Lot 760
Hyaenodon Fossil Skull. Hyaenodon mustelinus was a 30-33 million year old carnivorous mammal and the last surviving family of creodonts that looked something like a hyena with a large head. Hyaenodonds were the most specialized of all creodonts. Their lack of binocular vision may have put them at a disadvantage when competing with other more advanced and faster predators. Their favorite prey was probably oreodonts and when oreodonts became extinct, the Hyaenodons became extinct also. In addition to sharp incisor teeth, Hyaenodon also had carnassial teeth with the last upper premolar and the first lower molar having sharp edges to rip flesh. This 7¼ x 4" medium brown skull is complete with all of the darker brown teeth present including one inch long incisors and sits on a 5" section of original stone matrix as a base. Hyaenodon mustelinus was the smallest and rarest of the Hyaenodon species. This rare specimen comes from an old time collection and was found in Sioux County, Nebraska. Estimated Value $2,500 - 3,000
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| Realized $1,200 |
