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This small mammal comes from South Dakota. i got it from a collector who didn't know what it was but recalls being told it was from South Dakota. I might have biased people enough with my guess of Insectivore based on my research, so I won't add in any more ideas. Many thanks!

Partial skull purchased many years ago. From Dakota Buhle { ? } Fm. About 2 1/2 " long. Ideas ?? Thanks.

Hello to all! This would be my first post and what motivated me to join the forum is because we have found something I just can't nail down. On a recent fossiling trip with my family my daughter found a skull in a stream bank located in central NJ where shark teeth are the common find. In fact this skull fragment was partially exposed in the stream bank just above a layer of gravel that was producing sharks teeth. I was solidly set in and only exposed because of recent storm water erosion.The stream bank was a sharp cut out from the landside and this fossil was approximately six feet below the surface layer. I've compared the skull to modern day coyote and wolf skulls. The brain cavity is larger than a coyotes and while about the same as a wolfs the top fin is about 2-3 times the size of a wolfs. I went on a comparison google photo search and the closest match I can find is from a dire wolf! Do I dare say this is what it is? Ok, maybe not, but I am thinking this is an ancestor of todays wolf. Here are the shots. what do you think? Here it is next to a coyote skull I'm 54 and have been fossiling since I was about nine and this is one of the cooler things I've seen found. Thanks for checking this out, Mike.