Museum and Sea Center open daily, 10:00 AM–5:00 PM

Vertebrates

Browse our Q&A about birds, eggs, nests, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals of the Central Coast and Channel Islands.

“I found this bone on the Arroyo Burro beach west of the stairs. Can you tell me what animal it is from? My son thinks that it may be a dolphin jaw bone.”
David, Santa Barbara - December 10, 2024

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“While my 10-year-old daughter was wading in the ocean near the shore of Catalina Harbor, she found this bone? tooth? We brought it onto our boat for examination and to snap some pictures. Can yo...”
Cassandra, California - July 9, 2024

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“Hello! Can you tell what type of feathers these are? The white one was rather large, maybe 20 centimeters long. I was guessing possibly a Great Egret. The black feather was pretty small,...”
Kevin, UCSB - May 14, 2024

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“Hello,I am hoping someone can identify this sea creature that washed up on shore. It seems to have wings, a tail, legs and the face that resembles a large fish.  It's about 4 feet lo...”
Emma, Montecito - March 29, 2024

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“Can you tell me what these strange flat bones are from? Recent finds on Devereaux Beach, among after-storm wash-ups. I will return them to the beach. I have another image showing it's thickness,...”
Katey, Santa Barbara - March 7, 2024

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“Hello,I found some bones on the beach in Shell Beach, CA, in early August (2023), put them in a bag, and unfortunately forgot about them till now. Would you be able to identify them? I'm...”
Toni, Pismo Beach, CA - January 11, 2024

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“Hello, I was captivated by the California grizzly bear specimen in the Mammal Hall. Can you please tell me more about it, i.e. when/where it was collected? I tried using the database search func...”
Marissa - December 17, 2023

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“This duck is a new resident at Alice Keck Park. You can see how long his neck is. When he stands up, he is very straight upward holding his head high in the air. Not scooched over like regular m...”
Gretchen, Santa Barbara - November 25, 2023

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“Hi there, Came across this skull lying atop the rocks along the beach of Smugglers Cove on Santa Cruz Island earlier this month. My best guess is feral pig, but unsure... ”
Eliot, Santa Barbara - October 15, 2023

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“Found this in seaweed washed up at Hope Ranch Beach.”
Pam, Santa Barbara - October 3, 2023

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