Skull Identification

[rustneversleeps]

Wondering if anyone has any ideas...when I originally found it, there were no other bones around and it was fairly deep in the national forest. Pretty small canines. Pretty round and not much of a sagital crest. Prob 6 or so inches across the back of the skull and 8-10 or so inches in length. Eyes facing forward so feel like its some sort of predator. Leaning towards small/juvenile coon?

 

[Letthemgrow]

I've never seen one personally but a 10" coon skull seems impossible.
What about an immature/cub black bear?

 

[OleRedbeard]

looks to be juvenile coon but even with that nose still on there thats a little long for one. Canines look young.

 

[rustneversleeps]

I've never seen one personally but a 10" coon skull seems impossible.
What about an immature/cub black bear?

First though when I saw it was black bear cub...the more rounded sagital crest is throwing me off. There was some black fur above one of the eyes is also why I was leaning that way.

 

[Gellar]

Red fox

grey fox

coyote

Badger

Bobcat

River otter

Opossum

Raccoon

 

[Letthemgrow]

Is that something that shows up in black bears later in maturity and becomes more pronounced with age? I have no idea.
All the bear skulls I've seen are from what I assume are 4+ year old animals.

 

[mrcowboy]

Badger? Skull maybe too big for badger. Canine teeth don't match a badger.

 

[Gellar]

Black bear

Mt. Lion

 

[WildWill]

Looks like coon to me.

 

[mevertsen]

It looks like a coyote, but young.

Young wolf?

 

[rustneversleeps]

Thanks for posting those pics @Gellar - I'm leaning towards raccoon at this point. Was trying to decide on cleaning it up or getting rid of it. Might clean it up and throw it in the man cave

 

[JohnBud]

Red fox
View attachment 195331
grey fox
View attachment 195332
coyote
View attachment 195333
Badger
View attachment 195334
Bobcat
View attachment 195335
River otter
View attachment 195336
Opossum
View attachment 195337
Raccoon
View attachment 195339

Great collection!

 

[Gellar]

Thanks for posting those pics @Gellar - I'm leaning towards raccoon at this point. Was trying to decide on cleaning it up or getting rid of it. Might clean it up and throw it in the man cave

The little skulls are easy to overcook if you boil. I used beetles for all of mine!

 

[Carl 9.3x62]

I'd say badger. Although if it really is 8-10 inches long I'd say it almost has to be a black bear.

 

[BoulderBulls]

Could it be a feral dog?

 

[Muzyhunterv2]

I have trapped and skinned a lot of raccoons. That looks like a raccoon to me.

 

[Rzrbck918]

If it is legit 8-10 inches long, there is almost no way its a raccoon. I have to think its a young black bear. I think itll be easier to determine once its cleaned up.

 

[MarvB]

chupacabra?

 

[406LIFE]

The best thing is to learn how to use a dichotomous key. It is a series of yes or no questions that help you to arrive at a correct identification. They have them for all sorts of things: butterfly id, mineral id, etc. The one for skulls will help you to be able to identify key characteristics on skulls that will teach you how to quickly recognize traits: felines have very large orbital sockets, canines have long nasal bones, etc. Here is a link to one: here.

 

[rustneversleeps]

I'm going to put a tape measure on it when I get home from work - thanks for all the replies and ideas, I appreciate it