Never boring: Clue #4: No Bones About It

Sunday, September 05, 2010

Clue #4: No Bones About It

As we hopped out of the vehicle and strolled around to stretch our legs a bit before a picnic lunch, something caught my eye at the base of a tree.

Vertebra!

Since my paleontology field work, I've noticed more (and been more curious about) bones. I picked it up and asked one of our guides, "I know it's a vertebra, but whose is it?" He had a good guess and then, scanning our surroundings with those amazing "owl eyes," pointed into the branches.

Whoa!

The remains of the skeleton were wedged way up in the branches of the tree. (Click on the photo to enlarge it and look in the upper right portion of the image.)

Think about a predator strong enough and agile enough to drag its sizable prey into a tree to eat. This predator was highly motivated not to share.

We found the skull on the other side of the tree.

If you look closely, you'll notice that this animal (the prey) was an herbivore. Good grinding teeth like a cow.

Wishing my small (26-pound limit) duffel had room for a skull, I popped that vertebra into my pocket and hauled it home, wrapped in a sock. It chilled in my freezer for a few weeks to be sure it was free of any parasite pals and then stewed in hydrogen peroxide for another month or so.

More Bone Sightings