dog bones

Yeah I had really hoped it would be a coyote but all the evidence says dog

Saw your measurements tajminator, and I agree with you. It occurred to me that I could simply measure the computer screen, because the important part is the calculated proportion, and I calculated a similar proportion. The math doesn't lie! Great job!

alright well what makes you say that?

It's definitely a coyote

Yeah I really hate that so many people out here just abandon their dogs in the desert it's really depressing and it happens all the time

I saw the other spotting and saw the measurements!
Isn't it a sad way for a beloved pet to end it's life?Particularly if it was abandoned in the desert! A sad twist to the spotting!
R. I. P !

Oh yeah I posted the measurements on the other picture. I'm a little disappointed that it didn't turn out to be a coyote but I learned a lot in the process of finding out

Great to know my suggestion was actually proven correct with measurements!
Wasn't aware that you actually did do the measurements! thanks for this educational spotting! Very interesting indeed.Learned a lot here!

Yeah I am rather disappointed that it turned out to just be a dog but the process of finding out was actually kinda fun.
Thank you for the suggestion Emma I knew there was a good possibility you were right but since you didn't give a reason and your first guess was a raccoon I just wanted to do the measurements and everything to find out absolutly for sure :)

Also ,till the actual measurements are done we will never know. We could just leave it as " Canine Bones"

Emily ,the reason for my suggestion of dog was that the forehead is more pronounced than that of a coyote.
But I still consider you the the ultimate expert!

So it is a dog after all? Well, the more I looked at your pictures the more I second guess my first thoughts on coyote. Thanks for taking all the time to figure out the mystery bones! Shame it's a dog.

Thank you I'll get the measurements soon and let everyone know

Hey tajminator, here is the link to a sighting I added that will help you with the measurements and calculations. http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/124...

Thanks Geoffrey! I would love to know the formula myself! I've seen so many different canine skulls, I tend to just eye ball it! Do you have a link to the Journal article or know where I could find it?!

Sure...I'm not sure when I'll get back out there but it'll be fun when I do

Hey Taj, we are going to need the science stick to know for sure. You'll have to take two measurements and do some quick math to get a ratio. The value you calculate for the ratio will tell you with 95% accuracy whether it is a dog or coyote. This info is all from a paper published in the Journal of Mammalogy by W. Howard. If you are interested I can post a diagram of where you would need to measure and explain the calculation?

Are you sure?

Emily and the taj minator,this looks like a Dogs skull.

You're welcome...I'm very curious myself. I hope the other expert is able to clear it up

Thanks for taking the time to get more pictures! The additional pictures confused me more! lol! I'm 90% sure it's a coyote. However, that being said here are some reasons why it could still be a domestic dog.

- The fur looks brindle to me and is not as uniform as coyote fur.
- The bottom jaw is not shaped like a normal coyote.
- The forehead is more pronounced then I expected.

I'm gonna run this one by another skull expert because I'm really curious now! Like Geoffery said, the skull does appear to be bulky!

Well I posted some more pictures if it makes it easier to identify

I'd lean more toward coyote because of the fur associated with the first picture, but the skull does look pretty bulky from the photo. Cool find!

well I don't have one yet but I know where I found it so if the skulls still there I'll get a new picture later today

Hi Tajminator! Interesting find! I would agree with coyote! From the picture it looks like a huge skull so at first I though wolf! lol! But once I saw where you were located I'm pretty confident it's a coyote. It doesn't look like a domestic dog skull to me. Although if you had a side view picture you could add that would help me rule a domestic dog out for sure!