Hi! I found a dead common coot a couple of days ago, the tissue on its head was almost completely gone (skull was visible), but I figured I'd try and salvage the skull. The cleaning process went well, but it fell apart in a few too many pieces for my liking. It's missing the left quadrate and lacrimal bones. I assume that E is the left pterygoid, but it has to be heavily deformed (but I've seen this before), so I'm not entirely sure.
My main concerns are about A, B, C and D. At first I thought that B-D were teeth (thinking it was attacked and killed by a small predator), but upon closer inspection I noticed that there were two of each, which is too much of a coincidence (additionally, there are no bite marks present on the skull itself). B and C also don't look like teeth I've seen before. As for A, I've seen it before in another bird skull, but I've been able to figure out what it is.
I have several dissection guides and I've sourced the internet, but information on coot skulls is limited. I was wondering if any of you have any idea what these bones are called and where they belong. Much appreciated!
My main concerns are about A, B, C and D. At first I thought that B-D were teeth (thinking it was attacked and killed by a small predator), but upon closer inspection I noticed that there were two of each, which is too much of a coincidence (additionally, there are no bite marks present on the skull itself). B and C also don't look like teeth I've seen before. As for A, I've seen it before in another bird skull, but I've been able to figure out what it is.
I have several dissection guides and I've sourced the internet, but information on coot skulls is limited. I was wondering if any of you have any idea what these bones are called and where they belong. Much appreciated!
