This week I’ve been busy at a natural science collections conference in Cardiff, so I’ve not had much time to photograph a mystery object. Nonetheless, here’s one for you to identify that was used in a pub quiz at the conference:
Any idea what it is?
Zygoma 
I think I know the answer but I have no idea how to do it cryptically. Does this work ?
Ah, no it doesn’t, so I’ll just so it. It’s a x-section horizontally through a skull. The bit middle left is the palate, the sticky out bits are the zygomatic arch. Not sure what, though. Wolf ?
That’s good going! But those sticky out bits aren’t the zygomatic arch…
What a very peculiar specimen. It looks like the top of the cranium of a particularly ill-used cow, with the bases of both horncores, photographed from underneath. Unless it’s the nadgering-piece of a late eighteenth century Gloucestershire grummet-tinker’s scrode.
I can see where you’re coming from, and there is definitely an element of something seen from a different perspective here. It may have been used as a nadgering-piece historically, but I can neither confirm nor disconfirm that information.
“ACCIPITRIDAE!” ;).
🙂
This makes me appreciate your wonderful pictures even more! Is there a size associated with this? I need some time in the museum to even venture a guess (tho I had initial idea until I read everyone’s posts, but am now very insecure…)
It’s about so big…
(maybe 17cm long?)
Pumbaa!
😉
I was thinking Pumbaa too. Looks like giant alveoli.