screweduptexan Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 I saw something on tv once that talked about how antelope ancestors had large brains and now they have smaller brains. The theory is that carnivores needed a larger brain and as grassy plains took over their brains shrank to be much smaller as they became herbivores. I dont know if that has anything to do with your camelid, just thought I'd throw it in. Your pic made me think of it. Hope I made any sense. I can't come up with anything clever enough for my signature...yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 to rip prehistoric rivals' flesh with. cool, huh? I can guarantee you that an equine incisor can rip flesh. So maybe your goal is accomplished.... or was that tracer's. Hmmm, maybe I'll quietly back out of here now. shhhh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 BORING...Are you sure? Miles, there are collectors that would give their left exogyra for a camel/llama tooth...right, Tracer? Or is that right exogyra, left Tracer.... Nick's right, it's been a while since camelids were native to Texas. I'd be surprised if 1 - 2% of Forum members have camelid fossils in their collection. Very cool! The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 "Miles, there are collectors that would give their left exogyra for a camel/llama tooth...right, Tracer? Or is that right exogyra, left Tracer...." sir, i do not believe that the referenced bivalve partook of the dextral/sinistral indecisiveness that reflects the weakness of mind of lesser bivalves, or primarily those ubiquitous but vicious moral relativists, the gastropoda. and i, for one, would not trade gyra for even a five-inch t-rex tooth. my fossils can rest comfortably in the knowledge that they are not of transient importance to me, at least not for now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesofTx Posted November 18, 2008 Author Share Posted November 18, 2008 How old would this thing be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 How old would this thing be? Ignoring for a moment that where you found it will help narrow things down, camelids came to be in the Eocene, eventually spread to the Old World (via the Bering Land Bridge) and S. America (via the Panamanian Land Bridge), and ultimately went extinct in N. Am. about 11,000 years ago. That's a pretty big window, so explore the age of the deposits that might have contributed the tooth, and/or take it to a museum for a specialist to look at. For me, the fun begins when a fossil is found; I like to learn as much as I can about it. "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...
PrehistoricFlorida Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 How old would this thing be? Judging by size, likely Pleistocene. www.PrehistoricFlorida.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 Rancholabrean as Auri said Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 Here is the front of a camel mandible you can use 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 November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 Wonderful specimen! Those canines are impressive. How do the incisors in that mandible compare in size to the one that Miles found? "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...
MikeD Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 Here is the front of a camel mandible you can use for comparison. That is an impressive specimen and a great picture for future reference (especially when I find the rest of the pieces that MilesofTx missed). I have saved that one to my hard drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesofTx Posted November 19, 2008 Author Share Posted November 19, 2008 That is an impressive specimen and a great picture for future reference (especially when I find the rest of the pieces that MilesofTx missed). I have saved that one to my hard drive. See ya out ther Mike. I am gonna try to go this afternoon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
screweduptexan Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 So, I guess what I was trying to explain is that perhaps at one point camelids in North America were probably carniverous at one point and then evolved to become herbivorous later. Just a theory and I dont know for sure. I can't come up with anything clever enough for my signature...yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrehistoricFlorida Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 So, I guess what I was trying to explain is that perhaps at one point camelids in North America were probably carniverous at one point and then evolved to become herbivorous later. Just a theory and I dont know for sure. I don't think so... not that I know of. www.PrehistoricFlorida.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 See ya out ther Mike. I am gonna try to go this afternoon. You guys (mmhhm, cough ) I mean y'all should come out to Whiskey Bridge the day after Thanksgiving and collect some new stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 So, I guess what I was trying to explain is that perhaps at one point camelids in North America were probably carniverous at one point and then evolved to become herbivorous later. Just a theory and I dont know for sure. I agree with 'Auriculatus" -- there is no evidence for dedicated carnivory in camelids. In fact, can you (or anyone here) think of any artiodactyl or perissodactyl that has made the shift from herbivory to carnivory? I am not talking about scavenging or opportunistic meat-eating by the Suidae. Nor am I talking about re-cycling a placenta. I mean dedicated carnivory where it's meat or starvation. Conversely, can you think of any example of a carnivore that has shifted from carnivory to herbivory? The only example I can think of is the giant panda (I am not certain about the distantly-related red panda). Again, I am talking about dedicated herbivory where it's get the greens or starve, not about bears eating berries in season. 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...
Guest Nicholas Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 I'm in agreement with the above. For sake of this debate how about the transition in Dinos primarily designed for meat eating but consisting of some parts which seem herbivorous... Falcarius utahensis come to mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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