Robson wasn’t looking for a murder-cow when she found the specimen

January 10, 2021 3:38 PM

How bones set aside as a "Weird Thing Found In A Closet" turned out to be the missing link between previously-known hunting grounds of a "terrifying" ancient, omnivorous ungulate.
posted by bixfrankonis (12 comments total)

Too cool. And this is something I think about a lot: "And there are millions of specimens like this one sitting in museum collections all around the world. They’re just waiting for the right person, with the right tools and expertise, to take a look."
posted by showbiz_liz at 4:12 PM on January 10, 2021 [5 favorites]

Finally, some good news.

“It’s always nice when you say, ‘This animal ought to have been here,’ and then when you look for it, it actually is,” Hopkins said.
posted by hototogisu at 4:19 PM on January 10, 2021 [1 favorite]

wouldn't mess with 30 to 50 of these
posted by scruss at 6:48 PM on January 10, 2021 [10 favorites]

"It kind of looked a little piggy?"

This little piggy went to market
This little piggy stayed home
This little piggy had roast beef
This little piggy had none
This little piggy went [Psycho soundtrack] all the way home.
posted by pykrete jungle at 7:47 PM on January 10, 2021 [10 favorites]

Brick Top - I've traveled back in time, old son. I got me a better pig.
Dr. Who - Wait, what?
posted by Slap*Happy at 8:06 PM on January 10, 2021 [3 favorites]

They will find me some day. I am through with trying to find myself.

What I really want to find in some dusty museum somewhere, is Nefertiti's other iris.

I swear the largest thighbone I have ever imagined is laying up on top of a ridge in Spanish Fork Canyon, in Utah. I am always going 65 mpi when I see it. I imagine the rest of the skeleton up there.
posted by Oyéah at 9:56 PM on January 10, 2021 [1 favorite]

But would you rather mess with one mesonychid-sized hornet or 500 hornet-sized mesonychids?
posted by Not A Thing at 10:24 PM on January 10, 2021

Surely no-one in their right mind would go actively looking for a murder-cow?
posted by Fuchsoid at 12:37 AM on January 11, 2021 [2 favorites]

This sounds like something out of a gritty Netflix adaptation of The Far Side.

I'm sure murder cows are one of the many monstrous threats which are investigated by an advanced team of scientists, explorers, and that lady with the beehive hairdo at the super-secret, highly classified government agency known only as MIDVALE.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 5:27 AM on January 11, 2021 [4 favorites]

So we’re one step closer to confirming 1 horse-sized duck
posted by Mchelly at 6:58 AM on January 11, 2021 [3 favorites]

Surely no-one in their right mind would go actively looking for a murder-cow?

But what if...the murder-cows were on our side?
posted by Frowner at 7:22 AM on January 11, 2021 [3 favorites]

The "it kind of looked like a little piggy . . . But it was definitely out there eating meat and bone" framing is either poorly-worded or reveals a lack of knowledge of modern pigs, who will happily eat meat and bone given the chance/exposure.
posted by aspersioncast at 9:41 AM on January 11, 2021 [3 favorites]