rejd Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 (edited) Hi all. Found this on the weekend in the badlands. It appears to be fairly old. It was with a mostly complete skeleton eroding out of the side of a hill. It is fairly heavy for its size, I think anyway, at almost 2lbs. Any thoughts on what it came from? Let me know if you require better pictures or pictures of other features. Edited April 2, 2015 by rejd A fossil hunter needs sharp eyes and a keen search image, a mental template that subconsciously evaluates everything he sees in his search for telltale clues. -Richard E. Leakey http://prehistoricalberta.lefora.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustPlainPetrified Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 Looks like a cow jawbone to me...but let the experts tell us... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 I was hopin' for camel, but the stylid says Bos/Bison. The teeth are worn so far down that I had to look hard; old individual. "Eroding out" speaks of some age to it, at least. "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...
rejd Posted April 2, 2015 Author Share Posted April 2, 2015 Thanks Auspex. I do beleive it has been there a while. There was a lot more of this induvidual there as well. Several vertebrae were visible, at least the neural spines were, so if this is bison, I will likely go back and collect some of it. A fossil hunter needs sharp eyes and a keen search image, a mental template that subconsciously evaluates everything he sees in his search for telltale clues. -Richard E. Leakey http://prehistoricalberta.lefora.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diceros Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 I've no opinion as to cow or bison, but it's a nearly complete left ramus of the mandible (note that the symphysis, on the rt. side of the top pic, is unfused - it's fused in horses). Only the ventral margin of the ramus is broken off. The teeth still present are left p4 to m3 (fourth premolar and all three molars). At the rt. side of the bottom pic, you can see the alveoli for the roots of the missing third premolar. I disagree with Auspex that it was old - to me the wear suggests it was an adult in its prime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 ...to me the wear suggests it was an adult in its prime. The extent to which the stylid is incorporated into the tooth cross section suggests, to me anyway, that it is rather worn down. Not senile certainly (there is still a good deal of crown height remaining), but well worn. "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...
Harry Pristis Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 For comparison: 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...
Auspex Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 Thanks, Harry; your "older adult" image illustrates what I was trying to describe. "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...
rejd Posted April 3, 2015 Author Share Posted April 3, 2015 Thanks all. So is it safe to assume Bos then? It sure looks like it to me. A fossil hunter needs sharp eyes and a keen search image, a mental template that subconsciously evaluates everything he sees in his search for telltale clues. -Richard E. Leakey http://prehistoricalberta.lefora.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 Thanks all. So is it safe to assume Bos then? It sure looks like it to me. Yeah, Holocene, but I wonder how old? "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...
rejd Posted April 3, 2015 Author Share Posted April 3, 2015 Awesome! I wonder how I would go about dating it? A fossil hunter needs sharp eyes and a keen search image, a mental template that subconsciously evaluates everything he sees in his search for telltale clues. -Richard E. Leakey http://prehistoricalberta.lefora.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichW9090 Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 "Awesome! I wonder how I would go about dating it?" Give it a call on the phone and ask nicely? The plural of "anecdote" is not "evidence". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rejd Posted April 3, 2015 Author Share Posted April 3, 2015 "Awesome! I wonder how I would go about dating it?" Give it a call on the phone and ask nicely? Bahahaha, that just made my day. A fossil hunter needs sharp eyes and a keen search image, a mental template that subconsciously evaluates everything he sees in his search for telltale clues. -Richard E. Leakey http://prehistoricalberta.lefora.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 Anything else in that stratum? "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...
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