Bone Identification - Botswana Skull

[Vtkrista]

Hi everyone,

 

Can you help me identify what animal this may be? It was found in Botswana. It is a semi-arid climate.

Any idea if it's carnivorous or not? Any clues are helpful! Thanks.

 

[Mark Kmiecik]

Looks bovid except for the ridge -- but I'm no expert. Your best bet is to wait for others to chime in. I'm probably way off.

[Fossildude19]

Looks more canine, to me.   

 

@Harry Pristis  @calhounensis  @jpc
  

 

What is the size of this skull? 

[facehugger]

25 minutes ago, Mark Kmiecik said:

Looks bovid except for the ridge -- but I'm no expert. Your best bet is to wait for others to chime in. I'm probably way off.

hmmm...isn't a sagittal crest generally indicative of a omnivore or carnivore? Used for heavy musculature connecting to the mandible for enhanced jaw strength? Didn't think herbivores typically have that feature...

[LordTrilobite]

It does look like a doggo.

[facehugger]

2 minutes ago, Fossildude19 said:

Looks more canine, to me.   

 

@Harry Pristis  @calhounensis  @jpc
  

 

1 minute ago, LordTrilobite said:

It does look like a doggo.

My peers are correct I believe...bears striking similarities to a coyote skull.

[Harry Pristis]

 

Well, it's not cat.  The other large carnivore is hyaena.  And, that's my guess without research.  My only hesitation is that I expected a larger saggital crest.

 

 

[Randyw]

My guess would have been hyena but the brow doesn’t look quite right unless it’s a spotted or something like that..... I agree with carnivore and canid....

[fossilus]

Domestic dog?

[jpc]

Yes, Domestic Dog.  

[Pemphix]

+1 for canidae, see here: https://www.tierschaedel-online.de/page_shop.php?LID=DE&ACTION=CAT&CATID=111

[PaleoNoel]

If it's botswana then it could potentially belong to an African Wild Dog or a large jackal.

[Vtkrista]

Size is 7 inches nose to back. 

[jpc]

compare your skull to these pix.  I think the slope of the forehead is more extreme than the wild dog, but that might be easier to compare with the actual specimen.  Yours seems to have a hump just above the eyes.  But then dog skulls can be difficult to ID.  Here in the states, domestic dog, fox, coyote and wolf can be very difficult if they are the same size.  

[Harry Pristis]

 

Here's a Crocuta crocuta skull:

 

 

[Bone Daddy]

Here is a Florida coyote skull for comparison.

 

 

[Bobby Rico]

I also think coyote 

[Harry Pristis]

6 hours ago, Bobby Rico said:

I also think coyote 

 

I didn't realize that coyotes were introduced into Botswana!!

 

 

[Randyw]

No coyotes in Botswana I don’t think. 

Personally I think you found somebodies hunting dog or pet.... but I could be wrong....

 

[caldigger]

"A dingo ate my baby!"  

[Bobby Rico]

6 hours ago, Harry Pristis said:

 

I didn't realize that coyotes were introduced into Botswana!!

 

 

My mistake, sorry I should have said it looks more dog like. 

[Iguanodonfossil]

The skull is from a domestic dog or in this case more likely a feral dog. Jackal skulls are streamlined in appearance and don't have a high stooping forehead that you see in domesticated dogs. Excuse the hurried graphic; but I've composed some comparisons for you from http://skullbase.info. Top right you have an African Wild Dog a very robust looking skull and top left a jackal. At the bottom of the graphic I've included a breed of domestic dog similar to the one in your photographs. I recommend using http://skullbase.info if you need a modern animal skull ID as they have 360 graphics and lots of species to cross compare. 

 

A good find! 

[Iguanodonfossil]

I've made another graphic just for the fun of it and for anyone's benefit; obviously these aren't to scale, I've made them the same size so you can tell shape differences. When it comes to wild canine ID's Vs domestic dogs, look at the forehead, even in primitive breeds they'll have that stooped profile. When it comes to coyote/wolf hybrids depending on the purity of the hybrid, identifications can get difficult...but when we're dealing with everyday finds, this is the basic rule. 

 

Top left is a wolf, top right is a coyote. Bottom left is a dog and bottom right is a spotted hyena.

 

I've included a spotted hyena in there; they're not canines, but as you can see they have a very different skull structure.