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Showing results for tags 'calcaneus'.
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I was asked if I would create a post to detail how I arrived at an ID for the Calcaneum I recently posted for consideration as fossil of the month (Feb, 2023). To start, immediately below are some photos of the Calcaneum in question. It's from the Beaumont Formation of Fort Bend County, TX, so it's likely Pleistocene in age. To start with I initially compared this Calcaneum to another in my collection from the same formation I'd previously identified as Cervid (likely Odocoileus) that seemed to be a similar size, but I was immediately struck by how different they looked excluding size. That inevitably lead to searching the wonderful comparative photos of the venerable Harry Pristis on this forum which in turn eventually lead me to this thread; The image Harry Pristis posted with his first response had a calcaneum labeled simply "cat" and the similarity with my specimen had me looking for comparisons of various Felid calcaneum. Comparisons with the photo below (again by Harry Prisitis) initially had me ruling out Puma concolor as a likely candidate. But at that point I started searching for any 3d models of calcaneum to use for comparison and the two that looked closest were these; https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/mountain-lion-calcaneus-2de1fc24f1d445f3bc6701b40e22d606 https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/mscc098-puma-concolor-juvenile-left-calcanium-feb2092d9fc04ba98fa4ed1cbc22a877 However those models don't give dimensions so I jogged on over to; http://www.boneid.net/product/florida-panther-puma-concolor-left-calcaneus-superior-view/ which places that specimen ID'd as Puma concolor at just over 7cm in total length. Mine is just under 7cm and compares favorably to those photos as well. Finally a further search lead me to these two figures from different academic papers; https://www.researchgate.net/figure/3D-landmarks-shown-on-the-calcaneum-of-a-mountain-lion-Puma-concolor-in-laterodistal_fig2_313698350 https://www.researchgate.net/figure/1-7-anterior-view-8-14-medial-view-of-calcaneal-elements-of-extant-carnivorans-1-8_fig3_332234760 At which point I was confident enough in my ID to send photos along to Dr. Bakker and David Temple of the Houston Museum of Natural Science for their consideration. While Dr. B was initially unsure thinking the specimen was too straight in overall profile, David Temple was eventually convinced when provided with the above sources used for identification. I'm still not certain whether Dr. B has been convinced or whether he might prefer Felid Indet. for the time being, but with the fossil in hand I've thrown all caution to the wind and stuck with Puma concolor for now, but I consider any identification subject to revision when presented with additional data. Thanks! -CDiggs
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Hi, This bone was found in Israel (in the bottom a small lake) with a few other bones. Is it possible to ID it? My main thought is Hippo but I am not an expert and would love a confirmation or if I'm wrong, an identification. Thank you very much in advance, Oz
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Dear Guys, Yesterday I found one big calcaneus bone, I think it should be carnivore because the big joint is located in the side. It should not be an ungulate. It could be the most similar to cat or dog but I think dogs did not have so large calcaneus- my find is 10,5 cm length. Any idea what is this? Best Regards Domas
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- calcaneus
- eastern europe
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