Bone Identification

Need help identifying a bone you've found? Send pictures to my email [email protected] or submit pictures to this site for quick identification! Tumblr users can also tag #boneidentification in pictures for IDing. Use this site to learn how to identify bones! This blog serves as an extensive database with thousands of pictures showing bones found by people all over the world. These pictures are used to help others identify their own finds and provide an educational resource for osteology. Use the links on the right to browse identified bones from common animal species or skeletal pieces. Click here to view a complete list of identifications. Frequently Asked Questions If you like my keen bone sense, fuel me with a cup of coffee so I can identify more!

[boneidentification]

Hi! Found this at a flea market. Wondering what animal it is (We think it might be a larger deer-sort, like an elk) and what it’s ‘done up’ in - ie: why has it been bound like this?

(Next to a white tail mandible for size reference)

Thank you!

Definitely a large deer and size looks correct for elk! The mounting is very interesting, it could have some meaning or could just be from a bored crafter! If anyone has seen a similar mounting style let us know!!

@pacificremains helped confirm this jaw is very likely to be from a caribou as they are commonly styled into little sleds like this by Alaskan natives!

[boneidentification]

Found the pelvis on the left recently on the side of a lake in central North Carolina. Pelvis on the right is a raccoon, is the new one also that or an opossum? They look so similar but so different.

I would definitely say raccoon for the left too! Opossums have a much straighter pelvis and cat/fox can be pretty similar to raccoon but this one does match the raccoon closest!

[boneidentification]

Hello! I'm looking for an identification for this top half of the skull and jaw. To me, it looks like an opossum, but it was found next to Muskrat bones

Definitely an opossum!

[boneidentification]

I found this at my dad’s. He lives on the marsh close to the GA/FL line.

This is the pelvic bone of a bird, and the wide shape is right for game birds like chicken, grouse, pheasant, etc.!

[boneidentification]

Looking for possible identification of this part skull/cranium found in a coastal cave in a remote area on the west coast of Scotland. Clearly from the family Canidae but with the extended Sagittal crest and large cranium could it be Wolf?

Based on similar shaped Canis skulls I've estimated full size (without going ott) at 250mm x 160mm.

There are small traces of moss on the skull so I think it's been in the ground maybe partially exposed at some stage, possibly an animal has taken it into the small cave for a chew.

I posted pictures on a biodiversity page recently and it got a lot of interest including suggestions of DNA testing and various people to contact which I've done but things are slow with it being the Easter holidays.

This is definitely a tough one! From my research it appears there are no wild wolves in Scotland though there looks to be some discussion on reintroducing them. I'm not sure if reintroduction was ever accomplished but it's probably very rare or unlikely to find wolf remains in Scotland. The frontal bone is also pretty bulbous which is more common in domestic dogs but still possible to see in wolf skulls. I'm leaning towards domestic dog since the area doesn't normally have wolves but I'd love to hear what others think too!

[boneidentification]

This is a cervical vertebra which looks most similar to ungulates, and it appears to have been cut in half indicating this came from a butchered animal like sheep or cow.

[boneidentification]

hiya! found this skull in a little woodland on a farm in southeast england, its about 6.5cm total length and im not sure what it is

Hello! This is the skull of a bird, and based on beak shape and the beautiful groove across the top leading to the beak, this looks most similar to a woodpecker!

[boneidentification]

i’m back with some more i hope that’s ok!! these were mostly found on the beach of one of the finger lakes about a year or two ago!

You're always welcome back! From left to right there are fish ribs, fish vertebrae, bird carpometacarpus (wing bone), tibia from a small young mammal, fish preoperculum (piece of the skull), partial bird pelvis, catfish vertebra, thoracic vertebra from a small ungulate like deer or sheep, and the body of a fish vertebra!

[boneidentification]

found some skulls and other small bones recently! thinking raccoon and maybe squirrel? as for the small jawbone i’m not sure

The large skull is indeed a raccoon and the small one is a rabbit! The two small bones at the top are humeri from a squirrel, the jaw also squirrel, and the two vertebrae are rabbit!

[lyriumrain]

Does anyone know what animal this belongs to? For context, I am in Australia.

[boneidentification]

This is an Australian possum skull!

[boneidentification]

Do you happen to know if there is any way to determine red va grey kangaroo skulls? This one is about 7.5" and was simply labeled "kangaroo. " I have not been able to find any good guides for australian wildlife skull ID

It can definitely be tough to differentiate the two since they're very similar, and it looks like the most substantial factor is size but this can be affected by sex, age, and genetics as well. Here's a website that looks to have some helpful information on red vs. grey kanga skulls: https://paoloviscardi.com/2021/09/24/friday-mystery-object-417-answer/

Based on this website I would lean towards an adult red kangaroo!

[boneidentification]

Any idea what this is? Found by a freshwater lough in the North of Scotland ! It's about an inch and a half long and VERY thin. I'm thinking bird but maybe fish? No clue !!

This belongs to a fish! It is the preoperculum, a part of the skull which supports the gills. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find a good species match!

[boneidentification]

I found this in a collection of seashells I bought years ago from a thrift store! Any idea what it is?

This is the vertebra of a fish!

[boneidentification]

This is the partial skull of a fish!

[boneidentification]

I found this bone on the beach, I think it could be a vertebra of some kind? Part of a very large bony fish perhaps?

You got it, this is the vertebra of a fish!

[boneidentification]

So I found this bone, I’m not sure if it’s just from someone’s food because it was in an area near a picnic table

Next to a Pepsi can for size comparison. It looks like there’s meat or something still on it and it kind of looks fried which leads me to believe it’s from a fast food restaurant like kfc.

This is the area it was found in

You've got it, this is a section of scapula commonly found in shoulder chops or Y-bone steaks!

[boneidentification]

This is the partial skull of a fish!