# What is this? My dog found it in our yard in South FL **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 19, 2010, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-my-dog-found-it-in-our-yard-in-south-fl/557654 "2010-10-19T14:01:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-my-dog-found-it-in-our-yard-in-south-fl/557654/21 "2010-10-20T12:32:24Z")
> [@fiddlesticks](#): > > _extending the hijack…_ > > University of West Florida was already taken by a school in Pensacola and University of West Peninsular Florida doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. 😉 Florida is not exactly known for doing things that make sense. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-my-dog-found-it-in-our-yard-in-south-fl/557654/22 "2010-10-20T15:58:58Z")
Re: the South Florida debate If it’s any consolation, the Tampa area feels like South Florida temperature wise. Which means the actual South must feel like hell. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-my-dog-found-it-in-our-yard-in-south-fl/557654/23 "2010-10-20T16:17:57Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > Re: the South Florida debate > > If it’s any consolation, the Tampa area feels like South Florida temperature wise. Which means the actual South must feel like hell. It can, but in my experience, anything over 95º is just Fucking Hot™ and another couple degrees here and there don’t make fuck-all bit of difference. Once you get past the Fucking Hot threshold, it’s all the same. And it ain’t really the heat that gets to me… it’s the stupidity. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-my-dog-found-it-in-our-yard-in-south-fl/557654/24 "2010-10-20T16:42:02Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > It can, but in my experience, anything over 95º is just Fucking Hot™ and another couple degrees here and there don’t make fuck-all bit of difference. Once you get past the Fucking Hot threshold, it’s all the same. > > And it ain’t really the heat that gets to me… it’s the stupidity. 😉 Well, that’s not limited to the South. ---
**Author:** ![adrianalikesbeagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/48db29/32.png) [@adrianalikesbeagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adrianalikesbeagle)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2010, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-my-dog-found-it-in-our-yard-in-south-fl/557654/25 "2010-10-24T20:43:31Z")
> [@RedSwinglineOne](#): > > Is it dense like bone? It almost looks to me like a piece of a wasps nest. Yes it is. It definitely feels like bone . Also, the “bite area” is very smooth to the touch almost like it was worn down. I accidentally broke a piece off and it kind of splintered like bone also. Thanks for the help ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2010, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-my-dog-found-it-in-our-yard-in-south-fl/557654/26 "2010-10-24T20:59:55Z")
Okay, maybe my thought process was just “hmm… what do they have in Florida”, but could it be a manitee tooth? I agree with the others that said it looks like a mammoth or elephant tooth but is wayyy to small. Manitees have the same kind of teeth as elephants where as the molars wear down new ones come in from the back. I can’t find a good picture on the internet, but I wouldn’t be suprised if they look a lot like what your dog found. Even if you’re not in a part of Florida that currently has manitees, it seems they’re fairly common fossils all over the state. ETA: Oh, I missed that Colibri already discussed that possibility. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2010, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-my-dog-found-it-in-our-yard-in-south-fl/557654/27 "2010-10-24T21:37:06Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > It can, but in my experience, anything over 95º is just Fucking Hot™ and another couple degrees here and there don’t make fuck-all bit of difference. Once you get past the Fucking Hot threshold, it’s all the same. > > And it ain’t really the heat that gets to me… it’s the stupidity. 😉 Similarly, down near -20 is the Fucking Cold™ threshold, and going down any further than that doesn’t make any real difference. The only other thing that matters is the wind speed. ---
**Author:** ![DHMO](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecc23a/32.png) [@DHMO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DHMO)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2010, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-my-dog-found-it-in-our-yard-in-south-fl/557654/28 "2010-10-24T23:19:10Z")
Just to pile on the Florida hijack, I lived in the Tampa area for over 40 years. Second the Fucking Hot™ sentiment. With temperatures consistently above 95°F and humidity above 90%, the “Heat Index” (or “Feels Like” temperature) was well over 110°F (frequently over 120°) all day, all night, all year. 3 am in February could still be over 95°, and I have a low tolerance for the heat. Ten years ago I finally came to my senses and got me and my wife to Colorado, away from the “Humbug” (Humidity + Bugs) of Florida. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-my-dog-found-it-in-our-yard-in-south-fl/557654/29 "2010-10-25T00:22:23Z")
Manatee teeth: [http://www.valleyanatomical.com/catalog/popup\_image.php?pID=349&osCsid=8muskliiajetgqj84hgqa4q274](http://www.valleyanatomical.com/catalog/popup_image.php?pID=349&osCsid=8muskliiajetgqj84hgqa4q274) I’m back to horse, I think: [http://pmimages.worthpoint.com/thumbnails2/1/1206/04/1\_069e09afc28ad43851d7b418f3ced4cc.jpg](http://pmimages.worthpoint.com/thumbnails2/1/1206/04/1_069e09afc28ad43851d7b418f3ced4cc.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-my-dog-found-it-in-our-yard-in-south-fl/557654/30 "2010-10-25T02:22:27Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Manatee teeth: [http://www.valleyanatomical.com/catalog/popup\_image.php?pID=349&osCsid=8muskliiajetgqj84hgqa4q274](http://www.valleyanatomical.com/catalog/popup_image.php?pID=349&osCsid=8muskliiajetgqj84hgqa4q274) > > I’m back to horse, I think: [http://pmimages.worthpoint.com/thumbnails2/1/1206/04/1\_069e09afc28ad43851d7b418f3ced4cc.jpg](http://pmimages.worthpoint.com/thumbnails2/1/1206/04/1_069e09afc28ad43851d7b418f3ced4cc.jpg) The object is not a tooth, of any kind, period. Neither of your links resemble the object except in a very vague way. Horse teeth show no more than three or four “columns” along each side. The object has [six columns on one side, and seven on the other;](http://i880.photobucket.com/albums/ac3/inimeg6482/thingbone.jpg) it looks like it is made up of three rows of parallel columns. The cusps of the horse tooth are curved and folded, [like this;](http://www.paleocurrents.com/img/FLORIDA_PEACE_RIVER/doc_images/img_8905_cropped_std.jpg)the [upper surface of the object](http://i880.photobucket.com/albums/ac3/inimeg6482/thingbone2.jpg) is made up of the ends of about 18 or 19 nearly circular, hollow units, completely different from horse (or manatee) teeth. The shape of the object lengthwise is much longer than a horse tooth. Trust me, it’s not a tooth. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-my-dog-found-it-in-our-yard-in-south-fl/557654/31 "2010-10-25T03:21:23Z")
[Organ pipe mud dauber nest cells](http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/pests/household_pests/biting/hgic2512.html), fossilized and replaced with chert. More likely, some variant on a [tube worm colony.](http://www.eurekalert.org/multimedia/pub/10982.php) You get the bone like density and structure for free with tube worm shells. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-my-dog-found-it-in-our-yard-in-south-fl/557654.md?page=1)