Broken bone & broken tooth

[Shellseeker]

When I get home after a hunt, I sort and spread out my good finds, to take photos and then have another pile of fragments and broken bones. I have gone back to that 2nd group to highlight some I am unsure of the ID. The location I was hunting produces mostly late Miocene fossils. Here are a couple .. 1st a broken bone. A friend hunting with me said Deer metatarsal.  I am not sure after finding this deer metatarsal  from North Florida on the internet, which has a clear groove down the center:

and the bone I found which is flat in that section. Could be wear or different type of deer or different mammal.

 

2nd, a strange tooth fragment ???

While I would love to have an ID, that might be a bridge too far. I settle for anyone who has insight on the nature of the material on the left of this last photo. Is that enamel, tusk ?  For example this is very different from fragmented teeth from horse or alligator, or whale...

 

Thanks for all comments & suggestions.   Jack

 

[Rockwood]

I believe deer metatarsal ID is correct. Remember this is actually two bones fused together.

[Rockwood]

2 hours ago, Shellseeker said:

flat in that section

I think that must be a natural sectioning of it.

[Harry Pristis]

I think the bone is more likely to be a camelid metacarpal.   Deer metapodials fuse early and fully, while camelid cannon bones fuse less surely over a similar time expanse.  At least, that's my impression after collecting a number of each.

 

 

[Rockwood]

4 hours ago, Shellseeker said:

1st a broken bone

Typical of me. I focused on the wrong one. 

[Peat Burns]

Have you considered mastodon / gomph tooth cusp for the second item?

[Shellseeker]

3 hours ago, Harry Pristis said:

I think the bone is more likely to be a camelid metacarpal.   Deer metapodials fuse early and fully, while camelid cannon bones fuse less surely over a similar time expanse.  At least, that's my impression after collecting a number of each.

 

Harry, Thanks for the insight..  This bone is 17.2 cm length x 20 mm across the flat x 40 mm around the curve. It seems slight, small for an animal as large as a camel. I have found a few Hemiauchenia gracilis teeth in this location, and thus have a task to perform to get relative measurements.

I recognize it would be double this width if fused. Because it is not fused yet, should I assume a juvenile/young animal?

Jack

3 hours ago, Peat Burns said:

Have you considered mastodon / gomph tooth cusp for the second item?

 

That's a possibility,  I do have a piece of gomph and will check it closely. As you imply, it is mostly enamel, just like this fragment.  Thanks

[Harry Pristis]

I just measured the metacarpal in my image above.  The dimension at the distal end, just above the junction in the illustration, is 20.5 mm.  That is, it would be about 20 mm across the flat if the two bone were separated.

[Shellseeker]

On 1/30/2020 at 12:37 PM, Shellseeker said:

2nd, a strange tooth fragment ???

While I would love to have an ID, that might be a bridge too far. I settle for anyone who has insight on the nature of the material on the left of this last photo. Is that enamel, tusk ?  For example this is very different from fragmented teeth from horse or alligator, or whale...

 

Thanks for all comments & suggestions.   Jack

 

I came across another tooth at the same site that has similar tearing of the enamel.

Looking at the other side of this new find indicates that both are likely whale.