Wolf Skull: Arya
I ordered a bunch of bones this week, so I thought I'd start moving through and posting pictures of my existing collection. I think I mentioned that I had acquired another wolf skull recently. She's quite lovely, and very different from Thane.
I got some good pictures of her in the sun, and some comparison shots of her with Thane so that you can get some small idea of the variation possible between adults of the same species.
Here she is.
She's of modest size, but is still equipped with damn impressive teeth. I find it interesting that even people acquainted with dogs often draw wolves' incisors as flat across the edge when they are, in fact, quite topographical. Take a moment to appreciate the shape of these very functional and beautiful teeth.
Note the slightly rough areas around the upper teeth near the back. Softer bone like this is found in younger animals.
Here, with the sun shining through, you can really appreciate the comparative delicacy of her bones compared to, say, Thane's.
The zygomatic arch -- the cheekbone -- isn't fused in the middle yet, though the suture is closed. You can also see the relatively open suture between the maxillary arch and the upper jaw.
The bone at the front of the zygomatic arch is the jugal bone. I just point that out because it's amusing to say. Jugal bone. Juuugal bone.
A closeup of the cheekbone from the front.
Note the canals, visible inside the orbit. The uppermost two are the orbital fissures, the optic canals which carry the optic nerves back into the braincase. The bottom one is the alisphenoid canal, which accomodates a branch of the external carotid artery. Neat, huh?
The opening at bottom left is the infraorbital foramen. Facial nerves supplying, among other things, the whiskers, run through this opening.
Now, for reference, we'll compare this young lady to Thane, an adult male gray wolf.
His bone structure is heavy, tough.
Together, you can see the differences in size, as well as compare the sagittal and occipital crests. The occipitals run from the back of the head down along the sides of the rear of the skull, providing an anchor point for the neck muscles. They are less developed in young animals and in females.
Now compare their sagittal crests. Thane's is dreadfully impressive, hers is quite small.
Teeth, side by side. Note especially the wear on Thane's upper incisors.
A nice view of the turbinates inside the nasal cavity. These the sinus structures built around these bones warm and moisturize air, and are highly receptive to scent. This picture also gives you a good idea of their comparative height.
Cheekbones, side by side. Note especially that within the cheekbone's loop you can see the top projection of the lower jaw, the coronoid process. This would be sheathed in muscle, totally covered, in a living animal. If you have a dog, you can feel the action of these muscles as they chew. Also note that this structure is less robust in the female than in the male.
So, that's my little girl. She doesn't have a name yet. I'm open to suggestions, though it could be that whoever winds up with her will get to name her. I do plan to engrave and decorate her once I've had a little more practice, which means she will probably get sold.
Anyway, she's getting company this week. I caught a fantastic deal with one of my suppliers for two wolf skulls, among other things, and the man who sold me Thane was also unloading another charismatically abnormal wolf skull that I couldn't pass up. And so the pack grows. I expect that there will be pictures of the new additions, too, once they have arrived and been cleaned and, if it's necessary, repaired. Certainly there will be pictures once they have been carved, as I intend to use these for art purposes as well.
Maybe one will be willing to donate a tooth to replace that missing one of Thane's, eh? That missing premolar just bugs me. I should model a replacement in epoxy and gold-leaf it. Yeah. That'd be awesome.
For the new, a note about bones and ethics.
I got some good pictures of her in the sun, and some comparison shots of her with Thane so that you can get some small idea of the variation possible between adults of the same species.
Here she is.
She's of modest size, but is still equipped with damn impressive teeth. I find it interesting that even people acquainted with dogs often draw wolves' incisors as flat across the edge when they are, in fact, quite topographical. Take a moment to appreciate the shape of these very functional and beautiful teeth.
Note the slightly rough areas around the upper teeth near the back. Softer bone like this is found in younger animals.
Here, with the sun shining through, you can really appreciate the comparative delicacy of her bones compared to, say, Thane's.
The zygomatic arch -- the cheekbone -- isn't fused in the middle yet, though the suture is closed. You can also see the relatively open suture between the maxillary arch and the upper jaw.
The bone at the front of the zygomatic arch is the jugal bone. I just point that out because it's amusing to say. Jugal bone. Juuugal bone.
A closeup of the cheekbone from the front.
Note the canals, visible inside the orbit. The uppermost two are the orbital fissures, the optic canals which carry the optic nerves back into the braincase. The bottom one is the alisphenoid canal, which accomodates a branch of the external carotid artery. Neat, huh?
The opening at bottom left is the infraorbital foramen. Facial nerves supplying, among other things, the whiskers, run through this opening.
Now, for reference, we'll compare this young lady to Thane, an adult male gray wolf.
His bone structure is heavy, tough.
Together, you can see the differences in size, as well as compare the sagittal and occipital crests. The occipitals run from the back of the head down along the sides of the rear of the skull, providing an anchor point for the neck muscles. They are less developed in young animals and in females.
Now compare their sagittal crests. Thane's is dreadfully impressive, hers is quite small.
Teeth, side by side. Note especially the wear on Thane's upper incisors.
A nice view of the turbinates inside the nasal cavity. These the sinus structures built around these bones warm and moisturize air, and are highly receptive to scent. This picture also gives you a good idea of their comparative height.
Cheekbones, side by side. Note especially that within the cheekbone's loop you can see the top projection of the lower jaw, the coronoid process. This would be sheathed in muscle, totally covered, in a living animal. If you have a dog, you can feel the action of these muscles as they chew. Also note that this structure is less robust in the female than in the male.
So, that's my little girl. She doesn't have a name yet. I'm open to suggestions, though it could be that whoever winds up with her will get to name her. I do plan to engrave and decorate her once I've had a little more practice, which means she will probably get sold.
Anyway, she's getting company this week. I caught a fantastic deal with one of my suppliers for two wolf skulls, among other things, and the man who sold me Thane was also unloading another charismatically abnormal wolf skull that I couldn't pass up. And so the pack grows. I expect that there will be pictures of the new additions, too, once they have arrived and been cleaned and, if it's necessary, repaired. Certainly there will be pictures once they have been carved, as I intend to use these for art purposes as well.
Maybe one will be willing to donate a tooth to replace that missing one of Thane's, eh? That missing premolar just bugs me. I should model a replacement in epoxy and gold-leaf it. Yeah. That'd be awesome.
For the new, a note about bones and ethics.