"DUCK-BILLED" DINOSAUR SKULL CAST. ...

Description

"DUCK-BILLED" DINOSAUR SKULL CAST
Edmontosaurus annectens
Cretaceous, Maastrichtian Stage
Hell Creek Formation, Harding Co, South Dakota
This is a highly detailed cast of what is almost certainly the most interesting Edmontosaurus skull ever found and one of the best preserved. It has a fascinating story to tell: located on the lateral margins of each lower jaw are bite marks from an attacker that had this Edmontosaurus by the throat, but close examination shows that the Edmontosaurus survived the attack, as there is frothy bone growth along the edges of the marks on the left jaw, which represents healing. Expert analysis suggests that the amount of healing represents about 3 months and so although mortally wounded, the Edmontosaurus escaped its attacker, probably a large raptor or juvenile T-rex, before dying a short while later, possibly as a result of the wounds received in this encounter. Other outstanding features of this skull include complete dentition, the rarely preserved predentary - the "extra" bone of the mandible - and almost no distortion, with fantastically reproduced bone texture and a lovely warm brown coloring. The original skeleton is on display at the Fukui Prefectural Museum in Japan and this world-class reproduction measures 28½ inches long and stands 21½ inches high on a metal stand.

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