Trying to ID a skeleton

[coach]

I was cutting the grass today and found this in a far corner of the yard. I probably hadn’t been back there for two weeks, but it was easily visible. I was thinking maybe a fox, although the “foot” bones seemed more claw like. I did see a buzzard in a tree at the same location a few weeks ago. The head doesn’t appear to be a bird though. Any thoughts?

 

[Snake45]

Chupacabra.

 

[Fox Mike]

Kinda hard to get an estimate of the size without something to measure against it. How long from the tip of the tail to the neck/head?

 

[coach]

Sorry I didn’t put in something for scale. You can see the poplar leaf and various weeds. The spine and tail like bones were about 3 feet long. About the size of a good size fox. The skull was not connected. It was about 6 feet away, so I moved it for the photo

 

[Fox Mike]

Could well be a fox. Look here: https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=A2KIbZxuhWJdYIMAIgFXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTByMjB0aG5zBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzYw--?p=fox+skull+identification&fr=yfp-t-s

 

[contender]

Hard to tell from those pics. A better picture of the skull could help.

 

[coach]

You’re right about a better view of the skull. After seeing the snout and teeth, I think it’s probably a fox.

 

[BearBio]

Based on the sagittal crest, it is a dog or coyote. The key to the foxes is that the sagittal crest is shaped differently for each type: Arctic fox (Alopus) is shaped like an "A", red foxes (Vulpes) are shaped like an inverted "V" and grey foxes (Urocyon) are shed like an upside down "U". Just a trick from a Mammalogy final in grad school.

 

[hittman]

Just a trick from a Mammalogy final in grad school.

Now you're just showing off ..... :lol:

 

[BearBio]

We had to ID 100+ skulls for the final==You learn LOTs of little tricks==A badger is Taxidea taxus and the molars have "TT" in ridges on top of them! Followed by 20+ years as a mammologist for the Feds.

 

[coach]

You made me look up what a sagittal crest is. Based on that and the link
Foxmike provided, I guess someone may be missing a pooch. :( Fox are regular visitors to the yard. I haven’t seen any coyotes in the area, although I’ve heard they are in the state.

 

[gramps]

Just a trick from a Mammalogy final in grad school.

Now you're just showing off ..... :lol:

He is allowed one free bite? :shock: :P
gramps

 

[gramps]

We had to ID 100+ skulls for the final==You learn LOTs of little tricks==A badger is Taxidea taxus and the molars have "TT" in ridges on top of them! Followed by 20+ years as a mammologist for the Feds.

Now you are showing off! :mrgreen:
gramps

 

[Mike Armstrong]

For me the teeth are always a good clue: big canines means a canine; big side "shearing" teeth a feline, rodents got two big chisels up front. Not sure where raccoon-like and weasel-like critters fit in, tho. And possum teeth are easy because they don't look like anything else--all pretty much just one shape, without any special "function teeth" like the rest of us mammals have.

Took "Zoo I" 60 years ago, and remember very little except that it was very interesting class for a hunter.