Shellseeker Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 I found this bone 10 days ago , recognized a toe bone, eliminated tapir, but thought it might be Peccary because I had found a peccary molar previous time out. A bad assumption. I sent the 92.7 mm bone into University of Florida fossil Identification service, which usually means Richard Hulbert. He helps me a lot with fossil questions and identifications. I like to return the favor but in most cases, Richard has seen my fossil clones hundreds or thousands of times. Quote I have looked at the fossil you sent in for identification. Based on size and anatomy of the distal end its best match is a metatarsal of the giant beaver. I also compared it to a modern beaver and some images of fossil beaver metatarsals. It is the fourth metatarsal. We do not have any examples of this particular bone of Castoroides in our collection. Because of this I would like you to consider donating it to the museum’s collection. But if you prefer not to, let me know and I will return it to you soon. Cheers, Richard Dr. Richard C. Hulbert Jr. Vertebrate Paleontology Collections Manager Florida Museum of Natural History Dickinson Hall, University of Florida Gainesville, FL 32611-7800 USA YES !!!! YES !!! Found a bone that Richard needs. Time to make a donation... 4th Metatarsals of Castoroides are HARD to find... Photo's of them on the Internet are hard to find... At 3.65 inches, this specimen may be smaller , earlier giant beavers like Castoroides leiseyorum or Castoroides ohioensis dilophidus. Enjoy, I am... Jack 6 The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcbshark Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 Very nice Jack, beaver is a pretty rare find for most of us in the southern end of the state Every once in a great while it's not just a big rock down there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 Thanks for helping science “...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin Happy hunting, Mason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darktooth Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 And you Sir, have done a good deed! I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peat Burns Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 Paleo-partner! (We need the badges back!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mediospirifer Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 Congrats on a great find, and kudos for donating it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeriderdon Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 Nice find! See if they can do a cast for you. I have a couple from stuff I have donated. That way you still kind of have it for your collection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Rico Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 Great find and lovely donation well done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 Great find Jack- Congrats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 Great find and you did a great deed Sir. I would ask for a cast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 Congratulations on the rare find, Jack! Well done with the donation, as well! Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minnbuckeye Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 Great find!!! I have to trap giant beavers on my property to keep them from damming up my trout stream. Dams slow water which leads to "global warming" for the trout and death results. So I could paint a few of their metatarsals black and bring them to you in March so you have the complete set. LOL Just let me know. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBOB Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 Congrats on a sweet find and bumping up the museum collection! Nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted February 15, 2018 Author Share Posted February 15, 2018 Thanks for all the good words and kind statements. I can only wish to find many more unique fossils to donate, A cast may be a good way of keeping the memory, @minnbuckeye How big are those GIANT beavers on your property? I hear these Castoroides Ohioensis went up to 250 pounds in Minnesota... better be careful messing with them. The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old bones Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 Very cool! How exciting to find something worthy of donation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 12 hours ago, minnbuckeye said: Great find!!! I have to trap giant beavers on my property to keep them from damming up my trout stream. Dams slow water which leads to "global warming" for the trout and death results. So I could paint a few of their metatarsals black and bring them to you in March so you have the complete set. LOL Just let me know. Mike No need to paint Mike. As we know from my post it only takes a few weeks in a tannic bath to obtain that nice "aged" persona. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted February 15, 2018 Author Share Posted February 15, 2018 17 hours ago, jcbshark said: Very nice Jack, beaver is a pretty rare find for most of us in the southern end of the state Well, Jeff. It is not like me to be GREEDY, but I am thinking maybe one of these or these might be hiding close by.... sometimes hope turns into reality. The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fruitbat Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 Congratulations on your find, Shellseeker! You did the right thing by donating it. @minnbuckeye there is a big difference between an extant 'giant' beaver (Castor canadensis) and an extinct Giant Beaver (Castoroides ohioensis). While the extant beaver is the largest rodent in North America, a really big one only weights in at about 70 pounds. As Shellseeker mentioned, the extinct Giant beaver could probably reach weights of 275 pounds. Now THAT is a GIANT beaver! -Joe 2 Illigitimati non carborundum Fruitbat's PDF Library Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 Great find and well done on the donation! Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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