Discover Top Posts Tagged with #juvenile specimens

Babies!

Opossum, Raccoon, & Coyote.

#skulls #animal skulls #vulture culture #anatomy #juvenile specimens #comparison #bones

Double Fangs hanging out in the fork of an old apple tree.

#skulls #animal skulls #vulture culture #nature #bobcat skull #juvenile specimens #double fangs #bones

Baby Llama (top in first photo) vs Baby Cow

#skulls #animal skulls #bones #vulture culture #anatomy #juvenile specimens #calf skull #Llama Skull #comparison #skull comparison #dead animal

Just picked up this fascinating snub-nosed, scissor-toothed juvenile r.abbit skull! It’s pictured next to a normal skull from an animal around the same size and age.

These skulls came from meat r.abbits that were culled. Both are missing some pieces and parts but that deformed skull is still pretty amazing! I thought the teeth were in the wrong root holes at first but that’s just how they grew naturally—normal-sized teeth in too short of a snout!

#skulls #animal skulls #deformity #pathology #vulture culture #deformed #rabbit skull #rabbit bones #oddities #bones #juvenile specimens

Stillborn

#skulls #animal skulls #vulture culture #dog skulls #dead animal #juvenile specimens #bones

Couple of neat yote skulls I picked up recently. Top is from a pup, lower skull has a pretty impressive underbite!

#skulls #animal skulls #vulture culture #deformity #bones #coyote skulls #dead animal #juvenile specimens #pathology

What are the differences between llama and alpaca skulls?

Llama and alpaca skulls are really very similar in appearance so the main thing to look at is the size of the skull.

See? Pretty similar in size, shape, and dentition. Llama skulls are slightly more elongated than alpaca skulls and their eye sockets flare out a bit more but really the most noticeable difference is the size. Llamas have much larger skulls than alpacas. The skull from an adult llama is usually around 11-13 inches long. An adult alpaca’s skull is usually 8-10 inches long. The llama skull in the photo is almost 13 inches in length and the alpaca skull in 9 ¾ inches in length.

But now what if you aren’t sure if you have a juvenile llama skull or a full grown alpaca skull? This skull from a seven month old llama looks pretty similar to the adult alpaca skull in the above photos.

Looking at the teeth will tell you whether you have an adult or a juvenile specimen. An adult llama or alpaca will typically have five upper molars and premolars on each side and four on each side of the lower jaw (alpaca skull pictured has an extra upper premolar). This adolescent llama still has rear molars in the process of erupting which shows that it was a juvenile animal, still in the process growing. It was also a male animal but it hadn’t erupted those vicious fighting canine teeth that llamas are well-known for yet. Those canines don’t usually come in until the animal is 2-3 years old.