What animal's skull is this?

[kelLOGg]

I found all the parts in a few square inches in a mowed area. Thought it was a snake but the "teeth" don't look like fangs.



 

 

 

[Chuck White]

Might need a little reassembly for anyone to recognize it!

[Old Greenhorn]

I am thinking it's a mammal. I'm looking at the skull cap in the last photo and I see those seams where the bones close in the brain meeting at the fontanel and they are fully closed, so it was not a baby at the time of death. I think that is only occurring in mammals? Doc might know better. Possibly a possum, ground hog, or some other furry pest?

[kelLOGg]

I tried to re assemble it but I couldn't figure out where parts went. I think it was a victim of a coyote. 

[WV Sawmiller]

   I could easily be wrong with the way the parts are scattered but my first guess is a possum.

[beenthere]

 I think it was a victim of a coyote.

Why do you think a coyote? 

[kelLOGg]

because we see and hear them. Lost my cat to one a year ago as did my neighbor. Occasionally I seen emaciated small animal carcasses on our property. 

[kelLOGg]

I googled opossum teeth and it looked like what I found. So I think VW Sawmiller is right.

[WV Sawmiller]

   Possums have homodont teeth which seems to match the pattern of the empty tooth sockets I can see. The length and width of the skull seems in line with a young possum too.

[bags]

No K-9 teeth and the eyes are mounted on the side of its head--- probably a squirrel.

[kelLOGg]

Squirrels have beaver-like teeth for chewing. Don't think it can be a beaver squirrel.

[KEC]

Front incisor teeth say rodent. Likely woodchuck or young beaver. I've cleaned a lot of skulls and this is no predator/canine. Opposum have a raised ridge on the top of the skull. My 2.4 cents.

[SwampDonkey]

Ground hog/woodchuck.

North American Groundhog Skull (Woodchuck)

[kelLOGg]

That looks like it, too. We do have ground hogs. Don't tell, but I relocated one once. 

[WV Sawmiller]

   Those pointed teeth in the OP make me think it was not a rodent. That's why I'm thinking a possum or could be a coon or such. The size of the skull is a good indicator but it could easily be from a juvenile animal.

[Southside]

Did it taste more like chicken or fish?  ;D

[kelLOGg]

Actually, it was more like roadkill. 😁

[KEC]

Those incisor teeth makes it a rodent. Possums have long jawbone and narrow skulls. I'm having trouble doing photos, but I'll try to post one of a grinner skull I have.

 

 

 

 

[WV Sawmiller]

   I'm thinking of incisors as sharp, flat, wide teeth and what I am seeing looks to be pointed and round. Am I not seeing something correctly? 

[KEC]

WV, In the OP photo you see a side view of the incisors, a frontal view would show that they are wide. My photos are an adult male Virginia Opposum. Note that the eye sockets are much bigger than the brain cavity ! :D

[KEC]

WV, I was flat proud of myself for posting photos and I expected a response from you.   :embarassed:

[WV Sawmiller]

   You done good. Excellent detail. You might add a dollar bill or coin in the photo for scale where needed. Keep up the good work. (Now I hope that makes you happy. :D)

    Actually, I was mostly questioning why someone would keep a possum skull around the house but to each his own. We each have our own hobbies and quirks. ;)

[Chuck White]

With those canines, it's definitely not a woodchuck, a woodchuck has 2 teeth, top and bottom in the front center.

[KEC]

Stay tuned, I'll see what other skulls I have and post photos. I belong to a trapper organization and we sometime have a display at events, people like to look at the skulls. It often gets them to talk to us.

[WV Sawmiller]

   I remember looking at a skull of an alligator snapping turtle in a Comparative Anatomy class at AU and immediately realized there were 2 big chunks of meat - 1 on each side of the brain stem - that I had been missing. On a 75 lb alligator snapper those chunks are as big as coke cans and we slice them then and flour and fry and make great little steaks out of them. You just never know where you will find useful information. ;)