Mystery Bones
Posted by: Loren Coleman on February 9th, 2008
Okay, folks, your cryptozoological mystery bones fieldwork assignment is to identify the following.
Examine the two separate specimens brought before you, and record your best guesses as to what they are.
They have nothing to do with each other.
1) Mystery skull
2) Mystery “teeth”
What do you think they are?
You be the investigator.
About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
The skull looks like a deer skull that’s missing the nasal bones (and the mandible too of course).
Not sure about the teeth; it would help to have something near them for scale.
I agree, the skull looks like an eroded deer skull. Don’t know about the teeth, though.
Skull may be a goat. The bottom may be the grinding plates of a ray or fish that eats shellfish.
I agree that the skull is from a deer or deer-like mammal. Difficult to say exact species. Got a location for it? Don’t know about the teeth. Size would help.
No idea here. When do we get the answers?
Like the game idea though. Show us some more.
The teeth look Elephant like but I can’t tell how big they are and they seem thin.
I believe the skull belongs to a sheep or goat.
The other picture, fish teeth?
I’m not good at bone collecting, but my guess to the teeth would be some sort of fish, maybe…
I think I was looking at those teeth all wrong, In that last picture, I thought it was showing the bottom of the tooth, but I think it was actually the side. So now I have no clue.
..or lizard
Well the skull is definatly a goat skull. A quick google image search verifies that.
The teeth could very well be some sort of lizard. They arent mammal teeth for sure.
Fish teeth! YES! Fish did occur to me but I could not think of any Ohio fish those could belong to but they aren’t the kind of teeth I was thinking of. Those are pharyngeal teeth from the throat of a fish and not teeth from any part of the jaw.
Pharyngeal teeth! Exactly! I couldn’t quite place them, but you’re right. Here is a link to a pic of pharyngeal teeth from a Grass Carp:
http://www.hiltonpond.org/images/CarpGrassTeeth01.jpg
Sheep’s skull and Muskelunge Teeth
or have you thrown us a real curveball and the skull is that of a Kangaroo?
Believe it or not to me it appears to be fishlike.
The skull looks for the most part to be intact that being the case, it does not appear to be either a sheep deer or a kangaroo. Google skulls for those animals and you will see that they are not at all similar.
This animal has the teeth of a herbivore, and the size of eye socket indicates a nocturnal creature. It also appears to have had horns or antlers. What would really help is a better idea of the size of the skull and the location it was found.
Did a quick google image search on pharyngeal teeth, and saw plenty of examples that are very close if not identical to the ‘teeth’ shown here.
Goat and pharyngeal teeth
I think the skull is from a pronghorn. The teeth, if that is what they are, must be from some type of bottom feeding fish. Maybe a skate or ray of some kind.
Squatch; According to the text on the photo the teeth were found in Ohio. There are no rays or skates in Ohio. I’m confident they are pharyngeal teeth. Pharyngeal teeth are found in the throats of many fish species, namely cyprinids (minnows and carps) but others as well. They look very similer to those found in a grass carp but I cannot be sure. I really wish I could locate a guide on the subject.
Nikki; that skull is without a doubt from an ungulate (hoofed mammal). Deer is unlikely because it appears that the animal had horns rather then antlers. The nasal bones are missing and that is why it looks so odd. I have found many deer skulls missing these bones and they can still look fairly intact. Goat, sheep, antelope, could be any of these IMO.
The teeth look like fish teeth to me.
Skull is of an even toed ungulate..
Orca teeth?
An incomplete and weathered skull from something in the goat family.
The pharyngeal teeth of a grass carp, which are found in Ohio and unfortunately almost everywhere else in the country now. They are an introduced invasive species and causing problems.
The skull is definitely herbivore, though showing some size would be nice. I have never seen teeth like that before. Kinda weird the way they are shaped.
Without researching, I’m gonna go with seacow on the skull.
I think the skull is that of a deer, because the upper region appears to be cut, as though someone has cut out the top of the skull in a straight line to get the antlers. I have found several deer skull mutilated in just such a way, while out with my dogs. The nasal bones could have been chewed away by dogs or other scavengers.
As to the teeth, I don’t have a clue. My first thought was some kind of reptile, but those who have pointed out the similarities to the pharyngeal teeth are probably on the right track.
1. I vote Sheep, its the only skull that the teeth match, and the horn connection:
http://www.skullsite.co.uk/Sheep/sheep_horned.jpg
Deer the antler connection is wrong:
http://www.skullsite.co.uk/Roe/roe.htm
Goat is harder to dismiss, but from what I read their horns start further forward on the skull then sheep, google images had lots of bad pictures though:
http://courses.washington.edu/vertebra/452/photos/mammals/mt-goat_skull_lateral.jpg
My lunch hour isn’t long enough to tackle number 2 🙂
Cheers,
Leibolmai
Just by looking at the photos I just can’t place the skull. If in fact it is the upper jaw the animal would have had a wide, short mouth. I personally don’t think it is a deer, goat, or sheep skull. The jaw line and basic structure just doesn’t look right.
The teeth, I have no idea, I am not even sure they are teeth.
thanks for the education guys. I had no idea fish had teeth in their throats- you learn something here everyday!
The more I think about it , I believe it is a sheep not a goat skull
http://www.skullsite.co.uk/Sheep/sheep.htm
I looked at the skull site and it does look more like a sheep or goat skull than the deer skulls that were illustrated. They didn’t have a whitetail deer skull though, just the european species. The “teeth” are probably pharyngeal bones from a fish, as some people have mentioned. They are definitely not reptile teeth, I’m pretty sure of that.
The first pic is either that of a goat or sheep, just because of the shortness of the skull and the fact that it has a place for horns, as they look different than deer skulls. The second is definitely that of a carp. Mean teeth if you’ve ever unhooked one from a fishing trip.
I’m going with a Ibex or Oryx skull. I think it is of the Goat family. I agree with those above saying the teeth are Pharyngeal.