animal skull on forest floor

What Do We Have Here? | How To Identify Animal Skulls

Have you ever experienced finding animal skulls and bones when you went out for a hike in the mountains or woods?

Hikers often find skulls during Spring and Summer, as animals of all sorts of species die of cold and hunger during winter months.

Skulls may just seem like they’re a piece of junk buried beneath the soil, but they can tell you a lot of information about the kind of animal that the skull came from.

animal skull

Examination of skull size, eye location, teeth and other characteristics can tell you a lot about what type of animal it was.

By examining the size of the skull, as well as its teeth and the position of certain parts, you can distinguish a predator species from a prey species.

You would also be able to tell whether it walked upright or it crawled on all four legs. You can even determine what types of food the animal ate.

So, let’s take a look at some questions Below are some things to consider when trying to identify various mammal skulls.



Location Of Orbits / Eye Sockets

You can tell whether the skull you’re holding belonged to a predator species or a prey species just by looking at certain characteristics of the skull. The key characteristic that you should check is the location or position of the orbits or eye sockets in the skull. 

deer skull

Eye sockets on the sides of a animal skull would imply that it belonged to a preyed upon animal, such as a deer, which has wide peripheral vision that is helpful in watching out for potential predators.

If the orbits or eye sockets are located in front of the skull, then it’s more likely that the animal belonged to a predator species. Having eyes in front means that the animal had binocular vision. This is the kind of vision that gives them depth perception when they survey their surroundings.

Predators need depth perception to figure out the distance of their prey and catch them.



If the orbits or eye sockets are located to the sides of the skull, it’s more likely that what you have in your hands is the skull of an animal which was part of a prey species.

Having eyes to the sides of the skull means the animal had wide peripheral vision. This allows a wide range of view which helps a prey animal watch out for potential threats of any predator trying to make a sneak attack.   


#ad



Location Of Foramen Magnum

You can also tell whether an animal walked upright or on all four legs just by looking at the position or location of its foramen magnum.

The foramen magnum is the hole in the skull through which the spine makes its entry. Based on the position of its foramen magnum, you’d be able to infer how the animal moved. 

If the foramen magnum is located under the skull or at its very bottom, this means that the animal had the ability to walk upright as humans do.



A foramen magnum hole positioned at the bottom of the skull means that the spine entered the bottom of the skull in a vertical position. This can only mean that the animal’s spine was vertical and upright most of the time when it moved. 

foramen magnum

The foramen magnum, as shown here, is where the spine enters the skull, and it’s position can give clues about whether the animal walked upright or on all fours.

Some examples of animals that can walk upright are bears, ostriches, flamingos and gorillas, among others.

If the foramen magnum is located at the back of the skull, this means that the animal most likely roamed the earth on all its four limbs and legs as foxes and dogs do.

A foramen magnum located at the back of the skull reveals that the spine’s entry was in a horizontal manner. This means that the animal’s spine was often parallel to the skull and to the ground most of the time when it moved. This is the kind of skull that most quadrupedal (four-legged) animals have. 



The Teeth

You can identify whether you’re holding the skull of an herbivore, carnivore, or omnivore, based on its teeth.

vampire deer skull

Carnivores will have premolars, molars, canines and incisors, whereas herbivores will have only 2 or 3 of the four types. (skull pictured is a musk deer, also called a vampire deer).



The four major kinds of teeth are canines, premolars, incisors, and molars.

Keep in mind that herbivores have two or three of these types of teeth. On the other hand, all four kinds are found in carnivores. 

  • Premolars: These are bicuspid teeth in mammals. There are usually eight of them. They’re often arranged in pairs on the left and right side of both the upper and the lower jaws. They’re positioned in the middle of canines and molars. Their main function is to cut and grind food. 
  • Molars: These are broad, flat crowns. They’re found behind the premolars. Their primary function is to grind food. 
  • Canines: These are pointed teeth shaped like cones. They’re found in the middle of premolars and incisors. Their primary function is for piercing, and holding the prey. They can also be used as a weapon during a fight. 
  • Incisors: These have sharp edges. They’re found in the front part of the mouth. Their primary function is for cutting, nipping, or gnawing. 

There are also quite prominent differences in teeth amongst carnivores and herbivores.

Most carnivores don’t have gaps in their teeth and their teeth are pointed. On the other hand, herbivores have teeth whose surfaces appear ridged and grinding. There’s a gap with no teeth at all between their cheeks and their jaw front.




Identifying Specific Animals From Their Skull

You can identify specific types of animals just by looking at their skull, although medical researchers use medical scanning machines to detect similarities. 

If the skull you found is just about the size of the thumbnail of an adult, it’s more likely that it belongs to a shrew or a mouse.

cow skull

The size of the skull can provide information about animal type. One bigger than two clinched fists could be a cow, horse or other larger animal.

Rats and moles have skulls about the size of the index finger.

Skulls of rabbits and squirrels would have the length of a thumb.

If you find skulls about the size of two clenched fists, you might be holding the skull of either a fox or a badger. 

If you found a skull bigger in size than the combined size of your two clenched fists, then you might have found the skull of a horse, cow, deer, or sheep.



#ad



Hedgehog Skull

Hedgehogs usually have a row of sharp teeth that are all very similar to each other.

Skulls of hedgehogs are also often found with the spine still intact and connected to the skull.



Rodent Skulls

You can identify rodent skulls by looking at their teeth. They typically have a pair of incisors which can be found in both their upper and lower jaws.

There would also be a gap between the incisors and their cheek teeth. They usually have flat and grinding teeth in their cheeks.

On the other hand, you can distinguish a squirrel skull from the skull of a rat by snout size. A squirrel would have a broader snout than that of a rat.




Mole Skull

Moles typically have a very elongated skull. The length of a mole skull would be about 30 mm. You would find tiny incisors in both jaws. There are usually no gaps behind the incisors.

The other teeth that you’ll find in moles are typically small and pointed. These are usually tightly packed. 



Weasel Skull

Weasels typically have long and flat skulls. A weasel skull which can pass through the average wedding ring.

The skulls of their males are usually larger than those of their females across their various species. Their sizes increase gradually from the stoat, mink, polecat, pine marten, and then the otter skull.

The otter skull would typically have a size of about 10 cm in length. 


#ad

Osprey Packs Pack Aura Ag 65 Backpack, Challenge Blue, Medium
$325.00
Buy Now
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
03/07/2024 01:56 pm GMT


Hare and Rabbit Skull

You can distinguish a rabbit or hare skull from a rodent. Skulls of rabbits and hares typically have a second pair of small incisors. These smaller incisors are usually located in the upper jaws and behind the larger pair of incisors. 

a rabbit skull

Rabbit and hare skulls have prominent incisors, and often a second set as well.

It’s typical for both rabbits and bones to have prominently parallel cheekbones. You would also see something on their cheek teeth that look like blunt oval surfaces.

Hare skulls can also be distinguished from rabbit skulls because they’re usually larger than the latter. Hare skulls also have wide nasal passages.



How To Clean An Animal Skull

If you would like to clean the skulls you found, here are some suggestions on how you can do it:

  • Leave the skulls outside your house. Put them under a flowerpot. Leave just enough gap under the flower pot for beetles to be able to crawl into the insides of the skull.
  • You can whiten the skull by washing and wiping it with hydrogen peroxide. You don’t have to use bleach. It’s better to dilute the hydrogen peroxide a couple of times.
  • You can also lightly boil the skull in a pot containing water with a bit of sodium perborate. The liquid will act as a bleaching solution and clean up the skull nicely.

You can find more information on how to identify specific animal skulls at Boneyard Beetle Works or other similar sites.

ehd cwd dead head deer skull

You never know what you’ll find when hunting, camping or hiking. So, hopefully these tips will give you some clues! (photo credit: Brad Alan).

Final thoughts on identifying animal skulls

Skulls have very specific characteristics which can tell you a lot about the kind of animal they are. You’ll know by looking at certain features of the skull whether it was a predator or a prey, whether it walked upright or crawled on four legs, and whether it was a carnivore, herbivore, or omnivore. 

So, next time you come across an animal skull while hiking or camping in the woods, do a little investigating and you could learn a whole lot more about what animal it once belonged to!

fish cleaning table full of crappie

How to filet crappie like a pro [TWO surefire ways!]

Crappie are fun to catch and an incredible-tasting freshwater fish. Many fisherman try to filet crappie, only to be frustrated (especially on the smaller ones), as they typically do not have as large of a filet as a largemouth bass or striped bass, for example.

In this article (and video), I’m going to show you step-by-step how to filet a crappie. I’m going to show you two different ways on the same fish.

black crappie being held

Below are two different ways to clean crappie like a pro!

How To Clean Crappie Step-By-Step

Time needed: 3 minutes

How to Filet crappie (2 ways)

  1. Cut down backbone with filet knife

    Make an incision at the head, turn the knife and follow the bones of the spine with the tip of the knife. Cut all the way down past the tail.

    how to clean crappie step 1

  2. Cut the underside of the crappie.

    Make another incision, this time from the bottom of the fish between tail and anal fin. Run the tip of your filet knife all the way to the pelvic fin.

    cleaning crappie step 2

  3. Filet meat away from the spine.

    Working again from the top of the fish, pull the meat away from the spine, as you use the knife to get meat away from the rib bones.

    crappie method 1 step 3

  4. Once you have exposed the ribs, you can insert your filet knife at the back of the ribcage and cut through it, cutting toward the head. Once you finish cutting at the head, cut the filet off right at the gil.

    crappie method 1 step 4

  5. Remove skin from back of filet.

    Cut down into meat at the tail, holding the end of the tail against the cutting board. Begin cutting between meat and skin, cutting away from you. As you cut, you can move the tail back and forth, which will move the knife further down the filet, until it exits at the other end of the filet.

    crappie method 1 step 5

  6. Cut out the ribcage.

    Once you have removed the skin, cut out the ribcage from the filet. Done!

    crappie method 1 step 6

  7. Do other side of fish (second method)

    Now that you’ve fileted one side of the fish, let’s do the other side, but in a slightly different manner. This time, instead of cutting through the ribcage, cut the filet off the fish right at the top of it.

    crappie method 2 step 1

  8. Remove skin and compare two filets.

    Once you have cut the filet off the fish near the top of the ribcage, it will look like you left a lot of meat on the fish. However, once you remove the skin as you did before and lay them side by side, you will see they are nearly identical. The only difference is that you didn’t have to cut through the ribcage (dulling your knife) and then remove it.

    crappie method 2 step 2




Your fishing rod wants a makeover…

Pelican - Basscreek 100XP Fishing Kayak - Sit-On-Top Kayak - Lightweight one Person Kayak - 10 ft,Olive Camo
$569.54
Buy Now
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
03/06/2024 08:40 am GMT


And there you have TWO different ways to filet crappie, both producing identical filets.

These methods works for grouper, striped bass, and many other types of fish. Of course, it helps to have a bigger knife if you get a bigger fish.




Crappie cleaning instructional video

If you’d like to see and instructional video on how to clean crappie, click below!

Learn two easy ways to filet a crappie!


Magma Products, T10-313B Combination Bait/Filet Mate Table with Levelock Rod Holder Mount, 31 inch x 12-1/2 inch
$181.41
Buy Now
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
03/07/2024 01:50 am GMT



day six evo and evo x broadheads

“And on the sixth day…” | The Day Six Evo and Evo X Broadheads Review

In this broadhead review, I tested the Day Six Evo and the Evo X.

So, let’s jump right in, zoom in and check out the Evo and the Evo X…

day six evo

Here’s a good look at the 125-grain Evo. The cutting diameter of the main blade is 1-1/16 inches and the bleeder in this model is a half an inch. (You can also get these bleeders to be 3/4 of an inch, and that would add an extra 5 grains to the overall weight.)

The blades are not vented, which makes them a lot quieter in flight, and also a bit more durable. Also, notice the gentle convex curve. That’s to aid in penetration as well as to increase the durability just a bit.

day six evo bleeders

The thickness of the main blades is 0.060 inches thick. Interestingly enough, the bleeders are just as thick as the main blades.

Now, as for the materials, the blades are a CPM S30V steel, which is a really fine steel that’s used in a lot of fine cutlery and knife applications.

One advantage of it is its Rockwell hardness. It’s brought to a Rockwell hardness of 59-60, which means it’s going to have a really nice edge to it.

It also has a greater impact resistance than most stainless steels, like the typical 420 or 440. It’s much more resistant to impact than those.

day six evo back of blades sharp

Notice that the blades of the Evo are sharpened on the back of the bleeders as well as for the main blade. And those are at a straight angle. The ones that are curved are only the main blade. This can sometimes present a challenge in re-sharpening, but you can use the Stay Sharp Guide C Model which is designed for concave or convex heads. You can use that with any kind of a curved broadhead and it makes it just as easy as the straight edges to re-sharpen.



Now, it’s not as resistant to impact as a tool steel like an A2 or an S7 for example. Those are much more resistant to impact.

Another advantage is its corrosion-resistance. It’s not going to rust. Some of those other high-carbon steels and tool steels can have a tendency to rust, which can take away some of the sharpness of the blades.



Another advantage of the CPM S30V is that it’s made right here in the USA, as is all the construction of this broadhead, so that’s kind of nice.

I was really eager to put the Day Six Evo head to the test, but I not only tested this head, I also tested its big brother, the Evo X!

day six evo x broadhead

This is the 150-grain model of the Evo X. So, everything is the same with this one in terms of the steel and the thickness. However, the cutting diameter is 1-1/4 inches as opposed to 1-1/16 inches. And the bleeder is still the half inch bleeder.

So I was eager to put both of these heads to the test and see how the Evo and the Evo X performed.

Let’s see how they did!





#ad


Day Six Evo and Evo X Broadhead Testing

For these tests, I used my Bowtech SR6 and I’m using a Bishop FOC King Arrows for most of the shots but then I use the Bishop FAD Eliminator for the really hard impact shots.

Flight Test

evo flight test

For the flight test, I shot two broadheads and a field point at 40 yards to see how well they group. Here’s a look at the Evo.



evo x flight test

Here is how the Evo X fared in the flight test.



#ad


Initial Sharpness Test

evo out of the box sharpness

The initial sharpness out of the box for these heads was 150.



Penetration Test 1: (Ballistic Gel)

I shot the Evo and Evo X into ballistic gel fronted by 1/2-inch MDF and foam matting.

evo and evo x ballistic gel penetration

The Evo penetrated 8-1/4 inches and the Evo X penetrated 7-1/4 inches.




Edge Retention Test:

evo sharpness after penetration test

After the first penetration test, I tested the sharpness of the heads again. 200 was the result.



Penetration Test 2: (Layered Cardboard)

evo layered cardboard

The Evo penetrated through 66 layers of cardboard…



evo x layered cardboard

…and the Evo X penetrated through 57 layers.



#ad

Bushnell Engage Hunting Laser Rangefinder_LE1300SBL, Multi, One Size
$152.86
Buy Now
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
03/06/2024 08:05 am GMT

Durability Test: (22 Gauge Steel Plate)

evo and evo x holes in steel plate

Here’s a good look at the wound channel of each of these heads. The Evo on the bottom right and the Evo X in the upper left and the slightly larger holes that it made.



evo after steel plate test edge chatter

Here’s the Evo after 5 shots to the steel plate and as you can see, it did very well. The bleeders are perfectly intact, the main blades perfectly intact, and it spins very well. The only damage is that there’s a little bit of edge chatter on each of the main blades. There’s really no edge chatter on the bleeders at all.



evo x after steel plate test edge chatter

Here’s the Evo X after 5 shots to the steel plate and it did very well also and it spins perfectly true. The bleeders and main blades are all intact. Again, just like the Evo, there’s just a little bit of edge chatter that you can see along the main blades; a little bit more on this as opposed to the Evo. This is probably because of the width as well as it being 150 grains, as you get that slightly more momentum on impact. But, it still held up very well.



Concrete Test:

evo and evo x cinder block test

I shot the Evo (right) and the Evo X (left) into a cinder block to see how well they would penetrate…



evo after cinder block test

Here’s the Evo after impacting and sticking deeply in the concrete. It took a while to get it out. That was one of the deepest-penetrating heads I’ve had in the concrete. And, you can see, the blades held together very well. The bleeders are perfectly intact. There’s just this little bit of a chunk that was taken out of the end of the Evo, but other than that, it did very well and still spins true.



evo x after cinder block test

Here’s the Evo X after impacting the concrete and it did very well. The blades held together perfectly. There’s really very little edge chatter. However, there is a bit of a bend that you can see there in the blades. Now, it still spins fairly well, but there’s that bend in the blades. Pretty impressive durability overall.



Final Thoughts on Day Six Evo and Evo X Broadheads

So, are you looking to weigh the factors and make a decision on a broadhead?

Well, what do you think of the Evo and the Evo X?

I don’t know if you know it or not, but Day Six comes from Genesis 1:31 in the Bible.

As a pastor, I know that Day Six of creation is when God looked back after the 6th day and saw that everything He created was good.

So, that’s how they came up with a name indicating that what they are creating is good.



I don’t know if I would have necessarily said that a few years ago about the first iteration of the Evo and the Evo X, but the improvement that they’ve made for the last couple of years in their broadheads has really made a difference.



Now, I would say, yes, it was made and it was made very good!

That 0.060 inch of thickness made a significant difference in the durability. So, if you are looking for a really stout, deeply-penetrating, tough broadhead with a lot of different variations in cut size as well as weight, you need to check out the Day Six Evo and the Evo X.

Great job, Day Six!