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Unidentified tibia from an old collection


Justin Blake

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In an old collection I found this small tibia. It is missing the proximal end. I believe this fossil came from Lower Snake Creek making it Miocene. I have no idea what this would have been from. 

Ruler in pictures is in inches.

 

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Maybe @Harry Pristis might be able to help

“...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

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2 hours ago, someonefinally said:

Perhaps some kind of equus(?)

 

Tapir is a possibility with the location. 

 

It's too old to be Equus but possibly a three-toed horse or even rhino.  Tapir is a possibility but they weren't as common as horse and rhino.

 

I have seen Lower Snake Creek teeth and bones (Early Miocene - Hemingfordian, I think).  I think that's where you can get the earliest Merychippus or whatever the new name is (some species once within Merychippus have been assigned to different genera).

 

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Thank you for your replies. I thought the three-toed-horse would have a little more "tilt" to the depressions in the articular surface where it articulates with the astragalus. This tibia doesn't have any tilt. To see what I mean, look at the modern horse tibia below.

Horse-Equus-caballus-left-tibia-distal-articular-surface-FLMNH-6684-600x600.jpg.44af08b7013b7dded73c4af60b5630ea.jpg

 

Oddly, this one looks most like the modern domestic goat (as seen below).

Domestic-goat-Capra-hircus-left-tibia-distal-articular-surface-FLMNH-EA-Cat.-No.-Z7954-600x600.jpg.83f9b88dce61c8cb62f7c1b6fd7b6b51.jpg

Edited by Justin Blake
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  • 2 weeks later...

It's not a horse, it's from one of the small Miocene artiodactyles like Merycodus. Probably to small to be a dromomerycid.

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