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Name That Critter

oldrover

Justified & Ancient
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Oct 18, 2009
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Here is an apparently rarely seen photo which was supposedly taken in an Indonesian Zoo in the nineteen seventies. I recognised it straight away, as I know at least one other poster here will.

http://s1170.photobucket.com/albums/r53 ... 4f968b.jpg

A few clues; it comes from a big island in the southern hemisphere, it's often mentioned as representing an example of convergent evolution, is sadly heavily persecuted, and lastly although you can't see it has a very ferocious anus.
 
Your favourite (possibly-extinct) animal! :)
 
Google image search gives us the un-photoshopped Fossa.

1266344702_13.jpg


http://yahooeu.ru/uploads/posts/2010-02/1266344702_13.jpg
 
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My money's on the siberian weasel.
 
I agree, it's a mustelid of some sort. But a dinosaur Mesozoic one.
 
It's a scrat.
pegatinas-coches-motos-ardilla-scrat.png
 
I know it's from a cartoon, but what the hell is that supposed to be?
 
I agree it's definitely a modern mustelid and not anything Mesozoic. IMHO siberian weasel and / or fitch (polecat) are the best suspects.

The initially cited article suggested it could be a wolverine or wolverine ancestor. The skull is consistent with a wolverine, but my best estimation of the specimen's actual size indicates it would have to be a young one.
I didn't think there was a very close match to a wolverine skull. Anyway, I suppose we'll find out eventually. I suppose we should keep our fingers crossed that it turns out to be an extinct species otherwise unknown science. But I doubt it'll be even that exciting.
 
I really love these guess the critter type posts. I did say sable, but not here. So it doesn't count.

There used to be an active 'name the species' thread over on 'ZooChat'. Christ almighty, that was something else. I don't think I ever dared even hazard a guess. Not because it's an unfriendly forum, it's lovely, but my god, that lot know their stuff.
 
I really love these guess the critter type posts. I did say sable, but not here. So it doesn't count.

You're a stand up guy, I believe you.

There used to be an active 'name the species' thread over on 'ZooChat'. Christ almighty, that was something else. I don't think I ever dared even hazard a guess. Not because it's an unfriendly forum, it's lovely, but my god, that lot know their stuff.

I love animals, and get quite interested in their taxonomy, but not enough to learn it all to a competitive degree. It's just not useful enough in everyday life. But everyone needs a hobby. In this case, the first difficulty was knowing what kinds of mustelids inhabited the region. Reading various news reports, the frequency with which experts were described as 'baffled' was surprising. They'd say, 'experts are baffled by...' and I'd think, No they're not! If I know it's a mustelid at a glance, an expert can probably identify its genus at a glance.
 
You're a stand up guy, I believe you.

Thank you Pete.

I love animals, and get quite interested in their taxonomy, but not enough to learn it all to a competitive degree. It's just not useful enough in everyday life. But everyone needs a hobby. In this case, the first difficulty was knowing what kinds of mustelids inhabited the region. Reading various news reports, the frequency with which experts were described as 'baffled' was surprising. They'd say, 'experts are baffled by...' and I'd think, No they're not! If I know it's a mustelid at a glance, an expert can probably identify its genus at a glance.

Yes, while I envy those with that level of knowledge, I'm not that keen to match it. And, it's surprising isn't it how often the press are willing to rehash the 'experts baffled' theme, when it's obvious to anyone with an interest, that it's either that, or its cousin.

These days, I tend to read a lot of source material, or at least a credible synopsis of it.
 
I'm not sure where this belongs but it's one of those click bait videos .. weird animals, most of them probably perfectly explainable no doubt but here we go anyway ..

 
What are these?

found in a house in Lethabong, Rustenburg, in South Africa.

Locals believe the creatures are cursed, according to reports, after their origin couldn’t be explained.

The family said they first realised there was something strange going on when they heard unnerving noises coming from behind their pantry and went to investigate.

They found the animals stuck behind the grocery cupboard and rather than help them, the family called the local pastor who arrived with his grinding machine [WTF?] to get the animals out and kill them.

Attending officers who were too late to most of the animals believe they are an "unusual cat breed" not seen before and wanted to take blood samples to ascertain exactly what they are and where they came from.

Are they just unusual cats? Nothing to give the size but they look quite small if those are floor tiles.

PAY-CEN_RatFrenzy_01.jpg
 
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What are these?



Are they just unusual cats? Nothing to give the size but they look quite small if those are floor tiles.

PAY-CEN_RatFrenzy_01.jpg
There's a lot of fluff on your average cat - if you've ever seen one wet-through that you are familiar with dry, you'll be surprised how little of it is actually skin-and-bone as opposed to fur. And that's just the short-hairs. It could, heartbreakingly, just be a litter of drowned kittens, although I have to say the size of the ears gives me pause. Speaking of paws, though, those are long legs for a rat, but look right for a cat.
 
It appears all 3 carcasses are covered in black-ish oil(?). Because of this, I'm assuming (a) their true fur color can't be determined from the photo; and (b) their fur is quite matted down from its normal (dry) fluffiness.

The body proportions, ear structure, and facial structure of the nearest carcass make me think of a small fox - specifically the cape fox native to South Africa. I can't tell enough about the other 2 carcasses to decide whether one or both of them contradict the fox theory.

There are multiple smaller wild cats with large ears in South Africa, but only a few of them have the rounded ear structure evident on the nearest carcass.

There's always the possibility the carcasses are of an imported (e.g., domestic) cat species with notably large ears.
 
Fennec? Resident in N. Africa so maybe strange to see in the South. But then how did they get there? Different colour but as you say, they may be coated in something.

upload_2017-1-13_17-38-31.jpeg
 
Fennec? Resident in N. Africa so maybe strange to see in the South. ...

I'm not sure about them being fennecs specifically, but yes - something along that line.

In addition to the cape fox there's a similar bat-eared fox native to South Africa.
 
My first thought was Fennec fox, because of the ears and the size. However, as a poster above has pointed out, it would be in the wrong part of Africa.
 
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