Turkey Skull Replica

$45.00

The Turkey originated from the native North American species. The turkey is a popular game bird which has lead to an increase in their wild populations. Today, domestic turkeys are farmed worldwide for human consumption. Happy Thanksgiving!

Description

Turkey Skull Replica measures 4.3 inches. Turkey Skull Replica is museum quality polyurethane resins made in USA. 2-part skull (separate cranium and jaw). Our precise skull can be used as a teaching tool, museum skull exhibit, home décor skull, or office décor skull.

The Turkey or Meleagris gallopavo is a large bird in the genus Meleagris, which is native to the Americas. The genus has two extant species: the wild turkey of North America and the ocellated turkey.

Males of both species have a distinctive fleshy wattle or protuberance that hangs from the top of the beak (called a snood).

They are among the largest birds in their ranges. As with many galliformes, the male is larger and much more colorful than the female.

The earliest Turkeys or Meleagris gallopavo evolved in North America over 20 million years ago, and they share a recent common ancestor with grouse, pheasants, and other fowl.

In anatomical terms, the snood is an erectile, fleshy protuberance on the forehead of turkeys. Most of the time when the turkey or Meleagris gallopavo is in a relaxed state, the snood is pale and 2-3 cm long.

However, when the male begins strutting (courtship display), the snood engorges with blood, becomes redder and elongates several centimeters, hanging well below the beak. Snoods are just one of the caruncles (small, fleshy excrescences) that can be found on turkeys.

Turkeys or Meleagris gallopavo are classed in the family Phasianidae (pheasants, partridges, francolins, junglefowl and grouse in the taxonomic order Galliformes.

The genus Meleagris is the only extant genus in the subfamily Meleagridinae, formerly known as the family Meleagrididae, but now subsumed within the family Phasianidae.

A number of Meleagris gallopavo have been described from fossils. The Meleagridinae are known from the Early Miocene (c. 23 mya) onwards, with the extinct genera Rhegminornis (Early Miocene of Bell, U.S.) and Proagriocharis (Kimball Late Miocene/Early Pliocene of Lime Creek, U.S.).

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Additional information

Weight 4 lbs
Dimensions 4.3 in
Turkey Facts

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Galliformes
Family: Phasianidae
Subfamily: Meleagridinae
Genus: Meleagris