u/leonskull0423

The fossa is Madagascar’s largest predator, and yes—you really are looking at a skull that could easily be mistaken for a cat’s. ————————— Despite its feline appearance, the fossa isn’t a cat at all. It’s a member of the family Eupleridae, a unique group of carnivores found only on Madagascar, and is actually more closely related to mongooses. It’s one of the best examples of convergent evolution in mammals. ————————— Would you believe there are barely any good reference photos of fossa skulls online? So here’s our 1:1 fossa skull replica by Vovare Skulls, created to faithfully capture the anatomy of this remarkable predator. ————————— What other animals have skulls that surprise you?

Not All Raccon Dogs Are Tanukis

A common misconception is that all raccoon dogs are “tanukis.” In Japan, tanuki specifically refers to the Japanese tanuki/Japanese raccoon dog(Nyctereutes viverrinus), while mainland populations belong to the common raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides). Modern genetic and morphological studies support recognizing these as two separate species. ————————— ***This is a picture of a large farmed mainland raccoon dog skull from Finland compared with a normal Japanese raccoon dog skull. The Japanese tanuki evolved in isolation on the Japanese islands and is the smallest living member of the genus. Adults typically weigh 3–5 kg (occasionally up to ~6 kg) and have a head-body length of 50–60 cm. Compared with mainland raccoon dogs, they have a more compact skull with a shorter rostrum, a rounder braincase, narrower zygomatic arches, and weaker sagittal crests. They also have a distinct chromosome number (2n = 38 vs. about 54 in mainland raccoon dogs). ————————— In contrast, wild mainland raccoon dogs usually weigh 4–8 kg, while selectively bred fur-farm animals from Finland and other parts of Europe commonly reach 10–15 kg, with exceptional individuals exceeding that. Their skulls are much larger and more robust, with elongated rostra, broader zygomatic arches, and strongly developed sagittal crests due to both their larger body size and decades of selective breeding for the fur industry. ————————— It’s also worth mentioning that, although they’re all farm-bred fur animals and belong to the same species (Nyctereutes procyonoides), European raccoon dogs are significantly larger than those bred in China, and their skulls show obvious morphological differences as well. This even applies to the feral populations established by escaped fur-farm animals in Europe. —— By comparison, skulls from Chinese farmed raccoon dogs are only slightly larger than those of Japanese tanukis in overall size, although the cranial characteristics between the two are still quite distinct. I’ll put together a more detailed comparison when I have the time.

Life size,printed +painted.Last 3 pics are side by side comparisons with a real skull.The turbinates are not very perfect but the overall effect is fine.

Life size,3d printed + hand painted.

New replica we made!

Custom order.

The skull belongs to an Eastern Coyote. Eastern Coyotes are significantly larger than typical Western Coyotes, and their skull morphology is often intermediate between that of a wolf and a coyote. — This is because Eastern Coyotes are not purely coyotes. Genetic studies have shown that they originated through historical hybridization involving Western Coyotes, Eastern Wolves, and to a lesser extent domestic dogs. As a result, they inherited some wolf-like characteristics, including a larger body size, a more robust skull, and stronger jaws than those of typical coyotes. — All of the specimens in this batch came from Oneida and Madison Counties, New York, USA, collected in 2025. Despite originating from the same region, they show considerable individual variation in skull morphology.The skull lengths are between 20.5-22.7cm and 21.7cm in average. — The first three images are comparison photos with a North American Gray Wolf skull. For that comparison, I selected the individual from this batch that most closely resembled a wolf in overall skull morphology. — Maned wolf is a great guess though;)!We are working on the replicas so could have some comparison with it after I done the re degreasing.

Latest replica skulls I made — just fresh out of the printer, no painting or finishing work yet. I’m curious what people think a replica skull of this quality would realistically be worth. Also, do you think it’s worth spending a huge amount of extra time and money on details like internal nasal structures (turbinates), bone-like surface texture, and other anatomical refinements? Or are most collectors already satisfied with accurate overall proportions and shape? Would love to hear opinions from collectors, artists, and other replica makers.

Replica we made,not the best painting though.