Hope me identify this bone?

February 10, 2020 4:47 PM

I found this in the grass near the parking lot at work.

I forgot to include a banana for scale, but it's just about exactly six inches at its longest.
There was nothing similar anywhere nearby, so I was guessing maybe a bird dropped it, considering it just suddenly showed up. I can't decide if it's from the depths of a sea 1000 miles away or part of a goose or what, but it sure seems weird. Thanks!

posted by hypersloth to Science & Nature (6 answers total)

Is it a jaw bone? Maybe those things on the side held teeth?
posted by oceanjesse at 5:02 PM on February 10, 2020

Best answer: Perhaps it is a bird sternum?
posted by eirias at 5:04 PM on February 10, 2020 [4 favorites]

Best answer: Yeah, it's probably part of a goose. The breastbone part. Six inches is a big goose, though...
posted by mr_roboto at 5:11 PM on February 10, 2020 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Given that the keel sticks far out to anchor flight muscles, it's definitely a bird sternum. Canada geese are not small animals.
posted by mollweide at 5:42 PM on February 10, 2020 [5 favorites]

Response by poster: We are overrun by geese... Wild that it just suddenly appeared all by itself, but I don't need every mystery solved. Y'all are the best. Thanks again!
posted by hypersloth at 6:16 PM on February 10, 2020 [1 favorite]

Bones get picked up, carried around, and eaten by lots of different kinds of animals. They're a good source of scarce minerals, so even normally herbivorous animals like rodents will nibble on them. I've seen single bones in some pretty odd places.
posted by mollweide at 4:31 AM on February 11, 2020 [2 favorites]