pch333 Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 (edited) Any idea what this is? Found at the lakeside in Wisconsin. Definitely bone. Edited February 24, 2016 by pch333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Goatlady Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 Is it light like unfossilized bone or heavy like stone? It looks recent. Bones from livestock or deer - road kill, hunters dumping bones, etc. - are fairly common. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pch333 Posted February 24, 2016 Author Share Posted February 24, 2016 It washed up on the beach. Definitely bone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 It's pretty big; if it is a foot bone (cuboid?), it is from a large beast! "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...
The Goatlady Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 It looks like it's from the ankle/pastern or foot of a cow. If you google - phalanges cow, you'll see some pictures that look a lot like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DylanS Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 Looks like a cubonavicular tarsal bone from a cow. This bone is right below the astragalus (ankle). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pch333 Posted February 26, 2016 Author Share Posted February 26, 2016 If anyone else says cow or roadkill I'm going to be very sad about the "is it a fossil" test. (Though none of the pics looked like it, I have to imagine it needed to be heavier.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 Shall we assume you are aware of methods other than weight that are used to determine if a piece is modern or fossil ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 If anyone else says cow or roadkill I'm going to be very sad about the "is it a fossil" test. (Though none of the pics looked like it, I have to imagine it needed to be heavier.) Not sure why you're "going to be very sad", or why you referenced weight. For reference and interesting discussion: LINK LINK The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pch333 Posted February 26, 2016 Author Share Posted February 26, 2016 Rockwood, assume nothing! That's why I came here to query you people. Goat lady suggested that weight was an issue. So I looked that up and read the information about mineral exchange (right word?) as the bone deteriorated. It's not particularly heavy. She also weighed in with hunters dumping bones, the possibility of roadkill ... Which, if you've done the lick test, JohnJ, you might be somewhat sad. Because that's an image you can't unimagine. So tell me about weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 I've not mentioned a "lick test", so I'm a bit confused as to that comment. Are you trying to say that you are not going to lick it to see if it is fossil bone? If so, I don't blame you. Damp fingers can discern the same 'tackiness' felt on some fossil bone. Still, that test, or weight, (while useful) are not definitive tests to determine if bone is a fossil. I have mammoth vertebrae that are very light for their size. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pch333 Posted February 26, 2016 Author Share Posted February 26, 2016 The lick test is another moment you'll never get back. You mentioned my being "very sad." And I was--once I discovered that my "fossil" might be roadkill. Because, lick test. Anywho, perhaps my cow bone is not a cow bone despite the fact it's not very heavy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 I agree with John on that one. I have bones from Shark Tooth Hill (middle Miocene - 15 million years old) that are not mineralized and thus have the same density/ weight of modern bone. Not every fossil will have the mineral "replacement". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 The lick test is another moment you'll never get back. You mentioned my being "very sad." And I was--once I discovered that my "fossil" might be roadkill. Because, lick test. Anywho, perhaps my cow bone is not a cow bone despite the fact it's not very heavy. Ahh...well, it doesn't look like a "recent" death; so there may be some consolation in that.... However, I do think you have a cow bone (Bos). The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pch333 Posted February 26, 2016 Author Share Posted February 26, 2016 Well, it is the dairy state. I admit there was a part of me that was hoping mastodon. Because a cow, by any other name, is still a cow. Sigh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now