# Unknown animal skeleton found in Turkey **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 21, 2021, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unknown-animal-skeleton-found-in-turkey/954741 "2021-11-21T23:30:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2021, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unknown-animal-skeleton-found-in-turkey/954741/1 "2021-11-21T23:30:42Z")
> **[Turkish workers discover animal skeletons belonging to unknown species](https://archaeology-world.com/turkish-workers-discover-animal-skeletons-belonging-to-unknown-species/)** > > Digging in the yard of an old spinning factory in the eastern province of Iğdır last week, some workers discovered an animal skeleton of an unknown species. Long hind legs, claws instead of hooves, and sharp teeth. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2021, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unknown-animal-skeleton-found-in-turkey/954741/2 "2021-11-21T23:40:55Z")
I wonder if part of the front legs is missing. ETA: Aren’t claws more likely than hooves to go along with those teeth? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2021, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unknown-animal-skeleton-found-in-turkey/954741/3 "2021-11-21T23:41:42Z")
That’s what it looks like to me, but I didn’t zoom in. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2021, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unknown-animal-skeleton-found-in-turkey/954741/4 "2021-11-21T23:54:37Z")
Any possibility it’s a hoax, made from pieces assembled from different species? Is there anything (marrow, perhaps) from which DNA can be extracted? And has it been dated? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2021, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unknown-animal-skeleton-found-in-turkey/954741/5 "2021-11-21T23:55:47Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Is there anything (marrow, perhaps) from which DNA can be extracted? > After the workers noticed that some of the tissue attached to the skeleton had yet not deteriorated, they reported their discovery to the academics at Iğdır University’s Biodiversity Application and Research Center. ---
**Author:** ![FrenchDunadan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frenchdunadan/32/5449_2.png) [@FrenchDunadan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FrenchDunadan)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2021, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unknown-animal-skeleton-found-in-turkey/954741/6 "2021-11-21T23:58:15Z")
The front legs and the left rib cage are missing. Cat or dog are far more probable than mysterious cryptid. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2021, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unknown-animal-skeleton-found-in-turkey/954741/7 "2021-11-22T00:37:40Z")
It was found in Turkey, and it’s almost Thanksgiving? It was probably a duck or a chicken, I’d say. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2021, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unknown-animal-skeleton-found-in-turkey/954741/8 "2021-11-22T00:49:33Z")
> [@FrenchDunadan](#): > > Cat or dog are far more probable than mysterious cryptid. I was thinking it looked like some sort of canid. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2021, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unknown-animal-skeleton-found-in-turkey/954741/9 "2021-11-22T02:14:02Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > It was probably a duck or a chicken, I’d say. Turduckasaurus ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2021, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unknown-animal-skeleton-found-in-turkey/954741/10 "2021-11-22T02:23:58Z")
Chupacabra puppy. ---
**Author:** ![blue\_infinity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_infinity/32/2817_2.png) [@blue\_infinity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blue_infinity)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2021, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unknown-animal-skeleton-found-in-turkey/954741/11 "2021-11-22T02:41:53Z")
Looks a like a bit like a wallaby to me. [Link](https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/21217/lot/2025/?category=list) [https://images2.bonhams.com/image?src=Images/live/2011-04/04/8288344-9-1.jpg&top=0.0601&left=0.0633&bottom=0.9508&right=0.9433&width=640&height=480&autosizefit=1](https://images2.bonhams.com/image?src=Images/live/2011-04/04/8288344-9-1.jpg&top=0.0601&left=0.0633&bottom=0.9508&right=0.9433&width=640&height=480&autosizefit=1) ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2021, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unknown-animal-skeleton-found-in-turkey/954741/12 "2021-11-22T17:29:03Z")
The skull looks dog-like to me. And nothing in the article really suggests this is newsworthy beyond the finders being weird about having found a dog skeleton. I mean “It has claws instead of hoofs!” Why were you expecting hoofs when the skull is that of a predator? > **[Real Domestic Dog SkullB Quality / Small](https://www.skullsunlimited.com/products/real-domestic-dog-skull-large-sm-130?variant=32147303301192)** > > Domestic Canine Dog Skull - The domestic dog is believed to be a direct descendent from modern wolves. Dogs have been breed as pets for thousands of years... ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unknown-animal-skeleton-found-in-turkey/954741/13 "2021-11-24T15:43:38Z")
Dog-like, maybe, but those rear legs look awfully long, compared to the body length. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unknown-animal-skeleton-found-in-turkey/954741/14 "2021-11-24T15:53:47Z")
Isn’t it true that sometimes, when researchers find unusual bones/skulls, upon DNA analysis it ends up being a diseased or mutated individual of a known species?