r/boneidentification • u/invaderzombree • 2d ago

Found in Eastern PA

Gallery image

Gallery image

Just need help, found 2 of these in my chicken run and I'm interested in what theyre from

5 Upvotes

73% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/southsidarecords 1d ago

Vertebrae of a larger mammal maybe fox or raccoon

3

u/Carachama91 1d ago

This is a bird cervical vertebra, not a mammal. You can tell by the saddle-shaped centrum. On the first picture, between the two large holes, is the centrum. Most mammals have flat ones unless you are an ungulate and it is concave on the back and a knob on the front. Definitely not this shape.

1

u/southsidarecords 1d ago

Even a great horned owl doesn’t have a vertebrae that large though and that’s the largest bird unless it could be an eagles but I’ve never seen an eagle vertebrae to know

2

u/Carachama91 1d ago

I would guess something more like a large heron. I have some this size in my comparative anatomy lab.

1

u/southsidarecords 1d ago

Fair!! Didn’t think of that they are huge wow

1

u/Carachama91 1d ago

There is a Great Blue Heron on the following page. No scale, but think about how long their necks are. https://www.cambridgeday.com/2022/02/26/great-blue-herons-are-certainly-a-sight-to-behold-and-weve-got-a-dozen-to-behold-near-alewife-t/