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Miatria

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I found this toe bone this weekend and am working on an ID. It is from Florida's Peace River, Pleistocene, and is 1.5" long. 

inCollage_20180421_125446720.jpg

Zookeeperfossils.com

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I'm no expert so I would wait for a positive ID, but it looks similar to Smilodon Fatalis toe bone examples I have seen. Could be a whole lot of other things but I think you might be right about it being from a predator.

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Very nice find! Yay! Looks much more robust than a Panther digit I have which is similar in length! Not a fair comparison without comparing same digit positions/species which I'm not smart enough to figure out..Looking forward to hearing/seeing what the more knowledgeable have to say.   

5adc971a524b9_Pantheradigitpanorama.thumb.jpg.e1731a7db1da52cb6bbe214fbc4207bf.jpg

Good luck with the ID confirmation. Continued hunting success!

Regards, Chris 

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Certainly, it appears to be a proximal phalanx from a big cat, which cat I cannot say.  Jaguars seem to be much more common than other possibilities.

 

 

phalangesJaguarlateral.jpg

phalangesJaguarventral.jpg

phalangesJaguardorsal.jpg

http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page

 

What seest thou else

In the dark backward and abysm of time?

---Shakespeare, The Tempest

 

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I had failed to identify this bone beyond being a predator... My understanding of Felis phalanges is that there is a space for retractable claws:

retractableclaw.JPG.ebdeba1fd6d773ee956b53de8c109e83.JPG

As I look at Miatria's 2nd photo,  I now seem to see that space on her bone.

I have a small Jaguar phalanx at 1.25 inches, likely a female or juvenile.  I will go search for phalanx size range tables for possible felis predators in Florida.. It will help me understand who is next biggest in Florida feline predators...

 

Jack

The White Queen  ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"

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56 minutes ago, Harry Pristis said:

 

These are proximal phalanges, Jack.  The off-set to accommodate the retractable claw is on the medial phalanx.

 

 

catfootbones_B.JPG

Well, that makes a lot more sense, and even explains a little because of a size factor between proximal and medial phalanges.

The White Queen  ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"

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Thank you for the excellent charts and photos.  I'm saving them all to my computer.  I don't seem to have as much luck in my Google searches for good charts but I assume it's how I'm phrasing my query.

Jaguar and smilodon are both exciting possibilities. 

Zookeeperfossils.com

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