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What part of a Mammoth is this?


matgerke

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I got this off eBay as an impulse purchase. It was described as a mammoth bone from Alaska, but I don't know what bone.  What am I looking at?

 

Thanks, 

Matt

20180108_192615.jpg

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Atlas vertebra? :unsure: 

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

   MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png      PaleoPartner.png.30c01982e09b0cc0b7d9d6a7a21f56c6.png.a600039856933851eeea617ca3f2d15f.png     Postmaster1.jpg.900efa599049929531fa81981f028e24.jpg    VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png  VFOTM  --- APRIL - 2015  

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Just now, ynot said:

Size?

Should be clear from the last photo, but let me know if you need actual dimensions.

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3 minutes ago, matgerke said:

Should be clear from the last photo, but let me know if you need actual dimensions.

Hands are variable in size, so do not make a good scale. You should always include a scale (ruler preferred) or the measurements.

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Dimensions are about 6.5 inches x 4 in x 4 in.

 

Somehow it doesn't look to me like the images of wooly mammoth atlases that I see online.  Take the hole, for instance: it's round, while the holes I see on atlases for mammoths are more figure eight.

 

Could it be a wooly rhino?

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A picture of the hole might be helpful. ;) 

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

   MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png      PaleoPartner.png.30c01982e09b0cc0b7d9d6a7a21f56c6.png.a600039856933851eeea617ca3f2d15f.png     Postmaster1.jpg.900efa599049929531fa81981f028e24.jpg    VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png  VFOTM  --- APRIL - 2015  

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1 minute ago, Fossildude19 said:

A picture of the hole might be helpful. ;) 

Yes, I suppose it would. :)

20180108_192736.jpg

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Maybe whale? 

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

   MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png      PaleoPartner.png.30c01982e09b0cc0b7d9d6a7a21f56c6.png.a600039856933851eeea617ca3f2d15f.png     Postmaster1.jpg.900efa599049929531fa81981f028e24.jpg    VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png  VFOTM  --- APRIL - 2015  

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16 minutes ago, Fossildude19 said:

Maybe whale? 

It was found pretty far inland (Tanana River).  Whale seems unlikely.

 

Although I realize I just suggested Wooly Rhino, which has never been found in Alaska. :)

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    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

   MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png      PaleoPartner.png.30c01982e09b0cc0b7d9d6a7a21f56c6.png.a600039856933851eeea617ca3f2d15f.png     Postmaster1.jpg.900efa599049929531fa81981f028e24.jpg    VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png  VFOTM  --- APRIL - 2015  

__________________________________________________
"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."

John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~   ><))))( *>  About Me      

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Not from a cetacean and far too small for elephant - suggest making comparisons with large ungulates - bison, muskox, moose, etc. and ground sloths.

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That’s a weird atlas, I haven’t seen anything like it (although I don’t stare at atlas vertabrae much). I can’t wait to see what the consensus is:popcorn:

have you seen anything akin to it @Harry Pristis?

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I agree with boesse that it is not whale, but it is huge for an ungulate. And it looks weird for an elephant.   Are there sloths known form Alaska?  

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3 hours ago, Boesse said:

Not from a cetacean and far too small for elephant - suggest making comparisons with large ungulates - bison, muskox, moose, etc. and ground sloths.

 

I agree with Boesse, an ungulate, likely bovine, but I wouldn't recognize a moose atlas.

 

 

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Atlas.thumb.jpg.e657cc046fce1a6d73701bd40228ccdf.jpgAtlas_text.thumb.jpg.643b6751cdf3f9713bd79455fafd4956.jpg

excerpt from E. Schmid. 1972. Atlas of Animal Bones. For Prehistorians, Archaeologists and Quaternary Geologists. Elsevier, New York.

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Great resource. Since the smallest, roundish neural canal orifice looks to be Cervus, Harry might be right with Moose

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Yes, definitely an atlas vertebra of a large mammal. It's the wrong shape for Mammoth. I agree that it could be something like a bovid or cervid. Though I don't have any reference on me right now.

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