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Chunk o’ sumpin big!


garyc

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7 minutes ago, garyc said:

998FBEA6-067F-4073-B6B5-6325D594D74D.jpeg

I may be way off, but my first thought when seeing this picture was skull! General bulkiness, and it kinda looks like there are worn out suture lines running down the middle. 

I can't tell you with confidence what animal it belonged to, but my best guess right now is bison skull :) 

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Max Derème

 

"I feel an echo of the lightning each time I find a fossil. [...] That is why I am a hunter: to feel that bolt of lightning every day."

   - Mary Anning >< Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier

 

Instagram: @world_of_fossils

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WAG....tip of a mammoth jaw, tumbled?  If not, I'm not getting a good vibe based on pics.

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Grüße,

Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas

"To the motivated go the spoils."

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Thanks for the replies! I also was thinking skull. I tried comparing it to a bison skull I have , but it didn’t seem right. Mammoth/mastodon seems more likely.

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Regarding skull, I don't have the experience to know which sections/specific bones have honeycomb structure, and which ones appear more solid, like this one.  But I'd guess that if a skull piece, this one would be either a section too thin to have honeycomb structure, or a part that bears enough load to require density.  In other words, I'm curious which specific bone this might have been, when whole.

 

Grüße,

Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas

"To the motivated go the spoils."

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By chance could the smooth, concave side be part of the aveolus of a tusk? I may be way off as it's hard to ID with only photos.

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I just left town for a couple of days. I have another piece that I think matches @fossilusdescription of an alveolus.. I’ll post that here when I get back

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I agree the second looks like a part of an aveolus. Could the first be a juvenile and more proximal to the skull?

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  • 2 weeks later...

I was looking at some proboscidean skull elements and was wondering if your piece could be the forward portion of the jaws where the 2 side meet.  I don't off hand remember what it's called.

mastodon jaw.gif

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Ooh, you actually made me get out of bed to go look @fossilus! It’s close, and I can definitely see the resemblance, but even in hand I can’t say with 100% certainty. I even have a chunk of jaw that would be a match, but it has foramina where the piece in question does not

image.jpg

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14 hours ago, garyc said:

Ooh, you actually made me get out of bed to go look @fossilus! It’s close, and I can definitely see the resemblance, but even in hand I can’t say with 100% certainty. I even have a chunk of jaw that would be a match, but it has foramina where the piece in question does not

image.jpg

Is size/position/presence of foramina variable between individuals of a given species?  Just wondering out loud.  I was angling toward chinny-chin-chin initially as well, hard to say on some pieces without them in hand.  I have a cool juvie mammoth jaw found in NE TX with a cool point to its chin reminiscent of King Tut.  It is a good comparison piece, noting that any degree of wear on a comparison piece would make this feature appear less prominent.  If only the jaw still had a tooth in it...

Grüße,

Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas

"To the motivated go the spoils."

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5 hours ago, Uncle Siphuncle said:

Is size/position/presence of foramina variable between individuals of a given species?  Just wondering out loud.  I was angling toward chinny-chin-chin initially as well, hard to say on some pieces without them in hand.  I have a cool juvie mammoth jaw found in NE TX with a cool point to its chin reminiscent of King Tut.  It is a good comparison piece, noting that any degree of wear on a comparison piece would make this feature appear less prominent.  If only the jaw still had a tooth in it...

Good question! I believe that foramina presence and position would be fairly consistent within species. They allow nerves and blood vessels to pass through. But then again, it doesn’t matter what I believe. Maybe one of the experts can chime in on this

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Chinny-chin-chin of yore.  No tooth = raw deal.

Qt Mammoth Jaw 1e Site 498 041109.jpg

Qt Mammoth Jaw 1d Site 498 041109.jpg

Qt Mammoth Jaw 1b Site 498 041109.jpg

Qt Mammoth Jaw 1a Site 498 041109.jpg

Grüße,

Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas

"To the motivated go the spoils."

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that last photo is pretty convincing. Although, mine doesn’t have the protuberance on the outside, like your  “king tut chin”

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