Found fossil skull, no idea what it is?


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I found this fossil skull on a families property today. I have no idea what it is and could not find more of it. The lower jaw was in pieces as well. I am extremely curious about it and thought I would see what others thought it might be.

 

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Wow...real neat...I would contact the local museum for a paleotologist. They could come to the site and check the rest of the fossil...teeth are in good shape....nice find.... :D

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Wow...real neat...I would contact the local museum for a paleotologist. They could come to the site and check the rest of the fossil...teeth are in good shape....nice find.... :D

 

this is what i wanted to type :)

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this is what i wanted to type :)

 

I might do something like this. Every little piece that looked like it could be a fragment is in a bag next to it waiting to be reassembled. It appears to have the base of a canine like tooth near the front of the skull. The molars with canines suggest mammal from what I have read, but its certainly not an ice age mammal as I don't believe those are found fossilized? I still haven't found similar fossil mammal skulls on google.

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At first I thought it was a deer, then the one pic showed in front of you it was way too big for a white tail. 

Where was it found ?  city/state/region ?  That would help a lot.

The teeth appear to be carnivore, so that rules out a horse, or cow.

Possibly a wolf ?  Without knowing more, its just throwing at the wall to see what sticks.

One thing is for sure, that is an awesome find.   Well done on being able to spot it.

Local college, or museum, even a vet should be able to narrow it down, if not pinpoint it.

Once you find out what it is, hopefully you can get some dating on it.

An awesome find !  Lucky you !

That last pic helps with the size... possibly canine.?  Let us know when you have it analyzed.

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At first I thought it was a deer, then the one pic showed in front of you it was way too big for a white tail. 

Where was it found ?  city/state/region ?  That would help a lot.

The teeth appear to be carnivore, so that rules out a horse, or cow.

Possibly a wolf ?  Without knowing more, its just throwing at the wall to see what sticks.

One thing is for sure, that is an awesome find.   Well done on being able to spot it.

Local college, or museum, even a vet should be able to narrow it down, if not pinpoint it.

Once you find out what it is, hopefully you can get some dating on it.

An awesome find !  Lucky you !

 

This was found in Washington state, I'm hoping to take it down to a paleontologist and seeing what I can find out about it. Its just too bad it was not in better shape. Whatever it is i like it :D.

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Neat! Looks somewhat fossilized. What was the circumstances in which you found it? Can you be more specific to where in Washington you found it?

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Neat! Looks somewhat fossilized. What was the circumstances in which you found it? Can you be more specific to where in Washington you found it?

 

The sad part is I found it in a pile of rocks that most likely had been moved most likley during renovation so I am not exactly sure where on the property it originated from. As far as the part of Washington I will narrow it down to within 50 miles southeast of Mount Adams.

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hey, the original "explorers" already damaged most of the goods,

and before them there were centuries of ignoramuses who just did not have a capacity or will or desire to care,

so they ignored the findings, and just plowed on....

 

sad, really

 

 

only untainted sources seem to be swamp beds, or lakes, or volcano ash covered areas, outside of populous areas.

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By the looks of the teeth it was a Herbivore (Plant eater).  Could be a Mastodon or Mammoth?.  I don't think Mammoths were in North America, but I do know that Mastodon's were.  They find them here in Indiana quite a bit.   

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By the looks of the teeth it was a Herbivore (Plant eater).  Could be a Mastodon or Mammoth?.  I don't think Mammoths were in North America, but I do know that Mastodon's were.  They find them here in Indiana quite a bit.   

Im no biologist, or vet, or paleontologist - but those teeth looked awfully pointy to be herbivore.  Why do you say it was a herbivore ?

 

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Im no biologist, or vet, or paleontologist - but those teeth looked awfully pointy to be herbivore.  Why do you say it was a herbivore ?

 

I thought the same thing.

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Again, no expert here, but they sure do look like Carnivore teeth to me, fully formed ones too.

So that narrows it down considerably to a carnivore, in that area, that is that size as an adult. That should be plenty of clues to start some research on it.

 

Let us know.

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Again, no expert here, but they sure do look like Carnivore teeth to me, fully formed ones too.

So that narrows it down considerably to a carnivore, in that area, that is that size as an adult. That should be plenty of clues to start some research on it.

 

Let us know.

 

I will keep this updated, I will be showing it to a professor of paleontology at a university in the area and see what I can find out.

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Yeah, if you can, do show it to a specialist and then post here.

I have being in places in US where people tend to find all kinds of cool relics. But those places are usually well known. It is cool to find something close to home :)

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OMG.... You found Jimmy Hoffa!!!

 

was about to say this! pretty sure most of the folks here are too young to know who Jimmy Hoffa is/was lol

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You might be able to ask Emily Graslie who works at the Field Museum in Chicago.  https://twitter.com/ehmee

 

Those are probably a set of herbivore teeth.  Sheep, cattle and other herbivores have those distinct ridges (which some here are saying are "sharp") which are effective at grinding down grass into must making it easier to swallow. 

 

Hard to tell with such few teeth being shown.  Omnivores typical have different types of teeth located throughout...but the "fossil" could be incomplete?  I'm almost certain these do not belong to a carnivore.

 

Just looking at these few images...I would say you have an herbivore but no clue on what species.  Emily could probably identify or point you in the right direction.

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You might be able to ask Emily Graslie who works at the Field Museum in Chicago.  https://twitter.com/ehmee

 

Those are probably a set of herbivore teeth.  Sheep, cattle and other herbivores have those distinct ridges (which some here are saying are "sharp") which are effective at grinding down grass into must making it easier to swallow. 

 

Hard to tell with such few teeth being shown.  Omnivores typical have different types of teeth located throughout...but the "fossil" could be incomplete?  I'm almost certain these do not belong to a carnivore.

 

Just looking at these few images...I would say you have an herbivore but no clue on what species.  Emily could probably identify or point you in the right direction.

I'll be the first to admit, I am a complete novice - I saw pointed molars and that meateater - but you have already convinced me you know more than me

I thought deer family, cow, maybe large dog - but like I said - wild guesses.

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