Very Rare Camel Jaw Fossil from California

Description: Presented is one of the more intriguing specimens from the Spinner collection. Unfortunately the vast majority of the material had no identifications. Not surprisingly, a little detective work was in order. A couple of mammal specialists I know instantly identified the jaw section as a camel, and the probable location it was from. From an academic paper I have deduced the age as Barstovian. This based upon the type matrix the jaw resides in, greenish brown mudstone, typical of the Lower Caliente Formation.

The jaw itself is fractured in numerous places. Four complete and two partial teeth have survived. Below the jaw, five large bone fragments are aesthetically displayed. They appear to be from the same specimen as the jaw section. The plate is large and heavy, weighing over 14 pounds.

At the end of October, 2010 I acquired a large percentage of the Paul Spinner Collection from his fossil estate manager. Paul was a Native American who worked for the U.S. Forrest Service and lived in the western side of Kern County, California. During the 1950s through the early 1980s he accumulated his collection from Fresno county, the Lompoc area fish beds, Sharktooth Hill bone beds, Kern county Brea (tar) pits, etc. As his reputation grew for having the largest privately held and valuable fossil collection from these areas, he developed a special relationship with the University of California Santa Barbara department of Paleontology as well as the La Brea Tar Pits staff. This unique collection of Southern California fossils was primarily from the Cenozoic, with an emphasis on the Miocene.