RoyalTartToters Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Hello, when I was very young I was out on a hike on some our land in alberta. On the hike we descovered a skull which had been washed down a hill by the recent rain falls. The skull was of interest so we decided to take it home. After some reasherch we descovered that it was in fact the skull of a bison antiquus. The skull is complete with only a few missing peices. After reviewing some information on the web it appeared that the largest one found to date had a horn tip to horn tip span of 31 inches , the skull I found has a span of 38 inches. If it is a record size who should I contact? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edd Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Do you have any photos? " We're all puppets, I'm just a puppet who can see the strings. " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoyalTartToters Posted October 15, 2013 Author Share Posted October 15, 2013 Sorry not at the moment as it is at my fathers house, but photos are on there way , I just messaged him to send me some photos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoyalTartToters Posted October 15, 2013 Author Share Posted October 15, 2013 Here is a photo of the skull that I found Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cole Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Would be a great hood ornament for my truck. Cole~ Knowledge has three degrees-opinion, science, illumination. The means or instrument of the first is sense; of the second, dialectic; of the third, intuition. Plotinus 204 or 205 C.E., Egyptian Philosopher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgehiker Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 If it is not registered before the mid 1980's, it can't be sold or removed from the province. These skulls are found now and again in the eroded banks of seasonal creeks that run through coulees, etc. Yours appears in excellent condition If a B. antiquus. I've come across a couple but 'cruddy' condition. Where to take it? Depends where you live in the province. Perhaps the area it was found in has a local historic society. These types of recent extinct species sort of balance on the edge of a few areas of interest....zoology, archaeology, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoyalTartToters Posted October 15, 2013 Author Share Posted October 15, 2013 Would anyone be able to help me clarify what species this skull it from, it appears to be very old and has a tip to tip span of 38inches , could it be bison antiquus ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoyalTartToters Posted October 15, 2013 Author Share Posted October 15, 2013 So since it was discovered recently it is illegal to sell it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgehiker Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 (edited) Yes. Even if found long ago still not allowed unless it was registered when legislation was passed on the status of fossils, artifacts, etc. in the province. You can have possession of it but it belongs to the province. Edited October 15, 2013 by Ridgehiker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
32fordboy Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 (edited) Where was this found? That will help greatly. I want to say it has to be B. antiquus, as I thought B. priscus had a more primitive skull shape and more re-curved horns. EDIT: never mind on locality...topics were merged apparently. Edited October 15, 2013 by 32fordboy www.nicksfossils.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeymig Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 It's pretty big and agree that it's probably Bison antiquus but since it's from Canada it also could be the plains Bison bigger cousin Bison bison athabascae. It's a nice skull and where you found it would help in it's ID. Mikey Many times I've wondered how much there is to know. led zeppelin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
32fordboy Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 31" is not the largest for a Bison antiquus. 31" might even be on the small side, when there was more overlap between Bison bison and Bison antiquus. I had a Bison antiquus example that would have spanned 39-41". The horns were ridiculously robust. The latest prep project was a 29" Bison that could have been labeled as a very large Bison bison or a small Bison antiquus. I labeled it as a late antiquus after talking to some mammal experts and doing a side-by-side comparison to distinguish more primitive traits. Doubtful your skull is Bison bison athabascae. The horn shape is wrong and it would have been an absolute monster at 38". Record for modern Bison, last I checked was 32" with the sheaths intact. Still, count me in for Bison antiquus. www.nicksfossils.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
32fordboy Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 For the record, very, VERY nice skull! www.nicksfossils.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichW9090 Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 Royal, how did you measure the skull? is it a true tip-to-tip measurement, a straight line through the air, or did you measure along the horn core down to the base, then across the flat of the head, then up along the curve of the other horn to the tip? The plural of "anecdote" is not "evidence". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichW9090 Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 I'll assume for the moment you made a true tip-to-tip measurement. 38 inches would equal 965 mm. That being the case, your skull, while definitely on the large side, is not a record. Jerry McDonald reports a range for 77 male skulls of Bison antiquus occidentalis of 626 - 1065 mm. For 27 B. antiquus antiquus male skulls, he reports a range of 765 - 1067 mm. The plural of "anecdote" is not "evidence". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PleistoGuy Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 Hello, when I was very young I was out on a hike on some our land in alberta. On the hike we descovered a skull which had been washed down a hill by the recent rain falls. The skull was of interest so we decided to take it home. After some reasherch we descovered that it was in fact the skull of a bison antiquus. The skull is complete with only a few missing peices. After reviewing some information on the web it appeared that the largest one found to date had a horn tip to horn tip span of 31 inches , the skull I found has a span of 38 inches. If it is a record size who should I contact? Thanks According to McDonald (1981) for it's morphologic characters it belongs to a Bison antiquus. Ancient bison's measurements falls within the range of Bison priscus, Bison alaskensis and Bison Bison, so simply metric characters will not help you alone. Will you help me with my research? http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/42677-help-with-an-ongoing-research/ I will help you identify the skull and give you all details as you want. Thanks. Have a nice day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichW9090 Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 I measured a fossil herd population from Minnesota. The largest male was just 38 inches tip-to-tip, same as yours. Here is the horn-core spread data from the entire series of Bison antiquus antiquus: The plural of "anecdote" is not "evidence". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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