Uncle Siphuncle Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 Hopefully this Texas river find is an easy one for one of you guys... 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 December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 Hopefully this Texas river find is an easy one for one of you guys... Well, Dan, I find this to be a puzzler. The overall shape reminds me of the osteoderms found on the front legs of giant tortoises and the tails of glyptotheres. However, the rugosity is not normal for the relatively-smooth interiors of these bones. Your specimen may be pathological, the result of a serious infection. Here an example of what I mean. This is a pair of buckler (body shell) osteoderms from an individual Glyptotherium floridanum. One has a normal, smooth interior side, but the other is deformed from a terrible infection. I don't know if your specimen is pathological, but it is one explanation for the rugosity. ------Harry Pristis 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...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted December 13, 2007 Author Share Posted December 13, 2007 Harry Your informed opinion is appreciated as always. I was leaning toward some sort of edge scute from a glyptodont but since I've only found buckler scutes in the past I can't confirm that with my own collection. You don't think I'd bother you with the easy cases, do you? I save only my most problematic finds for you! Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebrocklds Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 dan, my first impression was also glyptodon. i would not have the slightest clue as to where it would have come from on the animal. the porosity and structure just looks quite similar to a glyptodon rosette i once had. my only other thought was part of a crocodillian skull that has been rounded. but it seems too thick and not dense enough. good luck. brock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 Well, Dan, I find this to be a puzzler. The overall shape reminds me of the osteoderms found on the front legs of giant tortoises and the tails of glyptotheres. However, the rugosity is not normal for the relatively-smooth interiors of these bones.Your specimen may be pathological, the result of a serious infection. Here an example of what I mean. This is a pair of buckler (body shell) osteoderms from an individual Glyptotherium floridanum. One has a normal, smooth interior side, but the other is deformed from a terrible infection. I don't know if your specimen is pathological, but it is one explanation for the rugosity. ------Harry Pristis I rummaged around and found some of the forearm and tail osteoderms that I referenced above. I was a bit surprised to see how rugose are the (normal) bases of the tail (or possibly marginal) osteoderms of the glyptothere. See for yourself. -------Harry Pristis 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...
Harry Pristis Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 For those who are not vertebrate collectors, here is an artist's conception of the glyptothere which is being discussed. Glyptotheres evolved in South America, invading North America only in the Latest Pliocene/Earliest Pleistocene along with a variety of other Edentates. They were large (think the size of your dinette table), slow and relied on their thick, boney armor for defense. The carpace had 1800 individual osteoderms! They did have a stout, spikey tail which, no doubt, was used defensively when needed. Glyptotheres are known from South Carolina and Arizona, but they are most abundant as fossils in Texas and in Florida. This group of animals went extinct with the end of the Pleistocene. -----Harry Pristis 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...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted December 15, 2007 Author Share Posted December 15, 2007 Hey Harry I think you may have solved this one - THANKS! Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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