Sphenocoelus intermedius

I present to you the second skull of which I so recently spoke. This guy was a lot harder to remove from the matrix in the field. It was in a large boulder which had fallen off the main outcrop which we had to reduce to a size we could manually carry out to a vehicle. It's kind of hard to see in this photo from the field, but trust me, it's there.I didn't begin taking photos of the preparation until the third day. This series is from the ventral (bottom looking up) view. Day 3Day 4Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9 (Work Complete!) I left all that matrix (rock) because the only thing holding the front of the skull to the back is the right palatine-pterygoid flange (thin wall of bone in the back of the throat).
Occlusal View (Teeth Detail)
Right Lateral View
For how much of this guy was missing and how battered it looked in the field, I'm very pleased with how well preserved the rest of it is. It's missing whole front top of the skull, incisors, canines, right first and second premolars, left first premolar, both zygomatic arches and a few other small things. The whole back of the skull is complete and in really good shape and all the remaining teeth look fantastic.
There are two leading brontothere researchers, Mader and Milbachler. Mader would call this skull Sphenocoelus intermedius, but Milbachler would call it Dolichorhinus hyognathus. I tend to side with Mader's observations, but Milbachler's name sounds cooler.

Whining,

Dan

Two Things

Thing 1: The other day I bought Pull-Ups for Joy. I didn't realize that, unlike regular diapers, Pull-Ups are gender specific. Unbeknownst to me, I purchased the Boy specific Pull-Ups for Joy. Good thing she doesn't care. They have Cars all over them, she actually likes them.

Thing 2: While fixing the shelves of the girls' new bunkbed, I used this tool quite a bit. Grace was 'helping' me and we had a conversation that went something like this:

Grace: "Wow! This is VERY yellow."
Me: "Yup."
Grace: "What is it?"
Me: "It's a tool called a square."
Grace: "I don't think it's a square. I think it's a triangle."

Try explaining THAT one to a three-year old.

Come on vamonos,

Dan

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

Lilies and Hearts

It's spring and the Uinta Basin is green. With all the rain and snow, it's staying green for longer than normal. I haven't got a picture of it, but I've been to a few spots where the Sego Lilies are literally carpeting the ground. In all the springs I've spent in the desert, I've never noticed a Pink Sego Lily before, but this year, I've seen plenty.
Also, I found two natural heart shapes within a few minutes of each other.

Heart shaped lichen.Heart shaped cross-section of a bone in pink sandstone (another thing I've never seen in the Basin before).

Sprinkling silica gel,

Dan

Horny Toads Part 3

So here is a bunch of photos of most of the horny toads (Phyrnosoma) I or someone I've been working with have found since I began working in the Uinta Basin. As you may know, horny toads are my favorite animal out there.
This is the first one I ever caught, just a baby.Didn't actually catch this one, but I thought it was the biggest one I'd ever seen.

Until I saw this guy.Thus begins the tradition of placing the horny toad on Dave's hat for a photo. Dave's head was for scale.
Another baby one...
... with Dave's head for scale.

Decent sized specimen. Dave's head for scale.
Dave's head for scale.
Another normal sized one.
Another pretty big one, but still no champ.
Another baby. Dave's hand for scale.
Ashley found a 'buy one get one free' bargain.

Sadly, I didn't get a photo of the one trying to crawl up L.J.'s pant leg. Also, I've never seen them squirt blood from their eyes. I guess I'm not enough of a threat.

Waffles in the toaster,

Dan

John Henry

This is what is called a "Lost Time Incident". The best part was that someone spent a ton of time and money into putting up signs everywhere a power line crosses a road out there. Obviously enough, they say "Caution Overhead Power Lines".


Lower your boom,

Dan

Sandwich

I made this sandwich for my lunch tomorrow.
String cheese,

Dan

This week at work

I saw this in a boulder and thought it was a fossil. But it was just a flat chert pebble.This little stream was so calming, but it made me have to pee.

This was a pretty cool paleo-channel. You could see the bedforms and the u-shape. The edge of it was strangely rounded though.
I've never seen a center stake tied to the old well head before.
I'm not sure why this is so important. All the invasive species had taken over this reclaimed area.
This washed out photo is of a couple of juniper berries. The one on the right was really different, it looked more like a flower or pine cone. Interestingly enough, juniper berries aren't really berries. They're extremely modified pine cones.
It's kind of hard to see in the photo, but there is a very large burrow preserved in the sandstone above my field book. That was the only fossil we found that day. :-(
A stack of Brennan Basin Flapjacks.
Iron concretion surrounded by smaller iron concretions.
PPE is not my favorite thing to wear. But I do look pretty good in it.

Decreased liability for our clients is more important than avoiding heatstroke,

Dan

Perfect

I wish I'd found this second one a year and a half ago.



He's come to save the day,

Dan

Resolutions

I can't remember the last time I made any New Year's Resolutions. I'm not sure I ever have. I wasn't going to make any this year either, but I felt inspired to do so. Here they are in no particular order:

1. Lose enough weight to get down to 200lbs.
2. Publish a scientific paper.
3. 100% Home Teaching.
4. Get out of debt (besides mortgage).
5. Complete an online/independent study course.

Sounds like life to me,

Dan

Guerrilla Handbell Strikeforce

I love Improv Everywhere and they've almost made me cry from laughing. But this one just made me cry from the Spirit.


Merry Christmas,

Dan

I am a Paleontologist

That's who I am,

Dan

I'm Thankful

Thankful for the Spirit,

Dan

The Princess is Sleeping

Isn't it about time?

Dan

Just Me and My Radio

Like Jack Horner,

Dan

Does God Exist?

Into something good,

Dan

Lo Bien Que Se Siente Tener Un Bigote

Not a viking,

Dan

Random Photos from the Camera While at Work

Birthday Cake Stratigraphy - The cake is capped with a bed of strawberry frosting. Above the capping bed are small outcrops of white frosting rich in modern gummy bear remains. Beneath the capping bed are alternating beds of red velvet cake and strawberry ice cream. Within the beds of strawberry ice cream are abundant gummy bear fossils.
Good looking truck - I named it The Fumigator.Fossil Turtle Skull - I finished preparing it today. It's probably Apalone. It's from the Bridger Formation of Wyoming. Fossil Turtle skulls are rare all over the world.

You're my angel,

Dan

Evolution and Religion

I just read this on the Paleontological Society web page and thought it was beautiful.

"This difference between science and religion does not mean that the two fields are incompatible. Many scientists who study evolution are religious, and many religious denominations have issued statements supporting evolution. Science and religion address different questions and employ different ways of knowing."

If you want to read the complete statement go here.

Cockeyed and musclebound,

Dan