Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Strange Find in Big D
An NBC affiliate station is reporting the discovery of a strange skull made by a plumber working on a construction project in north Dallas. "We all know it's a primate. We just don't know which kind." said David Evans the plumber from Alvarado, Texas who made the find.
The skull measures only about six inches long from the front to the back and two inches across. It was buried about five feet deep. According to the report, nearly all the teeth are intact including a pair of one inch long canines. Another small portion of bone, likely part of a femur or hip, was found near the skull and is believed to belong to the same animal.
Dr. Dana Austin, an anthropologist for the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office said the skull definitely belonged to an "old world primate." This makes the likely candidate a monkey, chimp, or baboon. She said it was impossible to judge the age of the skull from photographs and could not venture a guess as to how it came to be buried in urban Dallas.
The story can be accessed here. I will post updates to this story if the skull is positively identified.
It looks like it is a male baboon skull. The snout is prognathic, or long, and appears to be more "rectangular" than a Chimps. The big give away is the massive canines.
ReplyDeletePlease compare:
Babboon http://www.skullsite.co.uk/Chacma/chacma.htm
Chimp
http://rafael.glendale.edu/skull/chimp/right.htm