July 26, 2007 12:02 pm
Jawbone Of An Asterisk
Posted by Will under animals, backyarchaeology
It’s getting to the point now where nothing I find in the backyard phases me. While transferring to the greenwaste bin all the old rotting kindling that’s been sitting in the backyard wheelbarrow for years now, I look and there on the ground is a partial jawbone (including a few weirdly shaped teeth) about three inches long of some unknown critter. Squirrel? Opossum? Raccoon? Cat? Alligator? IRS agent? Whatever it is I picked it up and dropped it in my pocket and went right back to work.
click to quadruplify
No clue? Any ideas?
July 26th, 2007 at 12:49 pm
Looks a bit like a possum jawbone to me, Will.
July 26th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
Dunno if you can do URLs in your comments, but here is a pic of an opossum skull.
http://courses.washington.edu/chordate/453photos/teeth_photos/opossum_skull_ventral.jpg
July 26th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
You nailed it Tim. Thanks!
July 26th, 2007 at 2:59 pm
Well, I live in Virginia and it isn’t called a Virginia Opossum for nothing. I see them at least once a week.
July 26th, 2007 at 3:39 pm
We have one that we occasionally spot up on the roof of the house next door. Being a huge fan of the animals people love to irrationally despise I always enjoy those encounters. It’s a shame that so many people here in L.A. sustain so much misinformation about them and think them mean or dangerous.