More Skulls!

[dagmarjung]

As requested, and since there seem to be more perverted bone maniacs like me on my F-list, here are some more skulls from my collection. Note that the photos are not in scale to each other. On pig and fox, the jaws are fixed to the shulls with a rubber band.

Comments

[wulfila]

Thanks for posting these pictures. :)

Interesting detail: Because of the angle of the fangs, the jaw can only be moved in a slightly forward motion, not in a vertical motion.

That is interesting indeed! I did not know this, but it makes sense as you explain it. Is a minipig skull just like a normal domestic pig skull, only smaller, or are there other differences than the size?

[dagmarjung]

I suppose there are some more differences beside the size, since a living minipig doesn't look like the exact replica of a standard sized pig. But on the whole, they are of the same origin, only minipigs are selected by other breeding criteria than normal pigs.

All modern pig breeds are strongly influenced by Asian pigs since the 19th century. The last breed without Asian blood in Germany was the Deutsches Weideschwein, extinct since 1975. It had a long, non dished skull like a wild boar. The shortened, dished skull shows Asian influence. If you know Imker Dralle's pig as drawn by Wilhelm Busch, that's a good example of a pig before that change of breed was made.
The ancestry of the Göttinger minipig is as follows: Minnesota minipig + Vietnamese pot-bellied pig + Deutsche Landrasse. I think due to the Vietnamese pot bellied pig, the Asian blood is stronger than in normal pigs, because the minis tend to fatten like the pot bellied pigs, while the modern breeds are slim.

[wulfila]

Wow, thank you! :) You are quite the pig expert. Do you have anything to do with pigs (or other animals) professionally, or is this wealth of knowledge the result of private interest?

Even though I knew that pigs had longer, more wild-boar-like skulls in former times, mostly because of medieval pictures (the most famous one probably being the November one of the Très Riches Heures where they drive the pigs into the forest so they can eat acorns), I was not aware that the shorter skulls of today are due to the influence of Asian pigs, but only had a vague idea of "well...probably more breeding done since then". ;)

[dagmarjung]

No, I have nothing to do with pigs in my daily life, it's only what I read in books. I am generally interested in all kinds of animals and in history, and the history of domestic breeds combines both.

[dagmarjung]

Ah, tusk! That is the word I missed. *kicks dictionary*

That was the second reason I *had* to buy the minipig skull - most pigs are slaughtered young, so getting an adult skull was a piece of luck. Although on a closer look I get the impression the teeth change from young to adult was not even fully finished on this four year old pig.

I couldn't compare the pig skull with another skull of equal size, but it feels indeed strong and heavy. In the seller's collection there was also a badger which struck me as massively strongboned for its size. Compared to it the fox skull seemed alsmost frail.

I find the comparison between Beagle and fox also remakable. The Beagle is a small dog, but very strong boned.

[tehta]

Wow, coolness! Somehow I missed your previous post, and ever since I moved Away From Home images don't show up on my flist, blah.

I have to say though that I find skulls sad to look at, esp. after several glasses of wine. Although I would quite like to be a skeleton after I die, myself, so it makes no sense.

But please do write more about minipigs. Is what I mean.

[dagmarjung]

But you are a skeleton even before you die, only covered with flesh, as we all are.
Is that a comforting thought?

>But please do write more about minipigs.<

Did so. See more blathering about minipigs in my reply to Wulfila's comment.

[tehta]

I saw! Yay minipigs! (That would make a good icon, no?)

I wish my skeleton could be made more visible before I die. Sigh.

[solarfallsrealm]

Never knew you were a fellow skull-collector!

These are awesome.

I should make some pics of my collection - I have a pig, a cow, a goat, a squirrel, several rabbits and birds. I'n very proud of my collection but there sure are people who think I'm a freak to collect those things... heheh.

[dagmarjung]

So *you* are the fellow pervert ehm... scientifically interested person on Scowling Hermit's f-list!
I should have guessed.

Hey, as an artist you can always excuse your perversion with anatomy studies, and as a biologist you are excused anyway!

Yes please, let us see some photos! I am especially interested to see the pig skull, for comparison with my minipig and the wild boar skull.

How did you get your collection? Did you extract some of them yourself?

[solarfallsrealm]

Heheh. Indeed!

It's mainly my love of biology that got me collecting these eh... things. I'll try and see if I can make some pics of them, when I find time (well, as these are the Dark Days Full of Boredom anyway

[dagmarjung]

You sound perfectly reasonable to me.
Stuffed animals don't usually use the original bones at all, but artificially sculpted models of the animals.