Amynodon advenus Parts 2 and 3

Both of these skulls are examples of Amynodon advenus. Like the fossil in the previous post, I began them last summer, and finished them this winter, and only just got all my photos for them.
The first one is the third fossil we collected and I prepared from Magic Canyon. It was found by my friend L.J. but almost everyone at work helped to get it out of the field (except me).
End of Day 1Prep Finished
As you can see much of the left side is missing. This was the exposed and weathered portion. The blue in the teeth is bondo. There was a major crack running through this part of the skull, so there is some loss of bone.Here is a nice profile photo from the right side. You can see the nice big canine and overall shape of the head, though there is a little bit of crushing. This was probably a male while the one I posted on last year was probably a female judging on the canine size. The difference between males and females of the same species is called sexual dimorphism.
This second skull was found just off the edge of a well pad during construction by my friend Shaun. We had been in this area before, but for some reason nobody noticed it until Shaun. Good find Shaun!
Before Prep
After Prep
The pink line in the middle is bondo where I broke it in half when I collected it. Oops! I actually broke it a second time during prep, but as I always say, "It's not done unless you break it at least once".
This photo is a view looking at it straight on. You can see there is significant shift. The top is shifted right (left in the photo) relative to the bottom. This is a fairly common trait of many fossils and happens because of intense heat and pressure due to lithification of sediments (sediment becoming rock). Also, though you can't really see it in the photos, the front of both canines has been worn perfectly flat. This is probably due to the upper and lower canines rubbing against one another during life. I haven't seen this in any of the other Amynodons we've collected, though there is still one more that needs to be prepared.

Rhinoceriffic,

Dan