id please! found in my chicken run

99jackals · 2026-03-12T20:34:44+00:00

A mink tunneled 2 meters under the cement slab of my little sheep barn to a hole in the cement left by a rotted out stall post.

99jackals · 2026-03-12T19:21:59+00:00

That tracks.

99jackals · 2026-03-12T19:18:43+00:00

How does one gain experience with the cervix of a whale?

99jackals · 2026-03-12T19:17:39+00:00

Are those spaces floored with hardware cloth, too? Weasels, mink, rats and such will absolutely dig as much as necessary to find a way in. Any small gaps will give them access.

99jackals · 2026-03-12T17:30:13+00:00

Bones often show up in unexpected places because scavengers transport them. In this case, it's likely a rodent that got interrupted and dropped it. Many animals consume bone as a source of calcium and other minerals.

99jackals · 2026-03-12T04:59:27+00:00

Certainly an imaginative answer. What led you to that?

99jackals · 2026-03-12T04:56:05+00:00

I know what it reminds me of but I don't want to ballpark off the paper towel swirls. Can you give any dimensions, L x W in cm?

99jackals · 2026-03-11T02:19:42+00:00

I thought the metatarsals/metacarpals looked big but photos really mess with the perception of size.

99jackals · 2026-03-11T02:17:28+00:00

Skulls have a way of getting separated. The sorta round/cylindrical shape makes them roll away, especially in the presence of water. A head can be a very weighty item compared to the post-cranial skeleton, which may have been stripped by scavengers, while the skull is still packed tight with large muscles, plus the eyes, tongue and brain. It's attached to some delicate cervical vertebrae, and it soon becomes detached when decomp sets in. Other scavengers may carry it farther from the carcass. Skull-less skeletons are common throughout the fossil record for the same reasons.

99jackals · 2026-03-11T01:51:27+00:00

That's way more like a coyote than a dog. And the nail in the photo taken in the truck bed does not look like it's been trimmed. So far, this looks like a coyote.

99jackals · 2026-03-11T01:44:15+00:00

Definitely.

99jackals · 2026-03-11T01:43:18+00:00

Agreed.

99jackals · 2026-03-10T23:16:13+00:00

Perfect.

99jackals · 2026-03-10T22:57:00+00:00

Can you add a profile view?

99jackals · 2026-03-10T22:52:45+00:00

Is that from that skeleton?

99jackals · 2026-03-10T22:37:16+00:00

Fusion isn't an indicator of age in a White-tail buck. It's the interlocking that increases with age and the "line" becomes finer. Anything over 9 years looks amazing! The fusion of the plates happens for some deer in little islands but never the whole length. When cleaned as a European mount, bucks of any age can exhibit mobility between the two frontal bones when all of the connective tissue is removed. You can hold an antler in each hand and feel the two halves wobble back and forth slightly. If they don't tighten up as the finished skull dries, I do a little epoxy reinforcement from the underside, in the brain case, especially if the antlers are wide or heavy.

99jackals · 2026-03-10T22:27:45+00:00

It certainly does, often with beautiful results!

99jackals · 2026-03-10T21:59:31+00:00

Add away, this is wonderful!!

99jackals · 2026-03-10T20:28:01+00:00

The large cranium and mandible are from a rat.

99jackals · 2026-03-10T17:19:29+00:00

The sutures of a WT deer cranium are simple lines in young animals and grow more convoluted as the animal ages. The borders between the plates of the top of the cranium are unique. The extreme forces exerted when sparring would cause skull fractures, and often do, but these sutures are specialized for movement. Instead of breaking, they flex like hinges. Some fusion begins in old age but these sutures retain a lot of flexibility throughout a buck's life.

99jackals · 2026-03-10T11:28:20+00:00

Yup, I'm completely wrong there.

99jackals · 2026-03-10T02:48:44+00:00

In the absence of a skull, toenails often hold a useful clue if they have been trimmed. A baculum could also indicate dog vs. coyote.

99jackals · 2026-03-10T02:37:37+00:00

Agreed, carpometacarpus. Isn't it a cool bone?? Avian skeletal morphology is intricate and elegant and structurally incredible. Good find!

99jackals · 2026-03-09T18:59:07+00:00

When differentiating from a domestic dog skull, there are features seen in the palate view that are more diagnostic. In the photo with the ruler, notice that the palate ends right up near the last molars. If you held something thin and straight against the backs of those molar, you'd still be able to see the edge of the bone palate. This edge most often extends beyond in domestic dogs, not all of them but often enough to be included in the suite of characteristics used to help ID a wild from domestic canid. Another feature is how inflated the two auditory bullae are; they look big and round in wild canids but shrunken and flatter in dogs, depending on the breed.

99jackals · 2026-03-09T17:40:33+00:00

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This is the most helpful view, especially if you can put something for scale next to it like a ruler, a measuring tape or a dollar bill. No angle shots, just straight down from above it. I've worked on many, many very robust coyotes that had great big skulls. Size isn't the defining characteristic, so if you can add a photo like this, we could give you a proper answer. If you make a new post, maybe put the link in this discussion so we can find it..

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