Some data and a bit of a challenge

["Mickey Rowe;893-2446" <mrowe@lifesci.ucsb.edu>]

I rescued the following from the pile of messages rejected due to
"sender not subscribed" errors.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but unlike
most things in that pile, this didn't look like spam:

   Date: Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:02:00 -0600
   Subject: BYU Triceratops
   From: Rodney Scheetz <rod_scheetz@byu.edu>
   To: DML <dinosaur@usc.edu>

   I was forwarded part of the discussion on the status of the BYU
   Triceratops (Thanks Dan), so I thought I would make a comment.

   Just a little background: The BYU Triceratops skull was collected
   by Jim Jensen and Bruce Erickson in 1964 near Fort Peck Reservoir,
   Montana.  Jensen collected the impressive skull in one piece.  It
   was found very near the surface of the ground with a sagebrush
   growing between the two disintegrated brow horns.  The skull was
   prep'd by Dee Hall in the late 80's, and like a lot of Hell Creek
   stuff, the bone was not permineralized but was extremely soft and
   punky, not unlike rotten wood.  Either because of it's advanced
   age, or the weathered condition, cranial sutures are not visible on
   the topside.  The underside is in better shape.  The skull was
   molded and casted with the top edge of the frill restored
   conservatively.  So reconstructed, the skull is 9-feet long. The
   original was replastered and put in storage.  Although several
   workers have looked at the skull for comparative purposes, to my
   knowledge no one has expressed interest in publishing on it.  I'm
   assuming because there are a ton of nice skulls out there, why
   publish on something less desirable.  Up until now (with the
   Triceratops/Torosaurus thing), I guess no one has asked a question
   that this particular skull might have some answers to.  It takes no
   effort to be critical (which is why criticism is so rampant I
   guess), but we would welcome workers that would take the effort to
   express interest and do the work.


   -- 
   Rodney D. Scheetz, Ph.D.,
   Curator, BYU Museum of Paleontology
   1683 N. Canyon Road
   Provo, Utah  84602
   801-422-3939
   rod_scheetz@byu.edu