Claudia Florian
Consulting Director, Gemologist
Lot 1341
Authentic Two-headed Calf: A Taxidermic Specimen and A Complete Skeleton Mount
23 November 2014, 10:00 PST
Los AngelesUS$50,000 - US$60,000
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Authentic Two-headed Calf: A Taxidermic Specimen and A Complete Skeleton Mount
Bos taurus
Miles City, Montana
This unfortunate calf was afflicted with bicephaly, a medical condition in which the sufferer is born with two heads and, in this case, six legs and two tails. It is the result of the fusion of monozygotic twin embryos during gestation. Most bicephalic creatures are stillborn - as this one was - or live only very briefly after birth. The birth of this calf also resulted in the death of its mother.
Bicephalic animals (and people), due to their extreme rarity, are often subjects of curiosity and have historically been attached to sideshows and acquired by museums. This unique specimen is offered as a pair comprising the taxidermy full-body mount (prepared by Cindy Beck of Bad to the Bone Taxidermy, California) and articulated skeleton (prepared by Jay Villemarette of Skulls Unlimited, Oklahoma, and articulated by Todd Green of Osteosaur, Colorado.)
The specimen was found on a ranch in Miles City, Montana. It was acquired by The Evolution Store, a natural history retailer located in SoHo, New York, in 2013. A member of their team was dispatched to drive down a winding dirt road to the ranch, 150 miles from Billings, to collect the carcass, which had been outbid for an undisclosed amount from Ripley's Believe it or Not. Length measures approximately 32in; height measures approximately 28in (2)
Miles City, Montana
This unfortunate calf was afflicted with bicephaly, a medical condition in which the sufferer is born with two heads and, in this case, six legs and two tails. It is the result of the fusion of monozygotic twin embryos during gestation. Most bicephalic creatures are stillborn - as this one was - or live only very briefly after birth. The birth of this calf also resulted in the death of its mother.
Bicephalic animals (and people), due to their extreme rarity, are often subjects of curiosity and have historically been attached to sideshows and acquired by museums. This unique specimen is offered as a pair comprising the taxidermy full-body mount (prepared by Cindy Beck of Bad to the Bone Taxidermy, California) and articulated skeleton (prepared by Jay Villemarette of Skulls Unlimited, Oklahoma, and articulated by Todd Green of Osteosaur, Colorado.)
The specimen was found on a ranch in Miles City, Montana. It was acquired by The Evolution Store, a natural history retailer located in SoHo, New York, in 2013. A member of their team was dispatched to drive down a winding dirt road to the ranch, 150 miles from Billings, to collect the carcass, which had been outbid for an undisclosed amount from Ripley's Believe it or Not. Length measures approximately 32in; height measures approximately 28in (2)