Shellseeker Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 I get many requests to accompany other fossil seekers on hunting trips, likely because I "advertize" great finds. However, I have a somewhat low success rate on any specific trip. About 1/2 the time I find only small shark teeth with maybe a few large tigers or snaggles. That's it for 6-8 hours of shoveling gravel. Most of the other trips, I find a few ( Megs, Makos, Horse, Bison, Sloth, etc, etc) and then a trip like today -- lots of finds and some unique fossils. I was out with 3 experienced fossil hunting friends. but this is a Fossil ID thread --- maybe more correctly a thread of clarifying questions. 1st 2 photos is 6 plates (approximately 1/2) of an upper Mammoth molar. Since I had 3 friends with me, a lot of luck in the spot I chose to dig. Clarifying question. Can Colombian or Imperial type be determined from these photos? Next a couple of photos of 50% of a small (30mm diameter) vertebral epiphysis - which mammal? and lastly a unique (for me) Glyptodont Osteoderm. An edge piece? No petals on the daisy? Is this complete and have others found similar ones? My first of this type in 5 years of hunting. Enjoy!!! I certainly did on this day!!! 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 November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 Need to see an edge view on that last one, Shell - the edge with a suture. The plural of "anecdote" is not "evidence". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted November 20, 2013 Author Share Posted November 20, 2013 Rich, additional photos: 3 broken edges -- for our purposes left, inner and right.. I normally think of Glyptodon Osteoderms as daisies -- a center circle with 6 or so petals.. So is this a center surrounded by 3 petals? Now the outside edge: a couple of photos -- one slightly out of focus.. I have seen tail "Hershey Kiss" like Osteoderms, so this is likely from the edge of the shell. I have not seen this specific configuration previously. The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcbshark Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 Very nice finds Jack.A lot of times my hunts are the same but it only take one good one to forget a dozen fair ones.Good luck this season,looks like that spot warrants more digging. Every once in a great while it's not just a big rock down there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wfrr Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 wow...now that's what I'd call that a pretty good day !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted November 21, 2013 Author Share Posted November 21, 2013 Very nice finds Jack.A lot of times my hunts are the same but it only take one good one to forget a dozen fair ones.Good luck this season,looks like that spot warrants more digging. Exactly !!! I have kayaked past this spot fifty times in the last few years because my sense was there was only shallow gravel. The Mammoth tooth was under only 14 inches of gravel. One good trip gets the juices flowing.... The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megaholic Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 Are you sure you don't have a Holmesina edge section? Looks too thin to be Glypto. "A man who asks is a fool for five minutes. A man who never asks is a fool for life". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted November 22, 2013 Author Share Posted November 22, 2013 Are you sure you don't have a Holmesina edge section? Looks too thin to be Glypto. You may very likely be correct. I was/am just used to the center ridge in all Holmesina like this one. Maybe this one is different from the standard because it is an edge piece... It will be interesting to see what Rich comes back with --- Thanks!! 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...
TourmalineGuy Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 This doesn't look like a marginal Holmesina osteoderm to me. At least from the ones I have to compare to and from images. The very wide vascular canals on the underside look a lot like images of the osteoderms from the heads (cephalic osteoderms) of Holmesina, but the top has so many pits that it does not quite fit that description. I'm mostly using "The Armor of Fossil Giant Armadillos" by A. Gordon Edmund as well the handful of specimens I have at hand to compare with. That publication gives some nice images and descriptions for Holmesina osteoderms from many body positions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFOOLEY Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 My compliments on your photos...clear and detailed. You found some amazing specimens. I am quite fond of your osteoderm and am looking forward to the i.d. "I am glad I shall never be young without wild country to be young in. Of what avail are forty freedoms without a blank spot on the map?" ~Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) New Mexico Museum of Natural History Bulletins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted November 23, 2013 Author Share Posted November 23, 2013 This doesn't look like a marginal Holmesina osteoderm to me. At least from the ones I have to compare to and from images. The very wide vascular canals on the underside look a lot like images of the osteoderms from the heads (cephalic osteoderms) of Holmesina, but the top has so many pits that it does not quite fit that description. I'm mostly using "The Armor of Fossil Giant Armadillos" by A. Gordon Edmund as well the handful of specimens I have at hand to compare with. That publication gives some nice images and descriptions for Holmesina osteoderms from many body positions. Thanks!!! Very knowledgeable with interesting facts, and a reference that sounds intriguing. 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...
TourmalineGuy Posted November 23, 2013 Share Posted November 23, 2013 I love that reference. Very readable with very clear descriptions and line drawings of example pieces. I don't mind dense paleontology literature, but it is nice to read something that does not require me to learn 15 new anatomical names before starting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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