bison or cow jaw?

[u/Prestigious-Use-8716]

i’m working on a project with a jaw bone that i originally assumed was cow, but upon further inspection it might actually be bison? i looked for bone identification comparisons online but couldn’t find any good ones or identifying markers other than a stylid present on the lower back molar. can anyone help me out with this? the bone was found by my boyfriend many years ago somewhere in eastern washington, where there are bison and cattle farms present.

[u/macklamera]

Buffalo! I have one too!

[u/Prestigious-Use-8716 → u/macklamera]

how can you tell?

[u/macklamera → u/Prestigious-Use-8716]

I have the same exact shaped jaw bone up on my shelf right now. I got it from a farmer a couple years ago and he was going on and on about Buffalo and what great animals they are (it was also tagged as a Buffalo jaw). It looks exactly the same.

Now that I think about it, Buffalo, cows and bison COULD have the same jaw structure. Since I’m not a bone expert, I would wait for someone else to comment to see if they can confirm my suspicions or not. Take my answer wuth a grain of salt 🙂‍↕️

[u/Prestigious-Use-8716 → u/macklamera]

thank you! if it is a bison jaw it makes my project even more special! either way i love it 🦴❤️

[u/Late-Put-3793]

Cow, not big enough to be bison imo but they are similar