Lordhonkhonk Posted February 7, 2023 Share Posted February 7, 2023 Ok, last time I post here for a while I swear! At least until I go on another hunting trip... Anyways so I stopped by my mother's today after work and I was talking to her and my stepfather about my newfound passion for hunting & collecting fossils when it turns out that my stepfather had been holding out on me this whole time! After a bit of rummaging around he presented me with this, and even said that I could keep it! He said that he had been given it by a customer of his back when he worked delivering water. The customer a nice older man had found it in his backyard (lucky duck!) somewhere in San Pedro, California, my current city of residence. Any information would be greatly appreciated! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coco Posted February 7, 2023 Share Posted February 7, 2023 Hi, Oreodont ? @jpc Coco 1 1 ---------------------- OUTIL POUR MESURER VOS FOSSILES : ici Ma bibliothèque PDF 1 (Poissons et sélaciens récents & fossiles) : ici Ma bibliothèque PDF 2 (Animaux vivants - sans poissons ni sélaciens) : ici Mâchoires sélaciennes récentes : ici Hétérodontiques et sélaciens : ici Oeufs sélaciens récents : ici Otolithes de poissons récents ! ici Un Greg... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caterpillar Posted February 7, 2023 Share Posted February 7, 2023 Leptauchenia? 1 http://www.paleotheque.fr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francesco1994 Posted February 7, 2023 Share Posted February 7, 2023 waiting for the experts but nice one ! After a little preparation it will be a nice piece 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mahnmut Posted February 7, 2023 Share Posted February 7, 2023 (edited) (Sub-)Hyracodon? Looks like white river badlands to me. Nice one! Edited February 7, 2023 by Mahnmut second thought 1 Try to learn something about everything and everything about something Thomas Henry Huxley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocket Posted February 7, 2023 Share Posted February 7, 2023 Badlands, very nice. Looks like a nearly complete skull of..., we will see I would assume its an Oreodont 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mahnmut Posted February 7, 2023 Share Posted February 7, 2023 (edited) Yeah, I agree, Oreodont is a better fit than Hyracodon, The orbita is closed all around, the teeth fit. I thought the teeth where to big and the mandible to curved, but that was wrong. Did not see the size either. To save my honor, its astonishing how similar these are in some aspects, being perissodactyl and artiodactyl respectively. Best Regards, J Edited February 7, 2023 by Mahnmut additional info 1 Try to learn something about everything and everything about something Thomas Henry Huxley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randyw Posted February 7, 2023 Share Posted February 7, 2023 (edited) 3 hours ago, caterpillar said: Leptauchenia? No. Not a leptauchenia or a sespia califonia although the small size and missing nose and braincase kind of makes it look that way. Im torn between a gracilis and a culbertsonia. (Im leaning culbertsonia) Should look really nice when prepped! Edited February 7, 2023 by Randyw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted February 7, 2023 Share Posted February 7, 2023 I am thinking Merycoidodon gracilis. (Leptachenia has a different scent gland in front of the eye than this seems to have). I am also thinking Wyoming or Nebraska rather than California based on the rock and the preservation, and the animal. Full disclosure, While there are oreodonts found in the area of San Pedro, I am not familiar with the fossils of the area, but I would be surprised if they are so similar to the Wyoming materials. And the CA fossils are all Miocene. This does not look like a Miocene oreodont. I looked for papers on this material, but they are not available online. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lordhonkhonk Posted February 7, 2023 Author Share Posted February 7, 2023 13 hours ago, Francesco1994 said: waiting for the experts but nice one ! After a little preparation it will be a nice piece Looks like I'll have to do some research on fossil prep! 4 hours ago, jpc said: I am thinking Merycoidodon gracilis. (Leptachenia has a different scent gland in front of the eye than this seems to have). I am also thinking Wyoming or Nebraska rather than California based on the rock and the preservation, and the animal. Full disclosure, While there are oreodonts found in the area of San Pedro, I am not familiar with the fossils of the area, but I would be surprised if they are so similar to the Wyoming materials. And the CA fossils are all Miocene. This does not look like a Miocene oreodont. I looked for papers on this material, but they are not available online. Hmm if that's true I wonder why that old man would give such a thing away... There's no chance it could possibly be a S. californica? If it didn't come from a local backyard it also makes me worry if it's truly genuine... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randyw Posted February 7, 2023 Share Posted February 7, 2023 I know that just north of there are some late oligocene deposits. and emporeodon, sespia california, leptauchenia, gracilis are and i believe culbertsonia are found but not the full extent of the ranges. And some of the matrixes look remarkably like white river specimens. I’m still torn between gracilis and culbertsonia but I’m leaning culbertsonia becuase the top of the skull seems flatter then a gracilis…. But its only like 55% culbertsoni and 45% gracilis LOL! I think when it’s fully prepped it’ll be easier to be sure. as an example of the calirnia matrixes heres a picture of a sespia california wich is only found in california.. (photo from san diego museum of nat history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randyw Posted February 7, 2023 Share Posted February 7, 2023 4 minutes ago, Lordhonkhonk said: away... There's no chance it could possibly be a S. californica? If it didn't come from a local backyard it also makes me worry if it's truly genuine... No the area in front of the eye is totally wrong for s californica. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randyw Posted February 7, 2023 Share Posted February 7, 2023 (edited) Here is a leptauchinia skull and a sespia skull for comparison. the sespia is on the bottom (in the backround is a culbertsoni) Edited February 7, 2023 by Randyw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randyw Posted February 7, 2023 Share Posted February 7, 2023 10 minutes ago, Lordhonkhonk said: ? If it didn't come from a local backyard it also makes me worry if it's truly genuine... It’s a 100% genuine skull. It’d be a great addition to anyones collection. I’m jealous of whoever ends up getting to prep it. I know several preppers on here that would be drooling to get their hands on it! LOL! And i wouldnt be suspicious of their motives for giving it away. my sespia skull in the picture was given to me when the guy prepping it broke it into 5 pieces. ( he didn’t know you shouldnt prep with a hammer)… and he knew i liked fossils. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lordhonkhonk Posted February 8, 2023 Author Share Posted February 8, 2023 5 hours ago, Randyw said: I know that just north of there are some late oligocene deposits. and emporeodon, sespia california, leptauchenia, gracilis are and i believe culbertsonia are found but not the full extent of the ranges. And some of the matrixes look remarkably like white river specimens. I’m still torn between gracilis and culbertsonia but I’m leaning culbertsonia becuase the top of the skull seems flatter then a gracilis…. But its only like 55% culbertsoni and 45% gracilis LOL! I think when it’s fully prepped it’ll be easier to be sure. as an example of the calirnia matrixes heres a picture of a sespia california wich is only found in california.. (photo from san diego museum of nat history) Would its small size help to indicate that it was a juvenile or is it about average in size? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilhunter21 Posted February 8, 2023 Share Posted February 8, 2023 (edited) I agree with, @jpc that it looks a lot like M. gracillis. Here is a gif I made to compare your skull with with M. gracillis. M. gracillis. would also match the size really well. What ever it is, It is a really cool specimen. Cheers and Shalom, -Micah Edited February 8, 2023 by fossilhunter21 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randyw Posted February 8, 2023 Share Posted February 8, 2023 (edited) Actually i just blew up the original pictures better on my ipad and realized the top of the skull is missing. I was going by the skull shape. Now that i realized that and took a closer look at the other features i agree with gracilis. Still nice skull and a great gift! Congrats! Edited February 8, 2023 by Randyw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randyw Posted February 8, 2023 Share Posted February 8, 2023 Are you planning on prepping it out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lordhonkhonk Posted February 8, 2023 Author Share Posted February 8, 2023 57 minutes ago, fossilhunter21 said: I agree with, @jpc that it looks a lot like M. gracillis. Here is a gif I made to compare your skull with with M. gracillis. M. gracillis. would also match the size really well. What ever it is, It is a really cool specimen. Cheers and Shalom, -Micah Wow that's really cool! Thank you so much! It does make it a lot easier to see the similarities. 35 minutes ago, Randyw said: Actually i just blew up the original pictures better on my ipad and realized the top of the skull is missing. I was going by the skull shape. Now that i realized that and took a closer look at the other features i agree with gracilis. Still nice skull and a great gift! Congrats! Excellent I'm glad a consensus seems to have been reached. This will make my attempts to construct a display label for it much easier later on lol. Now to just narrow down where it may have actually come from.... 20 minutes ago, Randyw said: Are you planning on prepping it out? I've only just purchased my first true fossil about three weeks ago, a mantellisaurus vertebrae, so I have no idea exactly how to prep as well I also live in quite a small apartment and lack any of the necessary tools for such an endeavor... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted February 8, 2023 Share Posted February 8, 2023 24 minutes ago, Lordhonkhonk said: Wow that's really cool! Thank you so much! It does make it a lot easier to see the similarities. I will respectfully disagree. Although I appreciate the effort Micah did on this gif, a side by side would be much more useful. Constructive criticism. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilhunter21 Posted February 8, 2023 Share Posted February 8, 2023 (edited) Hi, JP. I see your point, and have to agree. It also may have been better if I had slowed down the gif a lot more. Is this better? Cheers and Shalom, -Micah Edited February 8, 2023 by fossilhunter21 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.thumb.jpg.51c371f10936bbc883322324e44cc518.jpg)
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now