The Hubbard Rhino Barn

The Hubbard Rhino Barn was built in 2009. The barn covers around 18,000 square feet of the Ashfall waterhole. Paleontologists and students continue to research and find new skeletons of the animals who perished every summer.

Enter the barn and review the skeleton map and familiarize yourself with the skeletons discovered in the ash bed. You will also see a few videos that explain the discovery and park in further detail as well as posters along the side of the barn detailing the animals found here.

Compare the skeleton images from the Ashfall skeleton map and what Mark Marcuson imagined what the animals of Ashfall looked like in the reveal activity below. Refer to the full Ashfall skeleton map for more images of the species (specifically the musk deer and camel).

Ashfall Fossil Beds - Skeleton Map

Hubbard Rhino Barn Skeletons

Nicknamed "Tusker" this skeleton is of a young adult male rhino, believed to be 8-9 years old.

Skeleton image and location for a young adult male rhino

This skeleton is of a 3-toed horse.

This is Cormohipparion occidentale, one of the larger of the several kinds of horses living in this area 10 million years ago.

The chewed and broken bones of this camel and the presence of fossilized carnivore scat show that this animal was partially eaten.

Probably ancestral to Old World camels, this species is called Procamelus grandis.

This individual is partially obscured by a horse skeleton and a rhino skeleton.

Longirostromeryx, though not fully exposed, this is one of the sabre-tooth deer. See also #8 & #23 on full skeleton map.

This young mare and foal may have been disturbed but it is clear that the baby was between the adult's legs when it died.

This young mare and foal is from the horse species Neohipparion affine.

Marcuson Illustrations of Skeleton Animals

Barrel-bodied Rhino (Teleoceras major)

The most abundant large animal discovered in the volcanic ash bed is an extinct rhinoceros with a body shape similar to today’s hippopotamus.

Sturdy Three-toed Horse (Cormohipparion occidentale)

The Ashfall species Cormohipparion occidentale, has one of the most complicated enamel patterns on the grinding teeth of any North American fossil or species. This would help grind grass and small, digestible fragments.

Ancestral Camel (Procamelus grandis)

Except for horses, camels were the most abundant medium-sized animal found in the Ashfall Fossil Beds. Apparently an entire herd of medium-sized camels died in the waterhole, mostly belonging to the species Procamelus grandis.

Saber-tooth Deer (Longirostromeryx wellsi)

Among the first mammals that died in the ash storm at the Ashfall waterhole was an extinct relative of the musk deer, which had a long, slender muzzle.

Slender Three-toed Horse (Neohipparion affine)

The species found at Ashfall, Neohipparion affine, is larger than its ancestors, found in older fossil beds, and smaller than its descendants, found in younger deposits.

Compare and Contrast

After viewing the skeletons to the Marcuson illustrations compare and contrast the images in the charting activity below (put your answers in the open text columns under "Skeleton Images" and "Marcuson Illustrations").

Think carefully about the resemblence of the skeletons to the illustrations. Brainstorm and record your thoughts as to Mark Marcuson's vision of the animals appearance. You may want to revisit the posters along the south wall of the rhino barn for more details and information.