The amazing skull plates

[Tap]

Every time I do a European I just can't take my eyes off it with facination. There's so many interesting aspects of a deer's skull.
The one thing that always jumps out at me is how the skull plates are put together.
Notice how the the areas of the skull that go through tremendous torque and force are joined together. They have a very intricate joint which actually makes for a long and strong bond of the plates where it's need most. It's like a dove tail joint on steroids. Down below, on the lower face, there is far less strength needed so the joints on those plates only need to be a straight union.
It amazes me that a couple stud bucks can try to kill each other with their antlers by tremendous force. You would think the leverage would split their skull plates to pieces. The dovetail joint prevents that from happening.
These animals facinate the crap out of me.

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[alldaysit]

That is cool!


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[Tap]

That is cool!


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I think so. I'm surprised nobody else has chimed in.

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[Bill]

I could never figure out the holes in the top of the skull.

 

[John-W-WI]

Amazing detail. I'm with Bill, always wondered about the holes in the skull.

-John

 

[readonly]

I could never figure out the holes in the top of the skull.

I think those ports for glands...

 

[Tap]

I think those ports for glands...

That's what I believe they're for, too.

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[Natty Bumppo]

That's a great picture. Never really thought about the fusing of the plates before and how all that interlocking surface area provides strength. Reminds me of cabbage.

 

[Catscratch]

Amazing detail. I'm with Bill, always wondered about the holes in the skull.

-John

I think the holes are for nerves and vessels (arteries/veins). The glands are probably directly under the skin.

 

[Tap]

I think the holes are for nerves and vessels (arteries/veins). The glands are probably directly under the skin.

But aren't gland secretions controlled by the pituitary and isn't that located in the brain? I'm asking...not sure of the answer, myself.

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[Catscratch]

But aren't gland secretions controlled by the pituitary and isn't that located in the brain? I'm asking...not sure of the answer, myself.

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I don't know deer specifically, but in general the pituitary secretes hormones into the blood (the hormones that regulate other glands).

 

[j-bird]

what always floors me is the amount of tissue a deer has dedicated to it's sense of smell. It really goes to show just how important beating that nose really is. It also amazes me how many bones are in the head of a deer and how light and fragile they really are.

 

[Tap]

what always floors me is the amount of tissue a deer has dedicated to it's sense of smell. It really goes to show just how important beating that nose really is. It also amazes me how many bones are in the head of a deer and how light and fragile they really are.

Some of those bones are light and fragile, like the ones of the snout. But those bones that support the antlers, which experience a tremendous amount of torque during a real fight, are extremely strong. Also strong is the bone structure that protects the brain, and also where the spine attaches, and the areas above the eyes...all areas that evolution have developed.

I once had a big argument with a guy at work because he claimed head shots with an arrow were ethical. Examine a skull and tell me how anyone, other than a total, A-hole creep, would attempt a head shot.

Have any of you guys ever removed the hide from the skull of a deer with a brain abscess? One deer that I shot had puss oozing out of the skull joint between the antlers. I never saw that before...but what really surprised me was that a neighbor shot a buck next door, just a few days later and it also had a brain abscess. Apparently, bacteria can enter the brain cavity though the plate joints during the trauma of fighting.

Interesting stuff.

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