A Walk in the Woods

The specimens in this museum weren't found on a far away, extravagant expedition. Certainly some have been more difficult or unlikely to obtain. Still, many of us have the ability to find museum-worthy natural materials if we simply get outside. What treasures have staff found recently while on their walks in the woods? The following are just a few of those finds which will become Museum specimens.

Antlers found in Bayfield County would have belonged to one of two ungulates--white-tailed deer or elk. I have come across a few deer antlers during my time here but I imagine that neighboring animals have come across many more. Antlers primarily consist of calcium and provide a number of nutrients for other mammals such as squirrels, mice, coyotes and wolves. If one is lucky enough to find an antler outside, I suggest inspecting it for marks made by gnawing wildlife. The most recent find from our Collections Monitor, John, was a particularly weathered antler, covered by a history of rodents feeding on its convenient nutrition.

Animal remains left unattended outdoors are exposed to the will
of other living beings, including animals, fungi, or algae. 

John spends many hours in the woods with his Brittany companion, where both man and dog find an abundance of specimens to bring back to the Museum for closer inspection. Often these items are skeletal remains. 

The skulls of this species are most often confused with
those of badgers. Both have similar palates (roof of mouth),
dentition (arrangement of teeth), and infraorbital foramen
(small opening on the upper jawbone). 

Can you identify the above skull at first glance? No matter how much we know, or like to think we know, Collections staff always refer to our many resources to be certain in our conclusions. With canines and incisors missing, the pair of staff relied on other traits of the skull structure to validate with a skull identification guide that this specimen once belonged to a northern raccoon. 

Museum programs like "Tavis's Wild and Exotic
Mushrooms" help participants to explore local fungi with
the assistance of a knowledgeable instructor.

Lastly, the most recent personal find and perhaps most exciting in a long time, came during a mushroom foray program with instructor Tavis Lynch. Despite being surrounded by a bounty of familiar edible mushrooms--fields of black trumpets, patches of honey mushrooms, and an occasional speckling of yellowfoot chanterelles--it was Elaphocordyceps capitata that caught my eye. Emerging during these chilly autumn days, "drumstick truffleclub" is a parasitic fungus that grows off of a species of false truffle, Elaphomyces granulatus. After calling up to our instructor from the back of our group, Tavis then backtracked down the dirt road with me to a patch of ground between two small oaks, where he instructed me to prod into the surrounding soil and excavate the false truffle.  After the excitement of coming into close contact with a fascinating member of the fungal world, and then finding two more growths that very same afternoon, I will be certain to read more on these local parasites.

Pictured are five fruiting bodies of E. capitata and false truffle E. granulatus.
While this particular fungus parasitizes false truffles,other species of the hundreds 
of Cordyceps grow out of insects and arthropods!

As the air around me grows denser, I look forward to more chilly days in the surrounding woods. I don't mind that flowers have now withered away, or that I won't hear the buzz of mosquitoes again for months. In turn, autumn will then give way to winter sooner than we'll know. No matter what season falls upon us, though, I know that I will always have something new to discover each time I take a walk in the woods.