Triassic Mystery Fossil
Things are a bit slow news wise over the holidays and I have not done this for awhile, so here goes. Any guesses on what this is? Should be relatively easy I think.
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Looks like a skinny crocodile, but whatever it is, it clearly ate plants.
ReplyDeleteOh! Oh! I know this. If I had to draw an ornithischian astragalus from memory this is exactly what it would look like.
ReplyDeleteLies about it being a Triassic mystery fossil, it's clearly a Paleolithic phaser. ;)
ReplyDeleteThe specimen could a remnant of an aetogate impact event. It could also be a remnant of a phytosaur skull crushed during a drunken frenzy (ca 2008). If one ignores the bones it is obviously a petrified sandbox.
ReplyDeleteGah, I'm such an idiot. It was staring me in the face the whole time! Talk about obvious, ok, the big reveal.... an SVP Scalebar! Thanks for the stumper Bill.
ReplyDeleteI am so dissapointed in everyone, especially iPreparator who should know that this is a multi-container opener for late nights in the prep lab. Sheesh!
ReplyDeleteActually Nick was spot on with the phaser guess.
I'm more interested in its locality and stratigraphic position.
ReplyDeleteI would guess that the fossil is the back portion of a phytosaur skull.
ReplyDeletePFV 161 - Camp Butte beds.
ReplyDeleteIt is a giant fossil rodent in left lateral view. You can clearly see the snout protruding in the upper left,with pointy incisors just below. His chin is in the lower left. His eye socket is in the upper right. I don't know what the big hole in the side of his face is, but that is irrelevant.
ReplyDeleteDicynodont? (that is, posterior part of skull of...)
ReplyDeleteI'll spare everyone the torment. It is the posterior portion of the right side of a phytosaur skull, probably Smilosuchus.
ReplyDeleteSorry Bill, but food and drink aren't allowed in my prep lab anymore. A nice bottle of Scotch in my desk drawer wouldn't be a bad idea though...
ReplyDelete