A small collecton of skulls
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There was some grey fur nearby. I will have a look next time I pass through to see if there's any teeth.
No, not badger. A badger has a very distinct ridge running along the top of the head that the jaw muscles are attached to as in the middle skull below.
If you could get pictures from a few more angles it’d help. Fox and badger skulls can be tricky to differentiate without seeing a few angles, especially if when you throw different ages of animal into the mix. Also useful to know if the lower jaw stays attached when lifting the top.
I’m not sure about a young badger but I’d agree with Broch, usually they have the line down the centre of the cranium. Otter also is similar and stoat but that would be too small. The only other suggestion is it could be a polecat, they’re usually a bit smaller than 5” though.
@JonathanD ?? :-D
@JonathanD ?? :-D
It’s 100% a badger. Juveniles 12 months and under haven’t developed the crest yet and are smooth like that. And the jaws aren’t locked in either at that age.
Found this during a weekend in the Solling area (central Germany) last month:
half a fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra terrestris)...it was snapped in two by an unknown, but probably very stupid or naive predator. Fire salamanders are highly poisonous (see the yellow glands with black dots behind its eyes) so it might even have killed its predator posthumously. I always thought adult specimens had no enemies...
I have put it in 96% alcohol but need to redo it because there is liquid evaporating and the air bubble is expanding slowly over time.
Some pictures of how it looked on site:
https://observation.org/observation/310670847/
I found it after a rainy period around 20:15, suggesting a daytime predator. The tail part was stripped of its skin.
Cheers,
Tom
half a fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra terrestris)...it was snapped in two by an unknown, but probably very stupid or naive predator. Fire salamanders are highly poisonous (see the yellow glands with black dots behind its eyes) so it might even have killed its predator posthumously. I always thought adult specimens had no enemies...
I have put it in 96% alcohol but need to redo it because there is liquid evaporating and the air bubble is expanding slowly over time.
Some pictures of how it looked on site:
https://observation.org/observation/310670847/
I found it after a rainy period around 20:15, suggesting a daytime predator. The tail part was stripped of its skin.
Cheers,
Tom
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The cat from my colleague at work had dragged this in; a rose-ringed parakeet (a female, lacking the black collar of the male). So I collected it and turned the remains into this beautiful skull.
url=https://postimg.cc/hJ60ggJZ]
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Work under construction: a mole and a housecat
Cheers,
Tom
url=https://postimg.cc/hJ60ggJZ]
Work under construction: a mole and a housecat
Cheers,
Tom
Latest additions:
A beautiful adult stork (Ciconia ciconia) and a washed up adult greater black-backed gull (Larus marinus):
Stork skull with the two keratine sheaths ('rhamphoteca') for upper and lower mandible.
Stork skull compared to a blue heron's skull.
Big bird...
Greater black-backed gull skull
GBB gull skull
Greater black backed gull skull compared to a herring gull's; GBB gulls are brutal and big...
The keratin sheaths/rhamphoteca feel like thin plastic sheeting right now. I have to soak them in water to make them pliable again, so I can fit them to the stork's mandibles like a glove.
Cheers,
Tom
A beautiful adult stork (Ciconia ciconia) and a washed up adult greater black-backed gull (Larus marinus):
Stork skull with the two keratine sheaths ('rhamphoteca') for upper and lower mandible.
Stork skull compared to a blue heron's skull.
Big bird...
Greater black-backed gull skull
GBB gull skull
Greater black backed gull skull compared to a herring gull's; GBB gulls are brutal and big...
The keratin sheaths/rhamphoteca feel like thin plastic sheeting right now. I have to soak them in water to make them pliable again, so I can fit them to the stork's mandibles like a glove.
Cheers,
Tom
New addition, a male common scoter (Melanitta nigra). Unfortunately the bill sheathing with its fiery colouring could not be saved. In ducks, swans & geese these sheathings are of a rubbery/leathery texture, not hard like in other birds. The colours would not have survived peroxide treatment so I was hoping I could get the sheathing off by let it steep in water with washing powder for longer than I normally do. Alas this did not work well: the sheathing just disintegrated. The only hard part is the black spot at the tip of the beak and this could be saved during the washing powder incubation and added again after the peroxide bleaching.
Only the males have these bulbous parts on the top of the bill.
Cheers,
Tom
Only the males have these bulbous parts on the top of the bill.
Cheers,
Tom
I forgot to mention that the black keratin tip of the bills of ducks is called the 'nail'.New addition, a male common scoter (Melanitta nigra). Unfortunately the bill sheathing with its fiery colouring could not be saved. In ducks, swans & geese these sheathings are of a rubbery/leathery texture, not hard like in other birds. The colours would not have survived peroxide treatment so I was hoping I could get the sheathing off by let it steep in water with washing powder for longer than I normally do. Alas this did not work well: the sheathing just disintegrated. The only hard part is the black spot at the tip of the beak and this could be saved during the washing powder incubation and added again after the peroxide bleaching.
Only the males have these bulbous parts on the top of the bill.
Cheers,
Tom
Cheers,
Tom
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On request, the ' streaker' in a more relaxed stance. The head is a jackdaw skull.
Cheers,
Tom
