Name_______________________

Lab Activity: Classifying Bony Skulls

Directions:

1. Record which skull set you are assigned.______2. Find similarities in the skull set and place them in groups.3. Use the following resources to identify the order, family, genus, &

species of each skull.

p 464 - 467: Evolutionary Relationships, Phylogeny, & Cladistics Handout: Bony Skulls - 1. Feeding & Eating 2. Skulls & Feeding Handout: Teeth & Taxonomy p 866 - 881 Class Mammalia Characteristics & Classification p 692 - 695 Kingdom Animalia Characteristics p 910 - 918 Vertebrate Characteristics Appendix A3 - A4 Animal Phyla

Grading::

Your overall grade is based on the accuracy of your identification of genus and species, whether or not you place the skulls in the proper family, and the detail of your notes and observations.

Objective::

You have been assigned a set of 15 mammal skulls. You must classify each and identify the order, family, genus, and species of each mammalian skull.

Order Marsupiala

Order Insectivora

Order Chiroptera

Order Primates

Subclass: Metatheria (marsupials)

Family Didelphia Didelphis marsupialis (opposum)

Subclass: Eutheria (non-marsupials)

Family Soricidae Blarina brevicauda (shorttail shrew)

Family Pteropodidae Pteropus sp (fruit-eating bat)

Family Cercopithecidae Cercopithecus aethiops (vervet monkey)

Family Pongidae Gorilla gorilla (Gorilla)

Family Homididae Homo sapiens (Human)

Order Hyracoidea

Family Procaviidae Procavi johnstoni (rock hyrax)

Order Perissocactyla

Order Lagomorpha

Family Equidae Equus burchelli (zebra) Equus caballus (domestic horse)

Family Leporidae Sylviagus floridanus (cottontail rabbit)

Order Carnivora

Family Canidae Canis lupus (timber wolf) Canis familiaris (domestic dog) Canis mesomelas (black-backed jackal) Otocyon megalotis (bat-eared fox) Lycaon pictus (wild dog) Urocyon cinereoargenteus (gray fox)

Family Procyonidae Procyon lotor (racoon)

Family Mustelidae Herpestes ichneumom (gray mongoose) Mustela erminea (shorttail weasel) Lutra canadensis (river otter) Mephitis mephitis (striped skunk)

Family Hyaenidae Crocuta crocuta (spotted hyena) Proteles cristatus (aardwolf)

Family Felidae Panthera leo (lion) Panthera pardus (leopard) Felis domesticus (domestic cat) Felis serval (serval cat) Lynx rufus (bobcat) Lynx caracal (caracal cat)

Family Phocidae Phoca vitulina (harbor seal)

Order Artiodactyla

Family Suidae Sus scrofa (domestic pig) Family Cervidae Odocoileus virginianus (whitetail deer)

Family Giraffidae Giraffa camelopardalis (giraffe) Family Bovidae Connochaetes taurinus (wildebeest) Aepyceros melampus (impala) Gazella thomsoni (Thomson’s gazelle) Ovis aries (domestic sheep) Bos taurus (domestic cow)

Order Rodentia

Family Castoridae Castor canadensis (beaver)

Family Muridae Onadatra zibethica (muskrat) Peromyscus maniculatus (deer mouse) Microtus pennsylvanicus (vole)

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Identifying Bony Skulls (record letter set)

Skull Card Common Name

Latin Genus / Species

Family Order

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