Interesting Bone

[Fossilman]

A hinge joint too,kind of cool..............

[Fossilman]

Oh well,it's still a find....LOL

[inyo]

Jan 15, 2016 21:29:12 GMT -5 amygdule said:

From what I could figure out, it's part of a leg bone from a Deer or Elk.

More specifically, it's a fragment of the distal end of a metapodial--one of the foot bones, analogous to the long bone that runs from the wrist to the fingers (hand), or ankle to toes (foot) in humans. If it came from the front foot area, it's a metacarpal; if from the hind foot region, a metatarsal; the distal portion of the metapodial connects with the first phalanx (toe bone in four-legged critters).

Here's a page that documents the excavation of a camel metapodial from the upper Pleistocene Manix Formation, Mojave Desert, California:

Excavating An Upper Pleistocene Camel Metapodial, Mojave Desert, California

[toiv0]

Jan 16, 2016 12:23:43 GMT -5 inyo said:

Jan 15, 2016 21:29:12 GMT -5 amygdule said:

From what I could figure out, it's part of a leg bone from a Deer or Elk.

More specifically, it's a fragment of the distal end of a metapodial--one of the foot bones, analogous to the long bone that runs from the wrist to the fingers (hand), or ankle to toes (foot) in humans. If it came from the front foot area, it's a metacarpal; if from the hind foot region, a metatarsal; the distal portion of the metapodial connects with the first phalanx (toe bone in four-legged critters).

Here's a page that documents the excavation of a camel metapodial from the upper Pleistocene Manix Formation, Mojave Desert, California:

Excavating An Upper Pleistocene Camel Metapodial, Mojave Desert, California

Mr. Inyo sure do like your posts, you are giving my dictionary a work out. (and my brain) We use to have a boss that when he gave us a talk we would have to pull out the dictionary after he left to see if we were being patted on the back or chewed out. What is your profesion if you don't mind me asking?
Thanks

[Peruano]

Just to be clear that is a recent bone, (i.e. not a fossil anything). Somebody's kill washed into a stream and after a bit of bacterial action came up clean. While an undergrad, I was employed at 60 cents per hour to rot the flesh off of all kinds of zoo and otherwise animals to prepare skeletal material to be compared with fossils by my paleontological professor. It was a stinky job that was somewhat of a detriment to my social life, but it probably helped my grade point average indirectly. The process was called maceration (place animal or part thereof in water and allow the bacterial action to do the cleaning). Decant odiferous liquid and rinse bones for a great specimen (but often disarticulated). This one was naturally mascerated. Tom