Can anyone identify this body part. It's from an animal. I found in woods years ago. Notice patterning and other textures....
I cannot figure it out.
Thanks.
Identification.
Can anyone identify this body part. It's from an animal. I found in woods years ago. Notice patterning and other textures....
I cannot figure it out.
Thanks.
you're welcome, thanks for checking back in
those posts are all just me. I like skulls.
kind of looks like vulture face
bump for OP disappears and never shows his face again after Wauf ID'd his silly picnic shit
Silly picnic?
The ball and socket joint is the key.
usually with that kind of joint the part closest to the centerline of the body (medial) is stationary while the lateral, or outside bone is mobile.
this is a weird setup to find in a skull. Not a lot of animals have bony flaps on the outside of the skull that can move around. Fishes are about the only ones I can think of.
This would be a pretty big fish then. Over a foot long, 7+ lbs???
Am I mistaken?
I’m not familiar with the long nose sucker most pics I looked up are fairly small and triangular.
This is pretty interesting.
Long nose sucker isn't found in the shenandoah, but several other suckers are. They all get big enough to be your fish. Several other fish in that river are big enough as well. Including a couple possible invasives.
It's possible this is tilapia or carp from a chinese or mexican restaurant, as others have mentioned.
>So would center seam be leading edge of head, raggedy piece be top of mouth?
yes.
correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm not seeing a hyomandibular joint or bone present in the dermatocranium, indicating a weak or absent jaw. Typical of suckerfish, catfish, or plecos.
I am not an expert on fish skulls though. I could easily be mistaken. For an actual ID I'd show it to a fish scientist.
>I'm not seeing a hyomandibular joint or bone present
mandibulo-hyomandibular that is.
there might be a lower jaw present in that mess, but I'm not really seeing it.
I gotta say, this is really surprising. Fish head is like last thing I’d consider, lol. I like skulls too but never looked at fish.
I should have focused more on that ball/socket joint.
I’ll continue to find out what species it is and update.
Thanks again everyone for interest and help in identifying, really appreciate it.
So would center seam be leading edge of head, raggedy piece be top of mouth?
looks like the head of a fish that has been split in half and flattened.
this
This guy's right. Some chinese seafood restaurants do this and it looks exactly like that. I'd say the fish in question was probably a sort of cyprinid.
Hmmm. I have some issues with this hypothesis.
Found off trail in middle of state forest.
Definitely not fish/aquatic.
It’s leathery.
Zero fishy smell.
Distinct meaty smell.
No where near water. (Though Shenandoah River does run through park; this is the single connection to water.)
25miles from nearest restaurant, let alone Asian.
Thanks.
Also size and shape.
This would have been a huge fish. Much larger than local species.
Cyprinidae seem to have a more triangular shape rather than rounded.
any pics of this type of processing to compare? Not sure how to phrase that search.
appears to be longnose sucker.
Might be an eagle nest nearby, or maybe a bear snagged it out. Or fisherman bycatch that got tossed. Whatever. It got there somehow.
2 of 2
note I am not an expert on fishes of the region. Just going off size, curvature, and ruggosity of similar opercular/preopercular series found on google images.
Maybe a bear carried it inland
>Definitely not fish/aquatic.
smell or location isn't always great info.
that's definitely a fish, it has gill covers (opercular series bones and associated condyle joints)
Not sure exact species, but sucker seems a reasonable guess.
also sucker meat tastes a bit like hot dogs dipped in fish oil. They're nasty, but might smell a bit like beef if left out to dry long enough.
definitely a turtle, looks like it was run over and totally flattened
Yeah maybe.
Was deep in state forest off trail. What about holes?
gotta watch out for those pesky innawoods cars.
It’s very leathery
Are you sure that's from an animal? Looks like some kind of weird fungus.
Nearly 100%
It was rank and had dried blood on the back.
I’ve considered:
Boar
Owl
Turtle
Nothing seems quite right
it's my pelvis
Seek medical treatment immediately
For scale
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