UCMP MYSTERY FOSSIL #50 is . . .
the deer-like artiodactyl Dromomeryx borealis


Mystery Fossil #50
 

Dromomeryx borealis is an early deer-like animal but one might not make that identification based on this skull alone. Modern male deer have deciduous antlers — this 14-million-year-old relative had permanent horns. This specimen of Dromomeryx is from the Miocene Mascall Formation of Grant County, Oregon. To learn more about artiodactyls in the fossil record, look here.

 

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