This week’s mystery object is a bit more chunky than the birds of the last few weeks:
Any idea what it is?
As usual you can leave your questions, comments and suggestions below and I’ll do my best to respond. Good luck!
Zygoma
Adventures in natural history collections
Zygoma 
Is it a flipper from a sea animal ?
Not a flipper, but there are similarities
Kinda look’s like the front leg of a rhino.
Ah, but don’t forget that rhinos are perissodactyls – they’re odd-toed.
Is it the hind leg of a crocodile?
Their feet are more splayed
Oink.
Neigh – oops, sorry, I meant nay. Too many big toes.
Hind leg Pygmy Hippo
I like it, but it’s not the hind leg of a Pygmy Hippo
Saying foreleg of Pygmy Hippo now is going to be too obvious. So how about foreleg of Capybara?
It’s a mammal, it’s graviportal-ish, it’s not a carnivore, or a rodent, or a pinniped, or a piggie…
Good call, but what is it?
Hooray for a welcome return of mystery mammals! Not sure about this one – the terminal phalanges don’t look like the hoof-bearing ones on artiodactyls or perissodactyls, or the claw-bearing ones of a carnivoran. It seems about hyrax sized but it’s probably too sturdy. I’d also expect to see sharper (clawish) phalanges on an insectivore, rodent, xenarthran, pangolin or marsupial. It really does look like a hippo, but surely it’s too small? While it’s clearly juvenile (unfused epiphyses), still – are they really THAT pygmy?
And if Clare’s right about hippo, it’s a forelimb not a hindlimb.
Well spotted – it is indeed a forelimb
I’d have said Artiodactyla and a young/Pygmy hippo but I know paolo has a penchant for marsupials so I’ll say a wombats leg!
It’s not Wombat – although now I’m desperate to see a Wombat leg in order to compare!
Like most burrowing mammals, wombats have pretty sturdy claws which means the last phalange is pointed.
Could it be the hind leg of tapir.
Great observation. Despite Tapirs being perissodactyls (odd-toed ungulates) they do indeed have an even number of toes on their hind limb. However, this is a forelimb, so it can’t be a Tapir.
Or perhaps a glyptodont !
Now I want to see a Glyptondon leg!
You rang? This is the best I could find on short notice (sorry for the long url)
A very small elephant
Very, very small…
That would certainly explain why I thought it was a hyrax!
It looks somewhat familiar. Is it what I think it is?
Yes!
It’s not that big really is it? And it’s got a plantigrade foot. Maybe the hind leg off’ve a aardvark or a armadillo or a anteater? Wild guesses there!
The Demon of Van Diemen?
Hmmm…it’s modern, right?
Looks like it’s just a tad chunky for a capybara. I think I’m hopping on the hippo wagon for now.
Embryonic hippo.
Oooh!