old bones Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 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). 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 13 Link to post Share on other sites
digit Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 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 Link to post Share on other sites
Sacha Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 Julianna, I don't have words sufficient to express my amazement at the work that you do! Link to post Share on other sites
jpc Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 yeah... what sacha said. Good work. Link to post Share on other sites
ynot Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 Ditto to what the others have said!! Very nice detective work on this one!! (and many others!) Tony Link to post Share on other sites
old bones Posted December 12, 2016 Author Share Posted December 12, 2016 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.) Link to post Share on other sites
digit Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 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 Link to post Share on other sites
jcbshark Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 Nice work Juliannahow many rooms do you have filled with micros at this point lol! Link to post Share on other sites
PFOOLEY Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 Just awesome!...keep shinin' that light! Link to post Share on other sites
JohnJ Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 Excellent research, Juliana. Link to post Share on other sites
abyssunder Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 I don't have words and is hard to me to write, so I put my finger... Link to post Share on other sites
Pagurus Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 Your determination paid off! 1 Link to post Share on other sites
old bones Posted December 13, 2016 Author Share Posted December 13, 2016 4 hours ago, jcbshark said: Nice work Juliannahow 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! Thank you so much. I sure will. 2 hours ago, JohnJ said: Excellent research, Juliana. Thank you John. 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... Thanks for the 'thumbs up', abyssunder 46 minutes ago, Pagurus said: Your determination paid off! Ha! I love the gif! Thank you Link to post Share on other sites
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