ULTRA RARE PLEISTOCENE COTTONTAIL RABBIT PARTIAL SKULL WITH HALF OF MANDIBLE

Marion County - Florida, U.S.A.

PLEISTOCENE PERIOD:  1.5 million to 10,000 years ago

In an extraordinary discovery of a fossil site that may one day be deemed the "La Brea of the Southeast U.S." comes this very rare fossil specimen of a partial skull and associated half mandible of a Pleistocene Era Eastern Cottontail Rabbit, Sylvilagus floriadanus.  Fossil remains of the Eastern Cottontail are ULTRA RARE.  One highly seasoned collector of southeastern U.S. fossils remarks that never before can you find such a fossil because of the fragile nature of the skull and the small size of isolated remains.  The high concentration of rodent remains in this unique Pleistocene river limestone fissure protected delicate and very small fossils in a layer of soft mud within the rock chamber.  This is the FIRST TIME we have seen such a fossil outside of institution collections from rare cave or quarry deposits. 

As of this moment, the site is not yet published but is currently under study for future scientific publishing.  It is a submerged limestone fissure river deposit that has yielded an incredible wealth of fossils from both apex predators right down to small preyed upon rodents and amphibians.  The vast majority of the collection will NOT be made available for sale.  It was likely once a large rock shelter at the water's edge that over time, had been home to a variety of predators and smaller creatures that either were killed and dragged in as prey or scampered about along the larger beasts such as short-faced and black bear as well as jaguar.  In some areas, the site has yielded the kinds of small and delicate specimens that were unheard of before in the southeastern United States fossil record.  This rare fossil has been decommissioned from the study collection but it is truly a rare offering of the likes that you will probably rarely if ever see again in the life of an active collector.  On a very limited basis, we will be offering a few pieces of this rare site discovery.  ALL fossils from this site will be highly unusual in their type and condition of completeness.  In many cases, you may never see again some fossils of certain animals ever again so advanced collectors and museums should take note at the diversity of what we will offer from this collection.

This skull shown above is a partial but nearly complete specimen with half the original mandible.  The teeth are mostly complete in both the skull and mandible and are original as they were found.  The premaxilla has been glued back to the skull but that is all and it is the original premaxilla to the skull and mandible.  The bones are a beautiful color and natural.  Rodent fossils skulls like this were found partially destroyed likely due to the killing bites of the short-faced bears that fed on them as their remains were also found with these fossils.  Often, a predator bites and crushes the neck just behind the skull hence the state of incompleteness.  All bones are still fragile due to their delicate anatomy but have been stabilized.  To call this 'rare" hardly conveys the true scarcity of this piece.  All the teeth are original.  Guaranteed NO DYES, NO REPAIR and NO RESTORATION.  Intact and AS FOUND!

ULTRA RARE NORTH AMERICAN ICE AGE RABBIT FOSSIL SKULL WITH ORIGINAL MANDIBLE HALF!

3.25" long

$595     LMX010     Actual Item - One Only

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595