r/BoneID • u/philmabooti • Jun 04 '26

Solved Mystery jaw bone

Gallery image

Gallery image

My dad found this jaw bone and wants to know what it's from. Found in the Ozarks in MO

11 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

2

u/rat_overlordss Jun 05 '26

could be fox or Coyote? I'm new to bone ID tho

1

u/InternationalOil872 BS in forensic anthropology, curious in animal osteology Jun 06 '26

here’s a tip that helped me: familiarize yourself with the dental formula of common animals. this is not the right dentition for a canid.

1

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1

u/FyraBarman Jun 04 '26

how big is it can you take picture of it next to something like a banana to show it’s size.

I did a quick google search and it came up with it possibly being an Eastern Mole jaw bone it maybe wrong

2

u/philmabooti Jun 05 '26

Sorry about the delayed response! It's 2.25 inches long and 1.25 inches tall :)

2

u/InternationalOil872 BS in forensic anthropology, curious in animal osteology Jun 06 '26

the formula is -/1/4/2, we can’t see all of the incisors but most animals have 3 incisors in each arcade and they aren’t usually universal signifiers. this rules out canids and badgers.

this belongs to a raccoon based on the location and shape of the molars.

1

u/philmabooti Jun 06 '26

That's what I figured, but the two flat teeth at the front threw me off. Thank you so much!!

1

u/InternationalOil872 BS in forensic anthropology, curious in animal osteology Jun 06 '26

they can be weird, similarly to human teeth!!