This is the fossil skull of a primitive elephant relative named Gomphotherium. Gomphotheres were common animals in North America, Europe, and Asia during the Miocene, approximately 5 to 15 million years ago. The fossil skull was found in badlands near Espanola, NM, in an area famous for its Miocene mammal fossils.

The size and structure of this skull indicates that it is from an adult that was most likely a female. It has two kinds of teeth, tusks (incisors) and molars. Notice that the right tusk is worn down and shorter than the left tusk. Like modern elephants, this gomphothere preferred to use one tusk more than the other to dig up food. Thus, this was a "right-tusked" gomphothere.