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Another Eureka moment


old bones

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 A few weeks ago I submitted a request for ID on a couple of tiny bones from TFF member Sacha's Merritt Island Pleistocene matrix.

 

http:// Small Pleistocene bone for ID - Fossil ID - The Fossil Forum

 

 The help that I received was based on the limited photos that I supplied. Lateral views alone just don't cut it!  

 I was not satisfied with 'mouse', so I 'dug' a little deeper. I decided to re-photograph a few of the odd little bones in different aspects this time.  Duh... my results really do illustrate the importance of showing the 'ends' of a bone.  It was very obvious from my new photos that these are vertebrae.  Then came hours of research and many PDF downloads. 

 Turns out that these cool little bones are autotomous lizard caudal vertebrae. There seem to be at least two kinds in the matrix possibly representing different species (or positions in the tail).

Lizard-Autotomous-caudal-vert-1.jpg

 

Lizard-Autotomous-caudal-vert-2.jpg

 

Lizard-Autotomous-caudal-vert-3.jpg

 

I have included some of the links to helpful papers on the subject.

http://‎www.scielo.br/pdf/aabc/v87n1/0001-3765-aabc-201520130298.pdf

http://The Anatomy and Histology of Caudal Autotomy and Regeneration in Lizards (PDF Download Available)

http://Lizard Caudal Vertebrae on JSTOR

 
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Way to keep at it and search out the correct ID. I'd have never suspected lizard caudal verts (possibly Anolis to match some of the jaws found in that micro matrix?)

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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16 hours ago, digit said:

Way to keep at it and search out the correct ID. I'd have never suspected lizard caudal verts (possibly Anolis to match some of the jaws found in that micro matrix?)

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

Thanks, Ken. I do think that the long narrow ones probably are anoles. There are just so many of their jaws in this matrix.

 

13 hours ago, Sacha said:

Julianna, I don't have words sufficient to express my amazement at the work that you do!

Thank you , John :)

 

13 hours ago, jpc said:

yeah... what sacha said.  Good work.  

:) Thanks, jpc. 

 

11 hours ago, ynot said:

Ditto to what the others have said!!

Very nice detective work on this one!! (and many others!)

 

Tony

Thank you, Tony. The detective work is fascinating (and so easy to get sidetracked.)

 
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7 minutes ago, old bones said:

Thanks, Ken. I do think that the long narrow ones probably are anoles. There are just so many of their jaws in this matrix.

 

Occam's Razor would seem to indicate that that would be the most likely candidate (unless proven otherwise).

 

The "frog toe" micro-matrix continues to give up wonderful prizes (and mysteries) to those who seek.

 

Thanks for the update--always wonderful to see what you are finding.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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Nice work Julianna:)how many rooms do you have filled with micros at this point lol!

Every once in a great while it's not just a big rock down there!

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I don't have words and is hard to me to write, so I put my finger...023.gif

" We are not separate and independent entities, but like links in a chain, and we could not by any means be what we are without those who went before us and showed us the way. "

Thomas Mann

My Library

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4 hours ago, jcbshark said:

Nice work Julianna:)how many rooms do you have filled with micros at this point lol!

Thanks, Jeff :) I do have a lot of my limited space devoted to my micros... but whose complaining! Seriously, I am glad that my fossils take up so little room... Still, I would find room for a mammoth tooth or sloth legbone, or... well, you get the idea!;)

 

4 hours ago, PFOOLEY said:

Just awesome!...keep shinin' that light! :D

Thank you so much. :) I sure will.

 

2 hours ago, JohnJ said:

Excellent research, Juliana. 

:1-SlapHands_zpsbb015b76:

Thank you John. :D The find is just the beginning of the story, isn't it.  And accurate photos! This one was a good lesson.

 

56 minutes ago, abyssunder said:

I don't have words and is hard to me to write, so I put my finger...023.gif

Thanks for the 'thumbs up', abyssunder :) 

 

46 minutes ago, Pagurus said:

Your determination paid off! TFF-Great-Work.gif

Ha! I love the gif! Thank you :) 

 
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