Overview

• The analysis, published October 15 in Biology Letters, reexamines the decades-old Roscoe Village sidewalk imprint nicknamed Splatatouille.
• Measurements best match an eastern gray or fox squirrel, with muskrat a lesser fit, though the authors stop short of a definitive call.
• Researchers compared head width, body length and other landmarks captured in dozens of images to prepared specimens of eight Chicago-area small mammals identified via iNaturalist.
• A fall-from-tree scenario explains the lack of footprints, and the concrete’s low fidelity likely obscured tail hairs that some expected to see.
• The slab was removed during 2024 sidewalk work after a viral surge turned the site into a quirky attraction, and the team frames the project as a tool for public science education.