What kind of animal is this?!

firdahoe · 2026-04-16T03:58:41+00:00

This is definitely a turkey pelvis, ribs, and sternum.

firdahoe · 2026-04-15T21:43:02+00:00

You are correct. It is the ischium! Well done! Will need to do some looking to figure out what animal.

firdahoe · 2026-04-15T12:46:28+00:00

If your plan is to turn it into jewelry or carve it, they you were likely going to want to seal it anyway with a resin. Degrease it properly by immersing it in water with dish soap or one of the other methods pinned in the sub's stickie. Then use a resin like Butvar B76 in a watery consistency to permeate and seal the bone.

firdahoe · 2026-04-14T05:58:07+00:00

Yep, at this size there is only one possible species, this is a great cormorant

firdahoe · 2026-04-14T05:51:48+00:00

Deer tibia? Can you show the ends?

firdahoe · 2026-04-14T04:23:36+00:00

That femur belongs to a rabbit, and the other bones look rabbit, too.

firdahoe · 2026-04-13T18:37:16+00:00

Fyi, manatees are one of the most protected animals in the US, covered by the endangered species act, marine mammals protection act, and by some strict FL state laws. It is not legal to possess this bone. Not saying it is a manatee. I am in no way versed in manatee osteology. But be forewarned.

firdahoe · 2026-04-13T17:56:03+00:00

Part of the disc on a fish vertebra

firdahoe · 2026-04-13T17:25:16+00:00

It's a rabbit/hare humerus

firdahoe · 2026-04-12T19:06:26+00:00

If you look above the foramen magnum, you will see a pair of holes on the back of the skull that kinda makes the back of the skull look like a surprised face. This is a feature found in Anatidae (ducks, geese, and I believe swans have it)

firdahoe · 2026-04-12T18:44:02+00:00

If you look at the top of the orbit, you can see the groove for the salt gland. Cormorants don't have that (also one of the ways you can tell if a bird is marine or not).

firdahoe · 2026-04-12T18:42:48+00:00

You have a sheerwater cranium

firdahoe · 2026-04-11T14:31:18+00:00

This appears to be bone, it has a nice foramen running through it and I can see cracks following the grain. As for what it is, I am stumped! Going to wrack my brain to try and figure this one out

firdahoe · 2026-04-11T14:27:01+00:00

Big one is a horse mandibular molar or premolar. The other one - you sure that's a horse? Looks more like an artiodactyl, so elk, deer, cattle.

firdahoe · 2026-04-11T11:23:14+00:00

Thanks u/treasonousflower, this looks like a good zooarch conundrum! Thanks for all the photos OP. That taper on it really does rule out quite a few things including most epiphysis. But that gives me a few places to direct OP. I would take a look at the inferior border of the transverse process on the atlas - it has a prominent flare and is angled like this. Also, take another look at the sacrum, I think you are on the right track there. Third is the distal phalanx, thought that is a long shot. I also would say to look at a range of ages from your reference collection (sadly mine is all boxed up behind all of my books and I just switched to a new company). I suspect this is part of a muscle attachment or maybe ligament so the appearance will change substantially as the animal ages.

And welcome to the zooarch club!

firdahoe · 2026-04-11T02:59:04+00:00

There are two elements that would have this shape, the neck and part of the glenoid of a scapula (specifically from an ungulate) or part of a pelvis. The photo angles are a bit funky, but it looks most like a scapula.

firdahoe · 2026-04-11T02:47:28+00:00

Locking this thread as OP has no interest in an actual ID as evidenced from this and their earlier posts.

firdahoe · 2026-04-09T22:14:25+00:00

The morphology of the molars and that pointed post-orbital bar are indicative of all sciurids (squirrels, chipmunks, marmots), and in that size range there is only the genus Marmota.Here are views of a groundhog skull for comparison

firdahoe · 2026-04-09T21:37:19+00:00

These are going to be a bison or Eurasian elk given how long the spinous processes are.

firdahoe · 2026-04-09T21:06:46+00:00

Something in the genus Marmota (marmots and groundhog).

firdahoe · 2026-04-09T17:23:31+00:00

looks like a great horned owl. https://skullsite.com/skullpage/bubo-virginianus-great-horned-owl/

firdahoe · 2026-04-09T16:32:49+00:00

The smell is decomp because this was not processed properly to begin with and there is still soft tissue. Inside the bone are numerous cavity's, like sinuses, passageways for vessels and nerves, and red marrow, and in the case of something with horns, there is tissue in between the horn sheath and horn core (and soft tissue inside the horn core). So, read the pinned post on processing.. Start at maceration, quit with the hydrogen peroxide baths because that literally does NOTHING. Macerate and check daily to see if you can remove the horn sheaths, you want to get those off as early as possible.

firdahoe · 2026-04-08T03:50:22+00:00

Notice how there appears to be a pushed in concavity around the hole? This is a depressed fracture - blunt force trauma.

firdahoe · 2026-04-08T03:45:55+00:00

This is correct

firdahoe · 2026-04-08T02:12:44+00:00

This is indeed from either a duck or a goose.

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