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Some call it the Hissin Critter. Look at the teeth.
I did a bit of looking and may have found the webpage the photos came from. The view of the skull position in the photo you posted looks like the skull had been detached from the skeleton and was positioned for a head-on view. I'm not sure, but there's a stick at the left side of the skull, which might have been used to position and prop up the skull.
The webpage seems to claim that the skeleton was discovered by the author and friends. There are three photos of the skeleton on the webpage, one being just the skull. The author seems to indicate there are spikes on the backbone. In my opinion, I'd be more likely to think those are the ribs on the other side of the animal's skeleton. The author thinks the skeleton might be a "Hissin critter" based on descriptions of the "critter". However, the author also states "This skeleton may be nothing more than a dog of some breed..." The side view of the skull does indeed resemble that of a dog. Note the teeth in the side view of the skull.
Hard to say without knowing the size of it. It would have been good if that website had said what the body length of it was just to make an estimate of the size. To me the skull and skeleton and vertebral spines and the length of the hind feet looks like it could be either a wolverine or badger, my first guess would be wolverine. There is no tail shown with that skeleton but I guess it could have been dragged off by scavengers.
You could be right. Still, how many hyenas are out running around wild in the US?
Well, there was species of American Hyena that roamed the Great Plains that is now extinct I believe, and there have been sightings of what people believed to be hyenas in Texas and Oklahoma (which is more than likely coyote).
Or it could be simply a picture of a dog where someone attached the skull of a larger carnivore.
Well, there was species of American Hyena that roamed the Great Plains that is now extinct I believe, and there have been sightings of what people believed to be hyenas in Texas and Oklahoma (which is more than likely coyote).
Or it could be simply a picture of a dog where someone attached the skull of a larger carnivore.
Right. American hyenas existed in the Americas some 3 to 1.5 million years ago. They probably crossed over from Asia via the land bridge and gradually worked their way as far south as Mexico. I think they can probably be ruled out. The webpage I posted seems to be orphaned (no links to other pages or a homepage) and the author is unknown. It's a bit sketchy. From a brief search, the only photo I could find that the OP posted seems to be from that webpage.
I'd also be inclined to think the skeleton is probably from a dog. I don't think it's a coyote because the fangs of a coyote are longer than those seen in the photo. It's hard to imagine someone going to the trouble of using the skull of some other predatory carnivore and pose it with a dog skeleton. That'd take more effort than it's worth. Even the author didn't rule out the likelihood that it might be a dog skeleton. Looking at the side view of the skull, the teeth look like that of a dog. It also looks like there might be some tissue attached to the skull. Ew! North America Used to Have its Very Own Hyena | Science | Smithsonian
In any case, linking it to the legend of the Hissin' Critter is more sensational than saying it's just a dog skeleton. The origin of the Hissin' Critter legend is probably similar to the origins of Mothman, Chupacabra, etc. Something that makes for a good horror tale around the campfire out in the wilds, or parents telling their kids to get home before dark or the Hissin' Critter will get ya.
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