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 When I found this humerus in Sacha's Merritt Island matrix (aka Frog Toe matrix), I remembered a post from @Harry Pristis

regarding the EECF of a similar bone.

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/67182-miocene-mystery-bone/#comment-705462

I wonder if it can be ID'd further.  If the entepicondylar foramen is present in opossums, shrews, moles, mustelids, and raccoons, those are the possibilities to consider.  I think that it is too large to belong to a shrew and too gracile to be that of a mole.

 If from a raccoon or opossum, it would have to be a very young one. So that leaves a very small skunk or a weasel. 

 I am leaning towards a weasel, but would love to have confirmation. Is the bone too beat up to ID?

MI2-entepicondylar-foramen.jpg

 
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Good detective work.  I did a quick skimming through my Mammalian Osteology by Miles Gilbert.  Not sure abut the size, but the shape of the bit sticking out beyond the ent. for. (the Medial Epicondyle) suggests weasel to me, although the details in hos drawings aren't great.  (Squirrels also have this feature but med. epi. is different ).  

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6 hours ago, Harry Pristis said:

Sound deductive reasoning.  You may have taken it as far as you can go without the use of a comparison collection.

Thank you very much, Harry. :) Your original post about this feature stayed in the back of my mind.

5 hours ago, jpc said:

Good detective work.  I did a quick skimming through my Mammalian Osteology by Miles Gilbert.  Not sure abut the size, but the shape of the bit sticking out beyond the ent. for. (the Medial Epicondyle) suggests weasel to me, although the details in hos drawings aren't great.  (Squirrels also have this feature but med. epi. is different ).  

Thank you, jpc. :) I looked at some more figures, and altho I can't know for sure, I am satisfied to say that it 'resembles a weasel humerus'.

 
12-2023TFFsig.png.193bff42034b9285e960cff49786ba4e.png
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