I’ll keep it simple today and leave you free to ask questions about this week’s mystery object. Quite simply, can you work out what this is:
Comments and questions below – I will provide answers as I am able.
Good luck!
Zygoma
Adventures in natural history collections
Zygoma 
Is it made of bone?
Yes indeedy!
It’s a bone!
A pelvis of some sort?
It is a bone, but not a pelvis (heh, I KNEW someone would say pelvis…)
Is it something like a crab but not a crab ?
Not a crustacean – it’s one you should be interested in since it’s bone!
I think it’s the sternum of a pretty small animal and what we can see on the right are the clavicles and spatulae.
Probably not a bat, but it’s something odd because I’d expect the clavicle/spatula to stick out at 90degrees to the sternum.
Heh! I knew there would be a suggestion of a pelvis (see Gimpy) and a sternum, but it is neither of these. I just took the photo from an angle to make it look like those features – is that being mean?
Yes, that is being mean 😉
I think this leaves us with vertebrae towards the neck, because I still think the sticky out puts are clavicles
I’m wondering about tortoise or turtle, but they seem small for that.
Sorry to say it, but the sticky out bits are not clavicles (although I see where you’re coming from).
Is it part of a fish skull?
I am simultaneously sorry and pleased to say that no, it is not part of a fish skull.
However, you have come closest so far!
Is it a snake skull – mounted open, seen from above?
Since I don’t post the answer until Monday I’ll have to keep quiet on this (doh!). If it was a snake, what kind of snake would it be?
As I’m working on the principle that ‘it looks like our viper skull’ I’m going to go with that, although I can’t see any teeth so I’m probably wrong on that front.
Some type of colubrid – Indigo snake something akin.
Rattlesnake?
Is that based on the fact that I had a rattlesnake tail a few weeks back?
Oh, no. I missed that. I just thought it looked a bit like this: http://courses.washington.edu/chordate/453photos/skull_photos/rattlesnake_dorsal_skull.jpg
Yes Paolo it is being mean to take the photo to look like something else!
obviously a frog