Not all relics are made of metal....

[Midden-marauder]

I was rootin around one of my waste areas this evening, didn't find much in terms of keepers, a few coins but mostly trash, some days just don't give much BUT....
I found this itty bitty little skull, a few mm across. It didn't survive transport home sadly but it was extremely delicate and somewhat flexible to the touch. A snake perhaps, maybe something else. At least I got a photo of it, skulls are top tier finds in my book so despite a lousy hunt there was this cute little thing that got a gasp out of me.

 

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[Midden-marauder]

World's cutest little ecofact!

 

[Bucket Lister]

It does look herptile. 🤓

I do see quite a few skulls & other bones while detecting; I posted one I found...

I found some... stuff! 🤔

Finally got a B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L day (clear, 60sF), so I spent a few hours at my permission. Aside from a fistful of rusty nails (I tossed all but the really old square ones, which I'm saving for the big presentation at the end) I found a few artifacts. IDK what they all are, but they seemed...

www.treasurenet.com

...but that's about it for me.

I think I'd be more psyched about seeing whatever it was alive (we keep a few reptiles 😉).

 

[Midden-marauder]

It does look herptile. 🤓

I do see quite a few skulls & other bones while detecting; I posted one I found...

I found some... stuff! 🤔

Finally got a B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L day (clear, 60sF), so I spent a few hours at my permission. Aside from a fistful of rusty nails (I tossed all but the really old square ones, which I'm saving for the big presentation at the end) I found a few artifacts. IDK what they all are, but they seemed...

www.treasurenet.com

...but that's about it for me.

I think I'd be more psyched about seeing whatever it was alive (we keep a few reptiles 😉).

Oh I've seen many lizards and snakes just out and about, we're typically to be found in the spaces they occupy. I've never given any thought to the fact that these tiny lizards have SKELETONS, oh imagine that, they're just super tiny and paper thin. Awww! I never thought I'd find a reptile skull intact, especially digging in some rubbish heap. This is new mexico after all. I've found skulls on field expeditions, ground hog, goat, a bird but never anything so tiny, when it tumbled out of the soil I was digging in I couldn't believe my eyes: wait, WAIT, what is that tiny little thing amid the trash and rubble? No way! Oh that's gonna crumble away, take a picture!

 

[Midden-marauder]

Here's the skeleton of the iconic new mexican blue tail lizard, those skulls look suspiciously alike, little guys are tiny, I'd say it's a reasonable guess

 

[Bucket Lister]

Oh I've seen many lizards and snakes just out and about, we're typically to be found in the spaces they occupy. I've never given any thought to the fact that these tiny lizards have SKELETONS, oh imagine that, they're just super tiny and paper thin. Awww! I never thought I'd find a reptile skull intact, especially digging in some rubbish heap. This is new mexico after all. I've found skulls on field expeditions, ground hog, goat, a bird but never anything so tiny, when it tumbled out of the soil I was digging in I couldn't believe my eyes: wait, WAIT, what is that tiny little thing amid the trash and rubble? No way! Oh that's gonna crumble away, take a picture!

We have snakes in abundance (mostly garters--the rattlers were hunted out here a century ago) but no lizards--NONE--in this part of the state. 😢 (There are purportedly some skinks in the southwestern part of the county, but I've never seen any, and I ALWAYS look when out!) There are a very few lizard species in/near the southern tier--northern fence lizards et al.

https://extapps.dec.ny.gov/docs/administration_pdf/lizards.pdf

We DO have salamanders, but with ecological changes, they're harder to find. Same with turtles.

Many lizards have hollow bones--like birds--that make them quite flexible; either they're soft enough to bend without breaking, or they do break but quickly heal.

As to tiny... Brookesia nana, a chameleon species from Madagascar, is less than 30mm from nose to tail when full-grown!

Ain't he cute? 😁