Pool Man Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Hello all, I recently found this calcaneum(heel bone),in North Port FL. Just wondering if there is anyway to determine if this could have come from a horse or is it a deer. It measures 4 1/4" at its longest. Harry Pristis has a couple great pics of these in the gallery,(looks alot like the deer but a little bigger). It passed the match test, and probably came from the late pleistocene. Thanks, Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Hello all,I recently found this calcaneum(heel bone),in North Port FL. Just wondering if there is anyway to determine if this could have come from a horse or is it a deer. It measures 4 1/4" at its longest. Harry Pristis has a couple great pics of these in the gallery,(looks alot like the deer but a little bigger). It passed the match test, and probably came from the late pleistocene. Thanks, Dan Well, Dan, I have cow and camel calcanea right here as I write this. Your calcaneum is definitely an artiodactyl, not a horse. Of the artiodactyls, it is not big enough for a Bison, and it is not robust enough to be camel. It is the right size to be a Bos, a cow. It is, in fact, a subadult cow . . . note that the epiphysis is missing from the end of the shaft. In an adult animal, the epiphysis (think of it as the growth plate) would be fused to the shaft. With the epiphysis fused, my cow calcaneum is 4-5/8" long. I don't have an explanation for the mineralization. Perhaps a hundred years in SiO2-rich water is enough to permineralize the bone. Or, maybe you should try to scorch the bone again. ------Harry Pristis 1 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...
Pool Man Posted February 2, 2008 Author Share Posted February 2, 2008 Thanks Harry, I believe your right. I tried the lighter test again and it does seem mineralized, This could easily be a 500 year old cow. Cows were introduced to this area(Charlotte Harbor) when Desoto landed almost 500 years ago,I believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xiphactinus Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 It could be bison....I've got some from the Kansas River that are very similar looking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pool Man Posted May 6, 2008 Author Share Posted May 6, 2008 I couldn't get a link to work on a new post by artofextinction concerning a calcaneum, so I figured I'd bump this to the top. Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boesse Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 Hey Harry, I've got a permineralized cow radius from the San Jose area in CA - thought for a while it was from a pleistocene bovid (primarily because it found in a creek that drained the Irvington Gravels - the unit that the Irvingtonian NALMA is based on), but found later it was identical to that of Bos. No matter how much I scorched it, no smell, and it appears to actually be somewhat permineralized. So, I guess you're right - it can happen. Bobby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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