Mystery animal jaw ID
May 9, 2020 3:13 PM Subscribe
In shallow water at the lake (Seattle area) this morning, I found what looked like a mostly-intact half lower mandible of a large fish or raccoon or something with four or five teeth attached. It doesn’t look like anything on the internet, so what could it be?
The vaguely triangular teeth had horizontal (parallel to jawline) ridges or striations (not serrations). There was also a single, smaller tooth inboard (tongue-ward) of the jawline, like a second row of teeth. Google has seemingly ruled out turtle, raccoon, beaver, squirrel, goose, catfish... it was vaguely the right size and shape for coyote, but I think the teeth were more uniform than differentiated. Wish I’d got a photo! What could it be?
The vaguely triangular teeth had horizontal (parallel to jawline) ridges or striations (not serrations). There was also a single, smaller tooth inboard (tongue-ward) of the jawline, like a second row of teeth. Google has seemingly ruled out turtle, raccoon, beaver, squirrel, goose, catfish... it was vaguely the right size and shape for coyote, but I think the teeth were more uniform than differentiated. Wish I’d got a photo! What could it be?
Response by poster: Overeducated_alligator, no, the teeth were larger and broader, not pointy like salmon.
posted by Chris4d at 6:40 PM on May 9, 2020
posted by Chris4d at 6:40 PM on May 9, 2020
How about a dog? A bunch of breeds are prone to retained baby teeth like that.
posted by ZaphodB at 9:03 PM on May 9, 2020
posted by ZaphodB at 9:03 PM on May 9, 2020
Response by poster: That was a frightening google image search! It was vaguely the shape of a dog or coyote mandible, yes, only the molars/premolars remained in place or I'd have more to go on. I don't recall any sockets toward the front of the mandible, they decayed away since it was probably in the water a while. The retained (baby?) tooth was a last molar, smaller and set well inboard of the main tooth line. There was almost a "pedestal" of bone that jutted off the inside of the mandible to capture the tooth, independent of the other sockets. The other feature that I can't replicate is the horizontal ridges on the teeth. I'm having such a hard time finding any similar image that I'm starting to wonder if I imagined it... maybe an odd decay pattern instead of something intrinsic to the teeth.
posted by Chris4d at 10:46 AM on May 10, 2020
posted by Chris4d at 10:46 AM on May 10, 2020
Cats have a little peg molar on the inside of their upper jaw (as shown in this video starting at 4:31). Wolverines have a much more aggressive rear molar, but the likelihood of finding a wolverine jaw in urban Seattle is quite slim.
How big was the half mandible compared to your palm/fingers? Here are a couple sources that might help you with images and terminology.
posted by scrubjay at 5:05 PM on May 10, 2020
How big was the half mandible compared to your palm/fingers? Here are a couple sources that might help you with images and terminology.
posted by scrubjay at 5:05 PM on May 10, 2020
Response by poster: Hm! Bigger than a skunk, otter or cat. I do think it was a carnivore. Sorta right in general scale and appearance to this bobcat mandible, though I can’t imagine one living near an urban lake. It might have been maybe 3” long, and the curve of the bone indicated (to my untrained eye) a wider jaw, not a pointy snout.
Is there a jackalope-style cryptid for the PNW yet? If not, maybe it’s time to invent one.
posted by Chris4d at 8:20 PM on May 10, 2020
Is there a jackalope-style cryptid for the PNW yet? If not, maybe it’s time to invent one.
posted by Chris4d at 8:20 PM on May 10, 2020
A wider jaw does point toward felid, and a bobcat could definitely live near an urban lake.
posted by scrubjay at 5:50 AM on May 11, 2020
posted by scrubjay at 5:50 AM on May 11, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by overeducated_alligator at 3:57 PM on May 9, 2020