Ooo, he's a handsome one! Is he somewhat asymmetrical or is it just a trick of the angle? The picture of the underside of the skull struck me as odd - one side of his head looks a bit larger than the other.
Part of me wants to suggest the name 'Chewy' but is seems kind of irreverent.
Aside from the eroded tissue, he is almost perfectly symmetrical, but it's hard to take a picture that's not canted one way or the other, and I think the tilt in that particular picture is what is responsible for the illusion.
He's absolutely beautiful, although I wibble for his poor periodontal infection. I've never seen the separate roots of a carnassial exposed like that.
I love these posts of yours. This, here, is exactly why I love forensic anthropology at its most scholastic and least CSI: bones tell stories. And bones are lovely things in their own right. The paper-thin curls of turbinates in dogs' and wolves' nasal cavities are just exquisite.
Frankly, I'm still holding out for the time you get wolf skulls so alike they could be twins.
Then I'm going for Romulus and Remus.
But since I've been on a Greek and Roman kick lately, I'm going to put Athanasius, Valerius and Appius as well as Mache, Diodoros, Eirenaios up for consideration.
None of which are recognized by spellcheck. And just wait when I go into a Celtic kick again...
Someone always asks, so: No, I don't know what killed him.
I work in a museum with a lot of stuffed mounts. Most of them are from the early to mid 1800's and I get this question ALL THE TIME. I also get the "Did you kill them?" question. It can make one a little bonkers.
Btw, I found your explanation of the skull, the wear on the bone and teeth and such very fascinating.
I think it's a natural thing to wonder. I mean, I always wonder, you know? If we can't know their life, we can know their death. But being on the receiving end of the question over and over is kind of frustrating, especially considering I am almost certainly going to give an answer the person asking doesn't really want to hear. ("Shot by a hunter," vs. "Of natural causes. And then the dancing skull fairies brought the bones into my window at night on a silk pillow." Most folks who like wolves don't like the idea of hunting predator animals, especially wolves. Totally understandable. Having to look at the remainders of the hunting trade can be upsetting.) It's not a stupid thing to ask at all, but it's one where I often feel like I'm being asked, in some small way, to lie in order to make something prettier. Which I just won't do
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I'm still holding out for the day that I can afford a real dire wolf skull. Oh, the wanting! The wanting!
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Part of me wants to suggest the name 'Chewy' but is seems kind of irreverent.
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Aside from the eroded tissue, he is almost perfectly symmetrical, but it's hard to take a picture that's not canted one way or the other, and I think the tilt in that particular picture is what is responsible for the illusion.
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I reiterate, quite a handsome boy!
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I love these posts of yours. This, here, is exactly why I love forensic anthropology at its most scholastic and least CSI: bones tell stories. And bones are lovely things in their own right. The paper-thin curls of turbinates in dogs' and wolves' nasal cavities are just exquisite.
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Then I'm going for Romulus and Remus.
But since I've been on a Greek and Roman kick lately, I'm going to put Athanasius, Valerius and Appius as well as Mache, Diodoros, Eirenaios up for consideration.
None of which are recognized by spellcheck. And just wait when I go into a Celtic kick again...
Reply
I work in a museum with a lot of stuffed mounts. Most of them are from the early to mid 1800's and I get this question ALL THE TIME. I also get the "Did you kill them?" question. It can make one a little bonkers.
Btw, I found your explanation of the skull, the wear on the bone and teeth and such very fascinating.
Reply
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