Bone Daddy Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 This skull was found in Florida's Peace River (Bone Valley formation). Any idea what it could be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
facehugger Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 kinda reminds me of a fox, but just guessing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 Awfully small fox. Maybe skunk? 2 Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mahnmut Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 Racoon? Try to learn something about everything and everything about something Thomas Henry Huxley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 @Mahnmut Not seeing a crest on the skull like a racoon. image from <HERE> Rather small, if this is around 9 cm, ... or 3.5 inches, give or take... Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bone Daddy Posted July 19, 2019 Author Share Posted July 19, 2019 I forgot to put the ruler. Sorry about that. Yes, it's quite small and that is what throws me off. I am assuming it is a juvenile. I have found a coyote skull in the same general area, but this looks different. The cranium on this one is rounder and more bulbous. Actually, from the top, it does resemble the last raccoon photo in the replies above. The orbital bones are almost entirely gone on this specimen also, making things a little tricky. There is one molar remaining, which might be helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kmiecik Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 Looks canine to me -- as in dog. Mark. Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mahnmut Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 I just dug out a racoon cranium from my collection, it also misses the crest, seems to be a juvenile to. I regret buying that one when I was a juvenile myself because nowadays i only collect bones that died of natural courses. (like I hope the pleistocene jaw and atlas did.) They are quite closely related to dogs. I just learned that there are different species in the genus procyon. 1 Try to learn something about everything and everything about something Thomas Henry Huxley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 Fossildude19 has it right -- it's a skunk skull. 3 http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 I was getting a stinking suspicion it was that- 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bone Daddy Posted July 19, 2019 Author Share Posted July 19, 2019 Skunk! I had no idea. I didn't even think about skunks because I don't see them very often. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kmiecik Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 Dang, I never imagined skunks had canines like that. I guess I never had one 'smile' at me. Usually I see the other end. Now I have to go away and do some research. Mark. Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plantguy Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 4 hours ago, Harry Pristis said: Fossildude19 has it right -- it's a skunk skull. Hi Harry, @Harry Pristis I know I'm wading into uncharted bone/skull questions without the experience as I often do but I have a question....I have a similar partial extant upper jaw to Bonedaddy's that has 19 teeth in it, 10 per side and I had it labeled with a tentative ID and thought that made it possibly raccoon. I did so as I thought I had read that they have more upper teeth than skunks 20 vs 16 I think...Bone daddys find is missing teeth but it looks like it has 20 total upper tooth positions and seems to be like mine....10 per side...here's bone daddy's specimen and I added what I think show 10 teeth positions...im sure my numbering scheme isnt proper as I'm ignorant how they are actually labeled so forgive me. I also never did any close comparison on actual tooth shapes and forms-- just raw # counts, so I could be barking up the wrong tree anyways but .......What you think? Here's the picture of my partial extant jaw with the 19 teeth, missing 1 tooth.... Thanks. Regards, Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 I think you're right, Chris. It's not skunk. I am puzzled by this skull -- an adult with a 3.5" skull which seems small for a raccoon. Plus, there is a diastoma between p1 and p2 which is not evident in my limited review of raccoon skulls (or skunk skulls). I don't think it's an otter. Raccoon is the best guess, I suppose. 1 http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plantguy Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 32 minutes ago, Harry Pristis said: I think you're right, Chris. It's not skunk. I am puzzled by this skull -- an adult with a 3.5" skull which seems small for a raccoon. Plus, there is a diastoma between p1 and p2 which is not evident in my limited review of raccoon skulls (or skunk skulls). I don't think it's an otter. Raccoon is the best guess, I suppose. Thanks Harry, you know a heck of alot more than I by a ton--I just remember this one vividly as it startled me as I only saw teeth coming out the dark water when I was shoveling so its a memory I will remember for along time...it looked rather aggressive at the time... Maybe you or someone else might nail it for certain down the road. Regards, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mahnmut Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 Hello again, I just read a bit more about racoon skulls because I wondered why the one in my collection -that seems to fit your find quite well in size, shape and teeth- looks so different from other sample pics, especially regarding the crest. I think I found the answer: its a female, maybe juvenile also. Look for female/ male racoon skull and you will find comparisons. Don´t know if I may post other peoples pics here, but there are some good sources if you look for those words. Best regards, J 1 Try to learn something about everything and everything about something Thomas Henry Huxley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plantguy Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 4 hours ago, Mahnmut said: Hello again, I just read a bit more about racoon skulls because I wondered why the one in my collection -that seems to fit your find quite well in size, shape and teeth- looks so different from other sample pics, especially regarding the crest. I think I found the answer: its a female, maybe juvenile also. Look for female/ male racoon skull and you will find comparisons. Don´t know if I may post other peoples pics here, but there are some good sources if you look for those words. Best regards, J Very cool! Didnt know that. We get to see them in the yard quite a bit and its fascinating to see them use their front paws to do things/quite dextrous...they are quite the masters of trying to untie wraps on sealed trash cans around here. . Regards, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kane Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 52 minutes ago, Plantguy said: Very cool! Didnt know that. We get to see them in the yard quite a bit and its fascinating to see them use their front paws to do things/quite dextrous...they are quite the masters of trying to untie wraps on sealed trash cans around here. . Regards, Chris They are pretty remarkable (if not mischievous!) critters. I remember an interactive component at a mammal exhibit at the Museum of Nature in Ottawa with two knobs that looked identical. You were to guess which one was bigger by touch. A raccoon could determine that easily due to having more nerve endings in their paws. It was also determined through some testing that they have good recall in being able to run a maze to find food, and do it again a year later. Their one shortcoming is that, if they stick their hand in a trap to grasp food, they will not let go of the food (which would be necessary to withdraw their paw from the trap). 1 ...How to Philosophize with a Hammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kmiecik Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 There are 22 subspecies of raccoon. Some are quite small, and common to Florida. 1 Mark. Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 This is the likely suspect: 2 http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrehistoricFlorida Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 100% Raccoon skull. 2 www.PrehistoricFlorida.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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