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Wildlife Spotting

Photo by elainevela
Published on Project Noah
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37.1973, -119.754

Field Notes

Habitat:

Sierra Nevada foothills

Species ID Suggestions

Dead animal skull
Shaun Followill
1

Comments (7)
GeoffreyPalmer
No problem! Glad I could provide a little piece of mind! ;)
elainevela
That's IT Geoffrey! I haven't slept for a year worrying about this. Now I can finally rest...ok, I have slept plenty, but am still excited. A deer doesn't have canines. That was the part throwing me. And though I haven't seen feral hogs in my neighborhood personally, I know they are nearby. Thanks so much!
GeoffreyPalmer
Appears to be a feral hog. This would explain the canines protruding to the side, the long rostrum (nose), but the molars would need to be seen to confirm. Cool find!
Taylor Kelly
I looks like it is perhaps a skull of a pronghorn antelope doe. It isn't a white tail or mule (blacktail) deer skull, as it is too narrow. It cannot be a horse skull either, as horse skulls are broader and deeper than this. It could be another deer species (family Cervidae) or an introduced artiodactylid (such as Blackbuck). These are my best guesses, but it is definitely in the order Artiodactyla. Check out this site for a little more information: http://www.ultimateungulate.com/Cetartiodactyla.html
elainevela
Shaun! Thank you! How silly of me! :) p..its weird. Maybe a very young one but it has has a tooth protruding from either side of its mouth, (long ones. ). It is the size of a small deer skull...my son suggested it was a pterodactyl ....
p.young713
Looks like a horse? I have a cow skull, much bigger?
Photographed
PublishedApril 9, 2011

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