Skull & Jaw Identification

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Skull & Jaw Identification Dental formula, lower jaw, and skull views of a coyote Dental Formula: 3, 1, 4, 2 3, 1, 4, 3 Incisors - knife-edged for biting and cutting. Canines - pointed for puncturing and tearing. Upper Jaw: Incisors, Canines, Premolars, Molars Premolars (bicuspids) - have two points for shearing and shredding. Lower Jaw: Incisors, Canines, Premolars, Molars Molars - flattened for grinding and crushing. Some Questions to Ask … 1. Do eyes (orbits) face forward (predator) or to the side (prey)? 2. Is there a big gap (diastema) between the incisors/canines and the rest of the teeth (if yes – herbivore)? 3. Is the jaw joint at the same level as the teeth (carnivore/omnivore) or is the jaw joint well above the level of the teeth (herbivore)? ↑Carnivore (Cat) vs Herbivore (Deer) 4. Is it a long face with well-retracted nasals (some herbivores) or a ↓Carnivore (Dog) vs Herbivore (Goat) short face (some carnivores)? Keying Skulls … before you start • Different books use different terms Rostrum • Get a feel for how the animal made its living by looking at placement of eyes, teeth, etc. • How big is the skull? Wide? Long? • What is the dental formula? • Often skulls or jaws are broken, with missing Zygomatic Arch teeth – remember that skulls are symmetrical. • Smaller rodents are particularly hard to identify • Look at range maps, know who is in your area. • Remember that age plays a role in what you see (milk teeth versus permanent teeth, sutures on brain case, etc.) Prepared by Gwen Heistand for ACR Education Sources/Diagrams: Pacific Coast Mammals by Russo & Olhausen; Animal Skulls by Richard S. White, Jr.; A Key-Guide to Mammal Skulls and Lower Jaws by Roest; Illustrated Key to Skulls of Genera of North American Land Mammals by Jones & Manning Some skulls you may find (by order) Dog family (Canidae) Order Carnivora (and a human skull) Cat family (Felinidae) coyote bobcat mountain lion grey fox Raccoon family (Procyonidae) Skunk family (Mephitidae) Weasel family (Mustelidae) long-tailed weasel striped skunk raccoon Rodent Order (Rodentia) Human 2,1,2,3 2,1,2,3 pocket gopher dusky-footed woodrat Sonoma chipmunk grey squirrel Deer order (Artiodactyla) Bat order (Chiroptera) Rabbit order (Lagomorph) mule deer bat brush rabbit Order Marsupialia Moles & Shrews order (Insectivora) If you find a small skull, without a diastema and with red-tipped teeth – you have the skull of a shrew. The shrew in our area is Trowbridge’s Shrew. (The enamel of the tips of their teeth is reddish due to iron pigment. The iron deposits serve to harden the enamel and are concentrated in those parts of the broad-footed mole teeth most subject to wear.) Virginia opossum.

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MINNESOTA MUSTELIDS Young
By Blane Klemek MINNESOTA MUSTELIDS Young Naturalists the Slinky,Stinky Weasel family ave you ever heard anyone call somebody a weasel? If you have, then you might think Hthat being called a weasel is bad. But weasels are good hunters, and they are cunning, curious, strong, and fierce. Weasels and their relatives are mammals. They belong to the order Carnivora (meat eaters) and the family Mustelidae, also known as the weasel family or mustelids. Mustela means weasel in Latin. With 65 species, mustelids are the largest family of carnivores in the world. Eight mustelid species currently make their homes in Minnesota: short-tailed weasel, long-tailed weasel, least weasel, mink, American marten, OTTERS BY DANIEL J. COX fisher, river otter, and American badger. Minnesota Conservation Volunteer May–June 2003 n e MARY CLAY, DEMBINSKY t PHOTO ASSOCIATES r mammals a WEASELS flexible m Here are two TOM AND PAT LEESON specialized mustelid feet. b One is for climb- ou can recognize a ing and the other for hort-tailed weasels (Mustela erminea), long- The long-tailed weasel d most mustelids g digging. Can you tell tailed weasels (M. frenata), and least weasels eats the most varied e food of all weasels. It by their tubelike r which is which? (M. nivalis) live throughout Minnesota. In also lives in the widest Ybodies and their short Stheir northern range, including Minnesota, weasels variety of habitats and legs. Some, such as badgers, hunting. Otters and minks turn white in winter. In autumn, white hairs begin climates across North are heavy and chunky. Some, are excellent swimmers that hunt to replace their brown summer coat.
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Cranial Morphological Distinctiveness Between Ursus Arctos and U
East Tennessee State University Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University Electronic Theses and Dissertations Student Works 5-2017 Cranial Morphological Distinctiveness Between Ursus arctos and U. americanus Benjamin James Hillesheim East Tennessee State University Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.etsu.edu/etd Part of the Biodiversity Commons, Evolution Commons, and the Paleontology Commons Recommended Citation Hillesheim, Benjamin James, "Cranial Morphological Distinctiveness Between Ursus arctos and U. americanus" (2017). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 3261. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3261 This Thesis - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Works at Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Cranial Morphological Distinctiveness Between Ursus arctos and U. americanus ____________________________________ A thesis presented to the Department of Geosciences East Tennessee State University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Science in Geosciences ____________________________________ by Benjamin Hillesheim May 2017 ____________________________________ Dr. Blaine W. Schubert, Chair Dr. Steven C. Wallace Dr. Josh X. Samuels Keywords: Ursidae, Geometric morphometrics, Ursus americanus, Ursus arctos, Last Glacial Maximum ABSTRACT Cranial Morphological Distinctiveness Between Ursus arctos and U. americanus by Benjamin J. Hillesheim Despite being separated by millions of years of evolution, black bears (Ursus americanus) and brown bears (Ursus arctos) can be difficult to distinguish based on skeletal and dental material alone. Complicating matters, some Late Pleistocene U. americanus are significantly larger in size than their modern relatives, obscuring the identification of the two bears.
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(Procyon Lotor) and Striped Skunks (Mephitis Mephitis) to SARS-Cov-2
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