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Rattus rattus
Small skull found partially eaten with long orange brown teeth
Recreational park in Norfolk, Virginia
Oh my. Definitely a rodent; from the size, probably a mouse. And from the looks of those long brown incisors, a starving mouse. Rodent incisors (those long orange teeth) continually grow throughout the animal's life. They must be able to gnaw on hard things- like a deer antler or a bone, to wear them down. The orange front is harder than the white back, creating uneven wear, leading to a very sharp edge, which is needed to crack hard nuts and things like that.
Looks like this poor creature was unable to gnaw for quite a while, as both of those incisors have grown so long that they have curled back into the mouth. It would have been unable to eat, so I believe this unfortunate rodent starved to death, or was so weakened that it was eaten.
Spotted on Jun 6, 2015
Submitted on Jun 8, 2015
