Allison
I think you are correct about being cautious in attributing these marks to a carnivore.
The appearance, spacing, and size of the marks suggest to me that the bones were gnawed by some species of rodent - probably by the incisors of a rat.
Richard
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Hey zooarchs,
I keep going back and forth about IDing the animal that gnawed on
this bone. There are almost parallel U-shaped grooves all along the
proximal-anterior end of the phalanx, which was curiously found (in
the lab, at least) as part of an intact articulation from metapodial
to third phalanx.
I can see what looks like a few punctures near some of the grooves on
the anterior surface. It also looks somewhat chewed away.
I'm so sure it's some sort of carnivore. It doesn't matter the
species so much, but I have a nagging worry it's something other than
carnivore, since this bone was not carried away or even lost from the
rest of the foot.
Anyone care to take a quick look?
http://allison-grunwald.tumblr.com/post/149137889524/bison-antiquus-first-phalanx-with-modifications
Many thanks,
Allison
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