Wolverine Skull
I don't think I've posted these. I think they just made it onto Flickr, but I got busy moving and forgot to share. My bad. I'm still working on the Etsy update, but in the meantime, here, have some bones.
This is the skull of a good-sized adult male wolverine.
All business, every millimeter. I am grateful, looking at this picture, that wolverines are not really all that big. If something the size of a bear had jaws like that . . . I am pretty sure I would die of awesome, actually, before it could bite my arms off.
The skull is 6.5 inches long and 4 inches across the cheekbones. Take a moment and look at his canines, and look how thick they are. Brutal, isn't it? We will come back to the teeth, don't worry.
The wolverine is the largest and most formidable member of the weasel family. It's related to otters, skunks, and the tiny mink. The wolverine's skull is heavy and short, built for power above all. It is smaller than but not at all dissimilar from the skull of a spotted hyena.
Both are delightfully efficient predators with unpleasant reputations. Naturally, I like them both.
The hard line of the cheekbone is unlike the graceful, delicate cheekbones of other mustelids. The short, heavy, cone-shaped teeth are built for hanging on and crushing.
In this picture I am holding the skull up by the rear of the braincase, but not supporting the lower jaw at all. The teeth fit so closely together that the jaw just locks right into place. It's a thing of beauty.
Here I'm holding the skull just past the eyesockets, and without muscle and tendon to hold it in place, the jaw is hanging at far past what would be its maximum natural flexion.
Note that the jaw has not become disjointed, but is simply hanging, held tight in place by the strength of the jaw joint itself.
Compare again to the spotted hyena.
Note the angle formed by the nasal opening and the lower jaw right at the chin -- like a pair of wire cutters, powerful and blunt.
The wolverine's skull, like its life, is nasty, brutish, and short.
Here I am holding the upper left canine next to the skull so that you can see how far up into the skull itself the tooth is rooted. Generally speaking, in carnivores (whose teeth don't grow throughout their lives) the more stress a tooth must take, the deeper the roots go.
The other business end. These crests form the anchor points for the powerful muscles of jaw and neck, the muscles that drive the wolverine's powerful bite.
Note the very rough surface of the bones. This texture forms on bones that are under a great deal of stress. The rough bone provides more anchor points for the muscle to adhere.
The size of these crests, combined with the thickness of the cheekbones and how widely the cheekbones spread, are excellent indicators of bite strength.
Simple, brutal power is apparent in the sinuously curving lines of the wolverine's cheekbone as it sweeps back from the teeth and joins with the skull behind the flange of the jaw. Note the slightly ragged-cut look of the bottom edge of the cheekbone, where the uneven and harsh stresses of the jaw muscles that adhere to the inside of the cheekbone have made their mark.
Sometimes people tell me that they have never been able to see the beauty in bones before having it actively pointed out to them. Well, this is another picture that should demonstrate why I can't not see them as beautiful.
A comparison that should make you feel grateful that the wolverine is as big as weasels get.
Top row of five skulls, clockwise from left to right:
Female fisher, male fisher (Martes pennanti), wolverine (Gulo gulo), badger (Taxidea taxus), river otter (Lontra canadensis).
Central three, clockwise from top left:
Marten (Martes americana), striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis, American mink (Neovison vison).
I figure you've earned a size comparison.
And last, as far as I'm concerned, the money shot of the whole shoot.
This is the left upper canine.
The top image shows the outer surface, the second shows the back of the tooth, the third shows the inner surface, and the last shows the front.
Note the ridge visible in the second and third images. Also note how much of the tooth is root.
A tooth is an amazingly topographical piece of work, and it never fails to frustrate me how many people draw and sculpt them as simple cone shapes. They are beautiful structures, highly evolved after millions of years of natural pressures. Each tooth is designed to do a particular thing, and yet function as part of a whole.
This skull was prepared by Martin, who prepared several of my wolf skulls including Thane, Grendel, and Diana.
This is the skull of a good-sized adult male wolverine.
All business, every millimeter. I am grateful, looking at this picture, that wolverines are not really all that big. If something the size of a bear had jaws like that . . . I am pretty sure I would die of awesome, actually, before it could bite my arms off.
The skull is 6.5 inches long and 4 inches across the cheekbones. Take a moment and look at his canines, and look how thick they are. Brutal, isn't it? We will come back to the teeth, don't worry.
The wolverine is the largest and most formidable member of the weasel family. It's related to otters, skunks, and the tiny mink. The wolverine's skull is heavy and short, built for power above all. It is smaller than but not at all dissimilar from the skull of a spotted hyena.
Both are delightfully efficient predators with unpleasant reputations. Naturally, I like them both.
The hard line of the cheekbone is unlike the graceful, delicate cheekbones of other mustelids. The short, heavy, cone-shaped teeth are built for hanging on and crushing.
In this picture I am holding the skull up by the rear of the braincase, but not supporting the lower jaw at all. The teeth fit so closely together that the jaw just locks right into place. It's a thing of beauty.
Here I'm holding the skull just past the eyesockets, and without muscle and tendon to hold it in place, the jaw is hanging at far past what would be its maximum natural flexion.
Note that the jaw has not become disjointed, but is simply hanging, held tight in place by the strength of the jaw joint itself.
Compare again to the spotted hyena.
Note the angle formed by the nasal opening and the lower jaw right at the chin -- like a pair of wire cutters, powerful and blunt.
The wolverine's skull, like its life, is nasty, brutish, and short.
Here I am holding the upper left canine next to the skull so that you can see how far up into the skull itself the tooth is rooted. Generally speaking, in carnivores (whose teeth don't grow throughout their lives) the more stress a tooth must take, the deeper the roots go.
The other business end. These crests form the anchor points for the powerful muscles of jaw and neck, the muscles that drive the wolverine's powerful bite.
Note the very rough surface of the bones. This texture forms on bones that are under a great deal of stress. The rough bone provides more anchor points for the muscle to adhere.
The size of these crests, combined with the thickness of the cheekbones and how widely the cheekbones spread, are excellent indicators of bite strength.
Simple, brutal power is apparent in the sinuously curving lines of the wolverine's cheekbone as it sweeps back from the teeth and joins with the skull behind the flange of the jaw. Note the slightly ragged-cut look of the bottom edge of the cheekbone, where the uneven and harsh stresses of the jaw muscles that adhere to the inside of the cheekbone have made their mark.
Sometimes people tell me that they have never been able to see the beauty in bones before having it actively pointed out to them. Well, this is another picture that should demonstrate why I can't not see them as beautiful.
A comparison that should make you feel grateful that the wolverine is as big as weasels get.
Top row of five skulls, clockwise from left to right:
Female fisher, male fisher (Martes pennanti), wolverine (Gulo gulo), badger (Taxidea taxus), river otter (Lontra canadensis).
Central three, clockwise from top left:
Marten (Martes americana), striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis, American mink (Neovison vison).
I figure you've earned a size comparison.
And last, as far as I'm concerned, the money shot of the whole shoot.
This is the left upper canine.
The top image shows the outer surface, the second shows the back of the tooth, the third shows the inner surface, and the last shows the front.
Note the ridge visible in the second and third images. Also note how much of the tooth is root.
A tooth is an amazingly topographical piece of work, and it never fails to frustrate me how many people draw and sculpt them as simple cone shapes. They are beautiful structures, highly evolved after millions of years of natural pressures. Each tooth is designed to do a particular thing, and yet function as part of a whole.
This skull was prepared by Martin, who prepared several of my wolf skulls including Thane, Grendel, and Diana.