Arizona Dry Bones Animal Skull Replicas

401 North Sierra Vista Drive
Tucson, AZ 85719
520-825-2235
email: azdrybones@aol.com

Who are we?

Rich's Research Page
Richard and Carolyn White

Richard White, the owner of Arizona Dry Bones, has a background in vertebrate paleontology, zooarchaeology and osteology. In the process of building a comparative collection, he became aware of the difficulty in obtaining specimens, particularly of rare or Endangered species. Searching for a reasonable alternative, he discovered that a few companies were producing resin casts of animal skulls. The selection available was limited, and the cost prohibitive. Finally, he located a company with skilled mold makers and casters who could produce quality reproductions at a reasonable cost. They have teamed up to offer this product to collectors, students, teachers, naturalists and others who want good quality, durable reproductions of animal skulls for use in their programs or for display purposes.

Carolyn Torrey White, the Business Manager of Arizona Dry Bones, has a background in Inventory and Production Control and Management Consulting. New to the world of animal skulls, she tolerates a large number of them in the house, as well as "potential skulls" in the freezer. Figuring it was about time to have this obsession with skulls become profitable, she handles the business end of things.

We have expended great effort to locate fine original specimens from which to make our molds. We have attempted to obtain as complete a specimen as possible, so that we do not have to restore the skull before the molds are made. Specimens have been obtained from the Southern California Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, researchers at the University of Florida, and others. Each specimen is carefully cleaned and prepared before molding to assure the highest quality casts. Urethane resin is used in all of our casts to provide the appearance, feel and weight of natural bone.

Our extensive list of offerings is constantly expanding. If you are in need of a species that we don't offer, please contact us. We welcome the opportunity to add to our inventory!

Why buy resin reproductions?

There are several reasons why you might want to consider resin reproductions of contemporary vertebrate skulls:

1. They are durable, and able to withstand handling. This enables you to use the specimens in a hands-on teaching setting, which is more effective than having students just look at the specimens.

2. If they are broken, they can be easily mended, or replaced if necessary.

3. They help in conserving the populations of rare or Endangered species by not encouraging the removal of specimens from the living population. We would much rather create a market for resin skulls than for real ones!

4. There are many people today who just don't want to use real skulls, either for display, or for teaching purposes. We recognize that desire, and can now offer an affordable, accurate alternative.