Tucson, Day 3

Today was a good day. Althought I spent alot of money, I feel that I got some awesome specimens as well as some good information on where to find more. In particular, I bought 3 lizard jaws, two turtle jaws, a small turtle skull, three or four large salamander vertebrae, and about 40 snake vertebrae - all from the late pleistocene of Florida. I also bought 4 Branchiosaur larvae for $100. I also picked up a tiny Keichousaur and a section of pleistocene alligator maxilla that shows replacement teeth growing in under the older teeth. Most of all though, I'm happy to finally have found some affordable lizard material. I'll grant that it isnt' that old and doesn't say anything about the origin of snakes, but it is a start to figuring out changes in squamate biogeography in North America during the latest cenozoic.
Tomarrow I anticipate spending more. One of the most unusual things I found today was a collection of Miocene partial penguin skulls. Given how odd these are, I'm compelled to spend a little money on one. I also found a Moroccan mosasaur brain case and another fragmentary skull for a good price. On the other hand, I've been hearing some very compelling arguments for me to ignore the dealers here and just go to Morocco myself. That however is a trip that will have to wait.