Harlan's Musk Ox Fossils
(Bootherium bombifrons)
(Click on the other skull views or the metatarsals to learn more about them.)
(Click on a thumbnail to learn more about it.)
Front oblique view of skull (ANSP 994)
This is an oblique front view of the skull of Harlan's Musk Ox. Most of the snout and lower portion of the skull are missing from this specimen. A nickel is shown for scale.
The horn cores (1) attach to the side of the skull and curve downward. The frontal (2) is a dense and thick bone capable of absorbing the shock from head butting. The broken upper margins of the left orbit (3) (eyesocket) can be seen along the edge of the frontal. Pairs of foramina (4) (openings) for blood vessels and nerves are also visible.
Rear oblique view of skull (ANSP 994)
This is an oblique rear view of the skull of Harlan's Musk Ox. Most of the snout and lower portion of the skull are missing from this specimen. The nickel in the lower right is shown for scale.
The foramen magnum (1) is a hole through which the spinal cord enters the skull. The skull joins to the neck at the occipital condyles (2); the left occipital condyle is missing. Powerful neck muscles attach to the roughened surfaces (3) on the back of the skull. The horn cores (4) attach to the side of the skull and curve downward.
Ventral view of skull (ANSP 994)
This is a ventral or botton view of the skull of Harlan's Musk Ox; the view is angled toward the front. The rear of the skull is at the top. Most of the snout and lower portion of the skull are missing from this specimen. The nickel in the lower right of the photo is shown for scale.
The horn cores (1) attach to the side of the skull and curve downward. The floor of the brain cavity (2) can be seen at the top. Part of the orbit (3) (eyesocket) and the palate (4) (roof of the mouth) are also visible.
Metatarsals (ANSP 13303 & 13304)
The metatarsals in Bootherium and other members of the cow family (Bovidae) are highly modified versions of ancestral foot bones. The third and fourth metatarsals are fused and enlongated; the second and fifth are greatly reduced and the first is completely lost.
The line of fusion (1) between the two ancestral bones is visible along the length of the upper specimen. The joint surfaces on the left side (2) of the photo would, in life, articulate with (join to) the animal's ankle. Those on the right (3) diverge into two separate joint surfaces, each of which articulate with one of two separate toes.
The nickel in the center is shown for scale.