Hemisected skulls of a marten (Martes) and an opossum (Didelphis)

Marten skull on top, opossum on bottom. Internal (medial) view of the right half of each skull.

These have been in my collection for ages, I just hadn’t gotten around to posting pictures. I don’t remember where I got them, but they were definitely purchased rather than collected. It’s funny, I remember the origin story of almost every bone and skull I’ve collected myself, but stuff I’ve bought tends to slide out of recollection.

I assume the marten is the American marten, Martes americana, but I haven’t keyed it out. The opossum is definitely Didelphis virginiana.

I think the opossum skull was already hemisected when it came to me – at least, I can’t find the other half. The marten I did myself, with a Dremel. In part because I wanted to compare the size and shape of the braincases. As you can see from the photos, the marten had a big wrinkly brain that left impressions on the inside of the skull, and these are visible externally through the thin walls of the braincase.

Now, I am an opossum fan, but I will be the first to admit that the osteological evidence does not imply a lot of brainpower for North America’s only resident marsupial. Apparently its brain was small and smooth, untroubled by any thoughts more complicated than trash can access. Images of opossum brains online confirm that impression (or maybe lack of impression, since we’re talking about braincases here).

And yet, opossums are still around, thriving in the face of placentals with our wrinkly brains, high metabolisms, regular garbage collection, and whatnot. Long may they scurry.