Who is this beastie

[Badlad]

No scale bar but this head is approx three inches long. It may be a youngster. Found quite deep underground away from known entrances.

 

[Rob]

Badgers are the only UK mammal to have a captivated jaw, i.e. locked into the skull by bone. Judging by the photo the skull (and jaw) have moved at least a little way from the rest of the skeleton, suggesting that this jaw is probably connected, so a badger.

Otherwise, it looks a bit foxy.

 

[Katie]

Pretty sure it is a badger!
We have two badger skulls in the garden and this one looks very similar.

As Rob says - if you can pick it up and the lower jaw stays attached it is a badger. Fox, dog, cat etc don't have a bony connection to the lower jaw so the jaws don't stay attached once the soft tissue has decomposed.

I have used this before:

Mammal Skull Key

Key

www.skullsite.co.uk

On that occasion it was a stoat skull I had found underground

 

[mikem]

Does look like a badger (although apparently youngsters don't have the captive jaw): https://www.discoverwildlife.com/how-to/identify-wildlife/how-to-identify-mammal-skulls/

 

[Leclused]

I would say a younger badger. Younger because I don't see a larger ridge (is this the correct term to use in English) on top of the skull. Or it is not visible on the photo. The higher the ridge the older the badger. On that ridge the muscles are connected and because of the fact that a badger has very powerfull jaws this attachement need to be strong.

Attached a photo of badger skull where you can see the ridge.

I don't think it's a fox. For that the snout is not pointy enough.

 

[AR]

Young badger was what I thought too - I think "crest" is the correct anatomical term for the bony ridge on top of the skull that the jaw muscles attach to.

 

[pwhole]

This is what I believe to be a complete fox skeleton at the bottom of a mine, though not the bottom of the main shaft, but a series of climbing shafts - must have been a rotten end. But it seems to match the description of huge eye-sockets.

 

[Leclused]

This is what I believe to be a complete fox skeleton at the bottom of a mine, though not the bottom of the main shaft, but a series of climbing shafts - must have been a rotten end. But it seems to match the description of huge eye-sockets.

View attachment 13464

Beside the eye sockets also a more pointy snout and a non captivated jaw ==> so yes a fox

 

[Mr Dinwiddy]

We have a badger skull and a couple of fox skulls at home. We just compared photos and skulls. Badlad's is a young badger and pwhole has a fox for sure. We enjoyed those photos, Thanks.