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I'd honestly have guessed a regressor whitetail if it was antlers only.Since we get to see the skull, the deep anteorbital depression (pit immediately in front of the eye socket) and broad preorbital foramen (hole for the preorbital, a.k.a. lacrimal gland - gland in front of the eye) identify it as Odocoileus hemionus (mule/black-tailed deer), not Odocoileus virginianus (white-tailed deer). If the lower jaw was available, and it was a younger deer (so the teeth aren't worn to nubs), it would have enamel surfaces on the incisors more than 3x longer than the width. Whitetail incisor enamel lengths are less than 2x the width, and also the enamel flares more from the base to the tip on whitetails. I learned the difference when I was working on deer studies in areas with lots of both species (Black Hills and eastern Wyoming riparian). Also used to get asked by sportsmen and ranchers who wanted to know what species the 3-point skull they'd found was.
Quote from: DOUBLELUNG on February 27, 2011, 09:51:49 PMI'd honestly have guessed a regressor whitetail if it was antlers only.Since we get to see the skull, the deep anteorbital depression (pit immediately in front of the eye socket) and broad preorbital foramen (hole for the preorbital, a.k.a. lacrimal gland - gland in front of the eye) identify it as Odocoileus hemionus (mule/black-tailed deer), not Odocoileus virginianus (white-tailed deer). If the lower jaw was available, and it was a younger deer (so the teeth aren't worn to nubs), it would have enamel surfaces on the incisors more than 3x longer than the width. Whitetail incisor enamel lengths are less than 2x the width, and also the enamel flares more from the base to the tip on whitetails. I learned the difference when I was working on deer studies in areas with lots of both species (Black Hills and eastern Wyoming riparian). Also used to get asked by sportsmen and ranchers who wanted to know what species the 3-point skull they'd found was.NERD!