Aulophyseter morricei Middle Miocene Round Mountain Silt, Shark Tooth Hill Bone Bed, Bakersfield, Kern County, California This extinct genus and species of sperm whale lived at a time when sperm whales were more diverse, though few would have been more than half the size of the modern sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus, which reaches up to 60 feet in length. Modern giant sperm whales possess functional teeth in the lower jaw only, while Aulophyseter had upper teeth as well. The loss of upper teeth in modern whales indicates that the teeth became less functional over time, pointing to a transition toward suction-feeding. A collector may come across a tooth of this whale in a day of collecting, but finding a skull is possibly a once in a lifetime occurrence, except in the case of Bob Ernst, for whom it was twice in a lifetime. Offered is a well-preserved skull with minor restoration. This skull was recently on exhibit at the Buena Vista Museum of Natural History in Bakersfield, California. Measures approximately 51 x 28 x 14in
Aulophyseter morricei Middle Miocene Round Mountain Silt, Shark Tooth Hill Bone Bed, Bakersfield, Kern County, California This extinct genus and species of sperm whale lived at a time when sperm whales were more diverse, though few would have been more than half the size of the modern sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus, which reaches up to 60 feet in length. Modern giant sperm whales possess functional teeth in the lower jaw only, while Aulophyseter had upper teeth as well. The loss of upper teeth in modern whales indicates that the teeth became less functional over time, pointing to a transition toward suction-feeding. A collector may come across a tooth of this whale in a day of collecting, but finding a skull is possibly a once in a lifetime occurrence, except in the case of Bob Ernst, for whom it was twice in a lifetime. Offered is a well-preserved skull with minor restoration. This skull was recently on exhibit at the Buena Vista Museum of Natural History in Bakersfield, California. Measures approximately 51 x 28 x 14in
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