Shellseeker Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 6 weeks ago I found a small bone that was identified on TFF as a Jaguar Medial Phalanx. I was very pleased with it. Predator cat fossils are special in my mind. I wrote an article for my local fossil club newsletter, http://www.fcolc.com...rs/news1212.pdf using much of the knowledge and photos contributed by Nate and Harry. Fast forward to yesterday. I am digging with a fossil friend who is focused on teeth , and specifically Makos & Megs- the M&M boy. Around noon, my friend finds a small intact bone which I identify as a predator phalanx. He says I'm not that interested in bones. You can have it!!! . To each his own. So here are the photos side by side with my Jaguar medial phalanx. The new bone seems to be more proximal (from Harry's photos) than medial, but it is smaller and less robust than the medial. Unfortunately I flipflop in the photos: In the 1st photo the unknown bone is on the left, in the second photo it is on the right. SS The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyc Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 I'm bound to get a correct id at some point....That sure looks like the one my son found last week. I'm fairly certain it's a sloth medial phalanx. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 It looks like deer to me but I'm not too good with land mammals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cris Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 This may be a little disappointing for you, but the bone in question is from an artiodactyl... Odocoileus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted January 10, 2013 Author Share Posted January 10, 2013 So much for unjustified exhuberence . The bones look a lot the same, but also look very different. Note to Gary- there is a lot of sloth material at this location, just that this bone is so small, hard to correlate it. I enjoy fossils, and this one from a deer taught me something new. Good experience all around. SS The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichW9090 Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 (edited) In the picture showing the side view, the one on the left looks like a deer. The other one I just can't make out. What is needed is a top view. Cat medial phalanges are very distinctive - they are asymetrical, providing a space for the base of the claw when the claw is retracted. Can't be mistaken for anything else. The bone on the right appears to be asymetrical, but I'm just not able to see it well enough. (Neither one is a sloth.) Rich Edited January 10, 2013 by RichW9090 The plural of "anecdote" is not "evidence". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyc Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 Sorry to hijack your thread Shellseeker, but I thought I'd post a pic of the toe I found and see if it is deer as well. It measures right at 2 inches long. Is that within range for a deer medial phalanx? The only pics I've seen show them to be about 1.25in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted January 11, 2013 Author Share Posted January 11, 2013 Sorry to hijack your thread Shellseeker, but I thought I'd post a pic of the toe I found and see if it is deer as well. It measures right at 2 inches long. Is that within range for a deer medial phalanx? The only pics I've seen show them to be about 1.25in. Please PLEASE hijack -- nice bone, I'm interested in the identification also. SS Rich, Some definitive photos for the medial phalanx on the right. identified as Jaguar in this TFF thread. http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php/topic/33065-claw-and-bone/ The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrehistoricFlorida Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 Gary, Your bone is a sloth medial phalanx. Nice find. www.PrehistoricFlorida.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichW9090 Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 Shellseeker: yes, you can see what I mean about the asymetrical second phalanx. Very distinctive for cats. The plural of "anecdote" is not "evidence". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyc Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 Thanks Nate. Mine looks so similar to Shellseeker's. What are the diagnostic differences? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrehistoricFlorida Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 Thanks Nate. Mine looks so similar to Shellseeker's. What are the diagnostic differences? You know I have people ask me this and it's a question I really struggle with. To me, they look nothing alike, I guess it's just because I've handled so many of each of them. If you were able to put them side by side and compare, you would see that there are some major differences. www.PrehistoricFlorida.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichW9090 Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 Which two phalanges are you talking about,Gary? There are three: A deer, an as-yet unknown, and a sloth. Rich The plural of "anecdote" is not "evidence". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyc Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 Which two phalanges are you talking about,Gary? There are three: A deer, an as-yet unknown, and a sloth. Rich To me Shellseeker's deer and my sloth phalanx look nearly identical. Although the more I look at them, I'm starting to see slight differences. The sloth toe seems a little more curved along the shaft of the bone. Also, the concave ends of the deer toe seem to project less evenly than the sloth. Of course the obvious difference is the length. Anything else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichW9090 Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 The sloth phalanx is much more robust, and the distal trochlea are very prominent, and describe much more of a complete circle, than the deer phalanx. There is a 'clubbiness" to a sloth medial phalanx that is not like a deer at all. The plural of "anecdote" is not "evidence". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 The basic design of toe bones is a durable one. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichW9090 Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 The basic design of toe bones is a durable one. Turtles, birds and rabbitts can look confusingly similar. The plural of "anecdote" is not "evidence". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyc Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 Thanks for the explanation. I'm sure it would help to have the two in hand and compare them side by side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AgrilusHunter Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 The basic design of toe bones is a durable one. Unless you play soccer several times a week like me. I go through a lot of tape. "They ... savoured the strange warm glow of being much more ignorant than ordinary people, who were only ignorant of ordinary things." -- Terry Pratchett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkGirl Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 very informative, thanx for every1's info!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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