Animal remains ID Help?

[Teal]

I don't know if this is in the right section.. is just where I see the most ID requests.

While on the phone with my mum, she mentioned this pile of remains that appeared on their property this morning. She said their cat and dog won't go near it, and they're usually the first to want to roll in/eat dead animal remains they find.

I talked her into getting some pictures for me, figuring it would be a pretty easy ID... and then I saw the photos, and I'm stumped!

It looks reptilian in nature to me, based on the scales... which is why I thought I'd ask yall. But the pattern and scale shape don't match any of the reptiles I know to be native in her area (Northern California). They live in a wilderness area that is dry with seasonal water and scrub brush, pine trees, oaks, etc. if that helps. It just so happens I will be visiting her in the next few days, and she's agreed to save the remains for me to examine when I get up there if we can't get an ID on them in the meantime.

So, any ideas??

(I'm leaving some space between the blurb and pictures just in case someone clicked by accident and doesn't want to see them)

[athms]

Looks kinda like a crustacean but idk what type

[dbassa]

Anyone in the neighborhood missing a plecostomus? Couldn't tell you the species, but it sure looks like one to me...

[Teal]

Originally Posted by dbassa

Anyone in the neighborhood missing a plecostomus? Couldn't tell you the species, but it sure looks like one to me...

You know, my mum thought that too! They had a large one in their pond, but it died several months ago... I don't believe it was ever removed from the pond either because of the depth!

[smy_749]

Looks like a coy fish to me

[Jim Smith]

It's either a pleco like dbassa suggested or one of the catfish from South America. Most likely the plecostomus.

[infernalis]

yhe tail fin was a dead giveaway that we are not looking at a snake.

[pdomensis]

My first thought is a carp.