THERE ARE SIX INTACT EPIOCCIPITALS (RAISED EDGE POINTS) ON THE COMPLETE SHIELD EDGE. THESE FEATURES ARE RARE AS ARE THE COUNTLESS BLOOD VESSEL CHANNELS RUNNING ACROSS THE FACE OF THE BONE. ALMOST ALL TRICERATOPS SKULLS FOUND AND SHOWN IN THE FINEST MUSEUMS IN THE WORLD HAVE EXTENSIVE RESTORATION AND FABRICATION TO THE SHIELD AND DO NOT SHOW THE DETAIL SEEN HERE IN THIS SPECIMEN. THE ABOVE AND BELOW DETAIL IS RARE BECAUSE THE ORIGINAL BONE ON THE SHIELD IS MOST OFTEN NOT SALVAGEABLE OR PRESENT WHEN THE SKULL IS FOUND. ASIDE FROM MINOR FILLING OF CRACKS, THE ENTIRE SHIELD SEEN IN ALL THESE PHOTOS IS THE ORIGINAL BONE WITH RARELY SEEN PRESERVED ANATOMICAL FEATURES AND DETAIL. THIS IS A BETTER TRICERATOPS SHIELD THAN MOST OF THE FINEST MUSEUMS CAN DEMONSTRATE TO THEIR VISITORS!
DEEP CHANNELS ON THE FRONT SURFACE OF THE SHIELD ARE NOT CRACKS BUT ARE INTACT SELDOM SEEN RARE ANATOMY WHERE ALL THE BLOOD VESSELS RAN THROUGH BETWEEN THE BONE AND THE SKIN
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ULTRA RARE TRICERATOPS DINOSAUR HEAD SHIELD HALF IN IMPECCABLE PRESERVATION WITH COMPLETE EDGE OF EPIOCCIPITALS Hell Creek Formation, South Dakota, U.S.A. LATE CRETACEOUS PERIOD: 72 - 65 million years ago Collected from the famous Hell Creek Formation of Northwestern U.S.A., this is an EXTREMELY RARE COMPLETE right half of a head shield of a Triceratops horridus dinosaur. We can vouch for the fact that this truly is a rare piece. With our extensive field and lab experience, as well as years of handling dinosaur material from North America, never before have we seen such a complete section of a head shield in such immaculate preservation. This piece EXCEEDS what most of the world's finest museums have to display when it comes to the quality of their Triceratops skull shield. We prepared this specimen from the field jacket in its entirety, in our lab facility in Florida, and can attest to the completeness and degree of preservation of this amazing specimen. There is exceedingly rare bone anatomy intact and perfectly preserved in this specimen that is rarely seen and almost never able to be experienced by dinosaur museum visitors. We intended for this piece to be publicly exhibited AND TOUCHED so we reinforced and stabilized the bone such that it can be physically touched with no risk to the integrity of the fossil. This is really a TOUCH piece and the amazing network of blood vessel channels and a COMPLETE outer edge showing six epioccipitals as well as the complete lower right corner is really a great experience to run your hand across and feel the stunning detail in the original bone. This piece would have been the complete right side of the head shield of a sub-adult Triceratops. The part that terminates below the cheek and turns at an angle is the actual edge of the original shield. The center part above the horns would attach to the top right and you would have another opposing half like this to complete the entire frill shield of the dinosaur. The portion that curves forward near the base is the part that would have connected this shield to the back of the lower right of the face of the skull. We completely prepared this specimen from the field jacket and every part you see above was present except for two pieces about 1 by 2 inches square. There were a few cracks filled and two small missing pieces filled but other than this, the entire shield you see is THE ACTUAL BONE and not reconstructed to make a larger shield. All the channels you see are NOT cracks but are extremely rare intact blood channel grooves where the entire bone of the shield and the skin covering it were heavily nourished by an extensive network of blood vessels. All the epioccipitals (edge points) are real bone and in original intact preservation. There's not even 1% restoration or fabrication to this piece but we mention the filled and blended cracks for accuracy of disclosure. Since this was a sub-adult dinosaur (and thankfully so since an adult frill would not have been so easy to display feasibly!), the bone was still growing hence the concentration of very active blood grooves and channels. This is really a visually dramatic piece to behold and it is an equally impressive specimen to touch and feel the actual bone detail. So it can be displayed standing up and handled and carried safely, we reinforced the back side of the bone shield with epoxy making it structurally stable and able to be stood up and safely transported. THIS PIECE IS AMAZING TO SEE IN PERSON BUT EVEN MORE AMAZING TO FEEL!
This would be one of the
most popular dinosaur exhibits in a museum where visitors can get up
close and feel anatomy and bizarre bone features that no museum can show
them. This specimen could be cast in resin and the real specimen
displayed out of reach while the cast (or several casts) mounted where
visitors can run their hands over the frill edge and blood channels.
This would also be
a perfect candidate to be a great revenue piece or investment for any
fossil cast company to sell replicas of because you will likely never
again see such a well-preserved and substantially complete Triceratops
shield with this quality of intact anatomy, available in the public
market. Horned ceratopians were extravagantly well-armored in their head region. Their skulls were heavy and armed with long, pointed horns. Extending off to the rear was a great sheet of heavy bone called the "frill". On some horned ceratopians, this was a solid sheet and likely served as a shield to protect the neck and even shoulders. On other types, the frill was an open framework of bone that was covered with skin, possibly acting as a heat shield or for social display. The edge of the frill on most horned ceratopians was armored with blunt, triangular spikes called epoccipitals. The Torosaurus latus is known to have one of the largest skulls known of any animal that ever lived on land. Torosaurus skulls have been known to reach 8.5 feet in length! All horned ceratopians were herbivores. Triceratops is the most famous of the great horned dinosaurs. This plant-eating group has been found in the fossil record in greater abundance than all the other varieties. A full grown Triceratops is estimated to have weighed 11 tons, heavier than a modern African bull elephant. Its skull was 6.5 feet long with a pair of brow horns that exceeded 3 feet in length. RAREST OPPORTUNITY TO ACQUIRE A BEYOND MUSEUM-CLASS TRICERATOPS SHIELD THAT IS AS SCIENTIFICALLY IMPORTANT AS IT IS IMPRESSIVE. MUSEUM EXHIBIT SPECIMENS DO NOT POSSESS SUCH ORIGINAL INTACT BONE DETAIL AS SEEN ABOVE.
THIS IS THE TYPE OF PIECE THAT A MUSEUM SHOULD HAVE ON DISPLAY FOR ALL VISITORS TO FEEL AND SEE RARE AND TRUE DINOSAUR BONE STRUCTURE FROM AN ANIMAL THAT HAD ONE OF THE LARGEST KNOWN SKULLS THAT EVER LIVED ON LAND! 28" long by 14.5" across SOLD DB19-008 Actual Item - One Only |
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PHOTO ABOVE SHOWS MUSEUM CAST OF A TRICERATOPS SKULL BUT NOTICE THE CRUDE LACK OF DETAIL AND MISSING SURFACE ANATOMY ALONG WITH COMPLETELY SCULPTED EPIOCCIPITALS. REFER TO THE SPECIMEN WE OFFER ABOVE FOR THE RAREST DISPLAY OF TRUE, 100% TRICERATOPS SHIELD FEATURES!
THE HELL CREEK FORMATION OF NORTHWESTERN U.S.A. |
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