BigMuddy Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 (edited) Hey everyone, So I found some old bones as I was out hiking yesterday (a good way to social distance ). I have a suspicion they may be bison, but I realize I am in ag country were cows are plentiful. I found a scapula, a chunk of upper jaw with teeth, two femurs, and one mandible. I have been trying to possibly identify them but I have no way of proving anything without some help. I grabbed a cow skull, scapula, and mandible at a friends farm to help compare. I guess I should also point out that I believe these have fossilized- they are heavy and the burn test seemed to yield no burnt hair smell. Photo 1: Fossil Scapula (left) vs Cow Scapula (right) So the scapula I found is bigger but I don't believe that is conclusive evidence. Photo 2: Fossil upper molars (left) vs Cow upper molars (right) It appears the fossil molars are larger than the cow molars.... possibly indicating a larger bovid (aka Bison)? Photo 3: Fossil mandible (below) vs (Broken) cow mandible (above) I know the cow mandible is broken (and the opposite side as the mandible I found) but it is shorter and has more bulk at the bottom of its lower jaw curve. Not only this, but the dentary also appears different. Well everyone, what do you think? Just a regular old cow? Or something more unique? Thanks!!! Edited April 11, 2020 by BigMuddy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PODIGGER Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 BigMuddy, First welcome to the forum. I am by no means an expert but I think you have found a cow jaw. The easy identifier for bison teeth is an isolated stylid as demonstrated in the below pictures taken from prior posts here on the forum. I am sure others will chime in shortly with their opinions. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMuddy Posted April 12, 2020 Author Share Posted April 12, 2020 Thanks for giving me some insight PODIGGER. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now