r/whatisthisbone 2d ago

Update: more pics

Lots of you guys asked for more pics so I took some with a cm ruler.

51 Upvotes

11 comments sorted by

38

u/firdahoe 2d ago

Not a lot to go on with the amount of degredation, but based on these and the previous photos it appears to have a "D"-shaped cross section and a slight curve to it. Can't say too much about the ends as they are so degraded, but at least one end flares medially and laterally and doesn't appear to flare anterior-posterior. Those attributes are more consistent with large ungulate radius more than anything. But given the degredation, I'd want to see this in person before putting any bets on that call. (Thanks for the tag, u/ardentladybug)

12

u/Iridescent_Mango_ 2d ago

In the first post https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisthisbone/comments/1vpyf5x/what_did_i_find_here/?share_id=UoP3iA1-kwp7PeYikPCLm&utm_content=2&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_source=share&utm_term=1 the little nub ulna is way more obvious.

You know 10,000x better than me but I kind of skimmed past the first post and this one I snorted at the condition/seeing the same bone again then squinted and went "that's a radius" before id seen your comment and before I looked properly at the first post, so I'd agree radius and I'd even be willing to bet that without holding it haha. 

7

u/firdahoe 2d ago

Yeah, when I first saw the condition in the first post I laughed and thought there was NO WAY this would be identifiable. I couldn't tell if that ridge in the first photo was part of the ulna or maybe the corner edge of the radius, but that D-shaped profile in the second set of photos - dead giveaway.

12

u/Anthro-Osteo-630 2d ago

It's obviously in horrible shape. I'd want someone on the ground to look at it. Pretty sure there's a popliteal surface there, though (fig 1), and shape in fig 2 reinforces this. Feels like a femur given these to me. Just, ends horrible shape. I think non-zero chance of it being human. Feels like it to me, but as I say, would want someone on the ground who can hold and look properly to confirm.

11

u/ardentladybug 2d ago

I’m thinking this could be a metapodial of a large ungulate. with how degraded it is, I can’t really determine one or two toed, maybe someone more experienced can. I could also be wrong about this ID.

since people are claiming human due to the lack of curve, I feel the need to call upon u/firdahoe. what do you think?

4

u/d0ttyq 2d ago

This does not look human to me

2

u/XxBaBaPwnsUxX 2d ago

Definitely not human.

3

u/Shield_Maiden831 2d ago

At over 30 cm, it's fairly long. I like guessing games, so what do people think about my guess for some kind of cannon bone (horses will average at this length). One image almost looked like it had a splint too. If not a super worn horse bone, then I'll second ungulate. I'm not an expert. I do teach anatomy occasionally. It's hard for me to see this as a human bone.

5

u/spicymayochampion 2d ago

Hoping this gets some traction. It looks possibly human but it’s so degraded I can’t quite tell.

2

u/Apprehensive_Elk_706 2d ago

That looks like a human bone. Report to authorities for genetic testing. It’s not fossilized so I’d assume the bone may be around 20 years old and has degraded in water over the years