lamplighter36 Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 Had a great time river digging with the Dallas Paleontology Society today near Sherman, TX. Found a bone which some hailed "the find" and ID'ed as a Camel leg. Others said modern bovine or perhaps Bison if I was lucky. I've scoured the web and found many similar bones with regard to general appearance. Problem is all the Bison Cannons I see seem to be fatter in the center. This one seems a little on the skinny side (1" skinnyest part and 2" widest part) and long. (8 + 3/4"). It sure feels like its fossilized and has good weight to it. Thanks for looking and special thanks if you feel like replying. Thomas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calhounensis Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 Bison/bos metapodial Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanNREMTP Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 Was this at the first stop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpevahouse Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 Looks bison to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobWill Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 (edited) I think it's bos because bison metatarsals are more massive and flare more at the distal ends. This is the more slender leg of a cow. Edited August 3, 2014 by BobWill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 Bovid metatarsal . . . cow or bison. http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichW9090 Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 Bison/Bos. I'll go along with Bob at 75% certainty. The plural of "anecdote" is not "evidence". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamplighter36 Posted August 4, 2014 Author Share Posted August 4, 2014 Thanks for all the replies. This was at the first stop Ryan. Great time, huh! Did you do the second? Happy hunting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanNREMTP Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Nope. My spousal unit and I headed back to Waco. We stopped in Mesquite for lunch but we both were pretty tired. She slept most of the way home. I'm working on talking her into the next trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobWill Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Y'all didn't miss much at the second site. Some teeth were found but the water was not as clear and there were not as many gravel bars to crawl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steffi233 Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 I also found the same type of bone from the first hunt location on Saturday. In trying to ID my bone, I ran across your post. I am very hopeful that mine is a bison metatarsal, but I read that there was possibly a slaughterhouse upstream sometime in the past (just hearsay). My bone is 9.5" long and weighs 9.4 grams. Any ideas if this is truly a bison metatarsal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanNREMTP Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Y'all didn't miss much at the second site. Some teeth were found but the water was not as clear and there were not as many gravel bars to crawl. Clara was sore the next day still. I don't think she will be attending the next trip but I plan to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpevahouse Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 (edited) An internet search turned up this comparison of cow vs bison metatarsal. Also an article discussing the differences: "These bones are so dense people many think they've found a mineralized/fossil bone. Another interesting note, cattle and bison are so similar in the postcranial skeleton that individual bones can often be hard to identify to species. Bison do tend to be larger and more robust however, there are many breeds of cattle and there can be overlap in the size between cattle and bison"David Dyer, Ohio History Connection Blog, 2013. Edited August 7, 2014 by jpevahouse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobWill Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 It's true that postcranial bones can be hard to ID in bovines. A large Brahman bull can have the same robust features found in many bison. The bone Steffi found seems to be a bit less slender than Thomas' but still has the less pronounced flare at the distal end. Thanks for this comparison. It shows an additional feature to bison metatarsals where the flare dips back inward a little. 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