Amynodon advenus

You may remember this photo from my last post. Jason found this skull last fall and we were finally able to collect it in May.Over the past few weeks, I've been able to prepare it. Here are the day by day photos I took of the left side (best preserved side) at the end of each day of work. Day 1Day 2Day 3
Day 4
Day 5 (Work Complete!)
This is the ventral side (looking at the palate and base of the skull) on the last day.
I'm pretty sure that this skull belonged to a creature called Amynodon advenus which is very closely related to rhinos. It's missing the right zygomatic arch (cheek bone), both nasals (nose bones), the outer bone on the right side of the face (exposed side first found in the field), the labial (outer) side of all the right cheek teeth, all the incisors except one on the left, the right canine, and the first right premolar. I think it belonged to a female because the remaining canine is quite small and males of this species had very large canines.

I'm also working on a second skull found just a few feet from this one so when I finish preparing it, I'll post photos of that.

Rocks in my hair,

Dan

Random Photos from Work

A golden eagle skull we found. Interestingly enough gyr means vulture.
On old bottle filled with what I suspect is pee.
X marks the spot for intersecting joints.
Lizard Love
I'm currently preparing this skull at the BYU Museum of Paleontology. This is what it looked like in the outcrop when it was found by my friend Jason. Stay tuned for photos of the process and the finished product, I can't wait to get back to it.
At an old gilsonite mine, we found this bucket sitting on top of an old pipe. It's at a registered archaeological site with a datum and everything.

God is my Judge,

Dan