I know most of you have heard the expression “To make no bones about it”. Apparently the expression came from fifteenth century England. If you found a bone in your soup that was not good (of course). So no bones in your soup were good. Indeed in the field I think finding bones is fun. So that is good to me, make no bones about it. 😉
Under the bridge there were more treasures to be found.
Yesterday I ended on the wonderful Texas Click Beetle (Alaus lusciosus). Just a little FYI….the adult mostly feeds on flowers, pollen, fungi and tree sap. However the larvae feeds on invertebrate prey.
In addition to the beetle under the bridge was a pile of bones with some fur and skin! Whitish foot with some dark fur further up.
Closeup of the foot.
Another part of another foot.
The rib was still attached to the vertebra. Indeed it sorta looks like something I would have posed. LOL However it wasn’t me! 🙂
The lower jaw view!
Side view of the lower jaw. While under the bridge neither Jeanne nor I could figure out what this creature was.
When I got home I cracked open my skull book. Flipping through the drawings I found one that matched. It was a Bobcat (Lynx rufus)! We had looked for the skull but was not able to locate it. Now what happened, I wondered. So of course next was the internet search. Threats for Bobcats would include humans, shooting and roadkill. Other possible causes of its death might be from an injury from a prey. Additionally Great Horned Owls, coyotes, foxes and even adult male Bobcats have been known to kill young ones.
Today was below 100F! Ninety-eight to be exact here. Heck I didn’t even break a sweat on the afternoon walk. LOL Whew was that ever nice with the breeze!
Poor bobcat. Great article about plastic and bacteria. Never would have thought of that connection.
Crazy for sure!
Poor bobcat! Nice beetle.
The article about the origin of African apes and humans is fascinating. Certainly unexpected!