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Thanks for tagging me u/firdahoe and u/sawyouverthere!

OP - this is indeed a fish bone with hyperostosis, aka a “Tilly bone.” Hyperostosis is abnormal bone growth, but it can be normal anatomy in some species.

Australasian Snapper (Pagrus auratus) are common in your area and exhibit extensive hyperoatosis as they age. You can see an example of this here. I am not 100% confident this is what you have, though, as I don’t work directly with fish in Australian waters and there may be other local species with extensive hyperostosis beyond just the Australasian Snapper. For instance, this kind of growth is also common in jacks (family Carangidae) and some drums (family Sciaenidae), amongst others.

Definitely a bony fish vertebra! I’m not great at identifying them to species but there’s some scientific literature out there that can help. Here’s one I found.

https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Guide-to-the-identification-of-North-Sea-fish-using-Watt-Pierce/7fce5a399398e7658515e6cea35fe78de515183d

Looks like a female raccoon, i'm not sure what you mean about eye sockets ? but it is in near perfect condition except missing the thin long bone that stretches between the area with the teeth on the right in the picture and to the back area, so basically in the gap. and it's surprisingly clean too. https://www.amazon.com/Skulls-Unlimited-International-Raccoon-Skull/dp/B008FCRU80

above are some example pictures from amazon (lol they sell skulls too what the heck)

Caudal vertebra of a fish in family Istiophoridae (marlins and sailfishes). This looks good for genus Istiophorus, which includes the Indo-Pacific Sailfish (I. platypterus).

See this link for a drawing of the bone.

You should turn it into one of those flapping, flying, birds.

Ok, so given the size of this thing it's got to be a groundhog mandible. That would fit comfortably in the palm of a hand, and they are large ground squirrels so the dentition fits. See the images below. I have a groundhog skeleton in the lab that I can look at tomorrow to verify. Completely missed the size in the original post, oops!

https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Evolution-of-marmots-(Rodentia%2C-Sciuridae)%3A-on-and-Cardini/0ca99f994afb922c0de856dd9ed71551c01e7d92/figure/1

https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Post-natal-ontogeny-of-the-mandible-and-ventral-in-Cardini-O%E2%80%99Higgins/d4046442fc1a7778159f3723b404d6e9c07c1ad2/figure/1

I used this and slid it through some latex tubing on a whitetail deer spine to much success. You will likely have to cut it to length using bolt cutters, grinding wheel, etc

It's basioccipital of a carp. The round concavity is for the chewing pad which acts against the paired pharyngeal teeth of carps.

https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Convergence-in-morphology-and-masticatory-function-Gidmark-Tarrant/df0c36d192f27f93028a6bc2e449721fb25a82a4

not the exact same, but this is a similar one to OP’s!

https://www.amazon.com/DuvinDD-Countertop-Dustproof-Collectibles-Collection/dp/B099265M6Q/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=1PT7D2QP6I6M&keywords=amiibo+display+case&qid=1666309980&qu=eyJxc2MiOiI1LjY2IiwicXNhIjoiNS4yMyIsInFzcCI6IjQuNTAifQ%3D%3D&...

honestly, a higher concentration wouldn’t be bad at all. Mix the 40 volume developer with one part water and you’ll have a 6% solution. Twice as strong as regular drugstore peroxide, so more efficient, but won’t damage the bone. Then you also have a higher volume

https://www.amazon.com/Marianna-Super-Star-Creme-Developer/dp/B00FKVYCHQ/ref=pd_aw_day0fbt_img_sccl_1/134-1196488-9687658?pd_rd_w=ClUhB&content-id=amzn1.sym.a7fe5f94-8228-462e-9d21-329117e4e620&pf_rd_p=a7fe5f94-8228-462e-9d21-329117e4e620&...

When looking for developers, look for one that says clear. This means liquid. This is the one I usually use, it gives good results

Articular surfaces are all wrong for a human femur and even more wrong for a human tibia.

I think this is absolutely and emu/ostrich tibiotarsus, commonly found cooked and laying around in the form of a dog treat

Like this

The description has changed since I bought them several months ago and they are no longer listed as dermestid beetles so you are probably right. That's what I get for buying online.

I do know someone who has a colony of dermestids and doesn't really want them so I'll probably see when I can get those. I don't have anything urgently needing to be processed though.

Do you always skin the specimens before you put them with the beetles? I'm not sure I have the stomach for that. If I wait long enough the skin just peels off easily but I'm guessing it's a bit more complicated with larger specimens.

I did a quick search on amazon and there are some very nice books but they specifically mention north america. I was hoping for a european equivalent to something like this

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Comparative-Osteology-Laboratory-American-Animals-ebook/dp/B005JRHYS0/ref=mp_s_a_1_10?crid=20XEH6X1GNZBC&keywords=osteology&qid=1656567653&sprefix=osteol%2Caps%2C106&sr=8-10

It looks like a crocheted shade pull. It’s a round ring of plastic with crochet over it.

https://www.amazon.com/Shade-Doctor-Maine-Roller-Crochet/dp/B00XGIUI3M/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=shade+pulls+for+roller+shades&qid=1654016386&sr=8-9

I’ve never done it myself, but I’ve seen dozens of videos where couples use at-home cast kits to create plaster statues of holding each other’s hands.

This YouTube creator seems to know what he’s doing, and demonstrates how to create a model by pouring resin into a silicone mold. Looks like this technique allows you to reuse the same mold over and over.

I collect skulls so I already have some familiarity with a lot of basic North American Mammals, I've actually been after a baboon myself. There is a great picture book called Skulls that has photographs of a 300 different animal skulls, it's a great book if you want to get better at identifying skulls

Skulls: An Exploration of Alan Dudley's Curious Collection https://www.amazon.com/dp/1579129129/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_WEFBGCHNQMKJJRBN3X8A

Stanley Olsen has a number of texts that are great. https://www.amazon.com/Books-Stanley-J-Olsen/s?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3AStanley+J.+Olsen

For teeth, try Simon Hillson's book. https://www.amazon.com/Teeth-Second-Cambridge-Manuals-Archaeology/dp/0521545498

B Miles Gilbert has a couple of books, but they are outrageously expensive and out of print - and I think Olsen's books are better.

Lastly, this sub has a stickie on websites for bone identification. Look through that.

Yeah, we were out moving one of the cams around and found it in heavy brushy area. The cams are from amazon, around $90, they do 4k video and have wifi so you can DL media from about 30ft away without having to pull the SD card out.

This is the model of cams I use: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B096ZZWSYS?psc=1&smid=A3ARB14UOSACON

This is a hyperostotic rib from a large jack (family Carangidae), and likely specifically the Jack Crevalle (Caranx hippos).

Hyperostosis is abnormal bone growth that is part of the normal anatomy of some fish species, including a range of jacks.

I can’t find the publication with scans of Jack Crevalle hyperostosis right now, but here is one with Pacific Jack Crevalle, which is very closely related. Not the bone illustrates in Fig 14A, which corresponds to your specimen.

Can you post the other side? I want to see what the condyles at the base look like. And this absolutely is a bird humerus. My first inclination is a short distance flyer - short and robust humerus. See Figure 3 in the below link. Looks a lot like a chicken, too small for a turkey, but I wouldnt rule out pheasant or peacock. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Review-of-the-oldest-evidence-of-domestic-fowl-f.-Kysel%C3%BD/7cc26f8cfeb279709cc9b9ac6be42b2e0a109099/figure/6

There skull cavity is so itty bitty - don’t know ud have a lot of room for a plant…. Maybe a succulent…

This is the saw i use:

HAUTMEC 150mm Junior hacksaw & mitre block set 6" adjustable angle cutting corner saw blade HT0034-PL https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CSK7TCD/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_5C53Z16BQTC1S99QAE1D?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I posted my large cow skull and another deer skull earlier today - the cow skull i planted in the eye sockets and nasal cavity…. The other deer skull, i used a dremel to saw a round hole in the top of the skull. Lots of different options!

Rookie mistake, you'll get better with time. Try this for getting rid of the smell indoors, it's a lifesaver and so much better than febreeze/lysol. Good luck on your journey, friend!

If you're going to be doing a lot of specimens, might be worth investing in something like this. It evaporates fast

Justrite 10375 1 Gallon, 4 1/2" H, 9 3/8" O.D, 7 1/2" Diameter, Steel Red Safety Bench Can https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003QP37LA/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_YHCKYJPSA43R7G04MJSX?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

When I was starting out I got this book. Still have it. Mostly IDing matching the mystery skull with a similar looking picture from the book or the internet.

I use a baby burco water boiler. I used to have one with the element in the water but every five years or so the element would break. I now have one with the element outside the water and not had any problems.

Here is a similar one https://www.amazon.ca/Adcraft-WB-40-40-Cup-Stainless-120-Volt/dp/B00NI41UAY/ref=sr_1_249?dchild=1&keywords=water+boiler&qid=1602336360&sr=8-249

No problem :) Shuffling Nags, Lame Ducks is also a cool one about animal bone pathologies if you are interested in that.

Yes definitely a bird scapula. I'm heading back to my lab for a minutes and I'll look at a couple of bird bone books and see if it has robin in there as a comparative.

For those interested, Gilbert et al. Avian Osteology has lots of good illustrations: https://www.amazon.com/Avian-Osteology-B-M-Gilbert/dp/0943414830

Also, Lee Post's Bird Building Book (and the other volumes for that matter) is amazing: https://www.theboneman.com/store/p39/birdskeletons.html