

Rich

[luvmymushpups]

On 11/27/2013 at 3:12 PM, Shellseeker said:

Finds from today-- a little chilly, but doable.

1st up -- seems to be fossil -- very heavy, sounds like rock, gash on outside of bone, but it is in great shape for a calcaneum. At 3.5 inches, is this deer?

Next -- Can this be a crab claw? Not sure that it is a fossil.

Thanks for all responses and even wags!!

thank you...mine probably from moose. 

[Shellseeker]

25 minutes ago, luvmymushpups said:

thank you...mine probably from moose. 

I am very interested in your posts.. We truly are on opposite ends of a large Continent and have very different fauna fossils to find..   

[Brandy Cole]

@Shellseeker Congrats on the rare and beautiful find!

[Shellseeker]

7 minutes ago, Brandy Cole said:

@Shellseeker Congrats on the rare and beautiful find!

Thank you.  It was such a thrill. I was relatively new to our hobby back then and was learning something in every find. True values of TFF are its retention of old threads and its Galleries'.  Here is one from 9 years ago that still is a valuable read for members who have not been here the last 10 years.