Odd Fossil

[jnicholes]

Hello,

 

So, I was in Kemmerer Wyoming doing a fossil dig, I went to the place on fishdig.com I found many fossils.

 

Ono of them, is very odd, and no one there could ID it. Can someone try to help me ID this fossil? Is it a messed up fish?

 

Jared

[PaleoNoel]

looks like it might be a jumbled phareodus head, but that's just a guess.

[jnicholes]

Ok, I am excited now. I used my mothers Magnifier and discovered something. This is a close up of one part of the fossil. It almost looks like a head with teeth.

 

 

[Scylla]

I'm no expert on these but it looks like a fish skull where the right and left sides have separated and opened like a book.

[jnicholes]

You could be right. Is it possible for a head to split and then land symmetrical like that?

[Fossildude19]

5 minutes ago, jnicholes said:

You could be right. Is it possible for a head to split and then land symmetrical like that?

Yes, it is entirely possible.

Decompositional gasses will often explode portions of a fish. 

 

I think both gentlemen above have the right of it. 

 

 

[jnicholes]

I see. Well, you learn something new everyday. It's amazing how a fossil can split like this!

 

 right now, I'm talking to the guys at the place I went digging. They've agreed to help me figure out what it is also. I'll let you know what they say.

[jnicholes]

 well, the people at the Quarry don't have an idea of what it is, they're going to show their head paleontologist, and he'll figure out what this part is. 

 

so far, he agrees with everybody. It looks like the maxilla of a Mioplosus. That what he said was a possibility.

 

 for right now, I'm just going to stick with what you guys said. Let's call it a phareodus head until we get more results.

 

Jared