Allosaurus skull

[Michael Skrepnick <palaeopaint@shaw.ca>]

As Tracy Ford has noted, this is one of Jim Madsen's casts ( note that the
front auxilliary opening in the antorbital fenestra is full of resin ) and
as I understand it, is a composite skull.  It has been painted to resemble
fossil bone, but they were originally sold in "black".  I have one sitting
on my entertainment center in my family room at the moment. The lower jaw in
the photo is thrust too far forward, however if the head of the quadrate is
aligned properly in articulation with the lower jaw, they make a perfect
"fit".  I've noticed in a number of museum mounts, the skulls are misaligned
for some reason, resulting in an ackward looking "underbite".

Mike Skrepnick