Animals: Identifying Bones
These sites are about how to identify different animal bones. View many pictures of animal skulls and see how they differ. Includes online games and hands-on activities. There are links to eThemes Resources on dissecting owl pellets, invertebrates and vertebrates, and fossils.
Grades
- 3,
- 4,
- 5,
- 6,
- 7
Links
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Bone Identification Lesson Plan
This activity is designed to help students compare the bones found in a fossil dig to the bone structure of living organisms.
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Mammal, Bird, or Fish?
Learn more about the three most common type of animal bones you are likely to find.
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Key to the Skulls of North Dakota Mammals
Explore the keys to Insectivore, Chiroptera, Lagomorpha, Rodentia, Carnivore, Artidactyla, and notes on Peromysscus.
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Distinguishing Human From Animal Bone
Explore the similarities and differences between human and animal bones.
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California Academy of Sciences
This site is about animal skulls. Click on "Structure and Function" to view different skulls. You can rotate them to see different views. Requires QuickTime.
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The eSkeletons Project
This interactive site allows you to compare skeletons of a human, baboon, and gorilla. You can choose which bone to view, then highlight the different parts.
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Inside Out Discover Anatomy
This site has a game on skeletons plus information about how animals' skeletons adapt to their habitat.
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Wildlife Skull Activities
This 16-page PDF file includes resources on how to identify skulls of different animals. Learning activities, worksheets, and a vocabulary list are among the items included.
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Decomposition
Scroll through the images to see how a rabbit's body decomposes over time so that only the skeleton remains.
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Observing Animals' Teeth
A two-page .pdf file provides description of teeth of different animal types. Include test questions and answers for students to identify animals from their bones and teeth.
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eThemes Resource: Fossils
These sites focus on fossils and include information about paleontologists, dinosaurs, and petrification. View photographs of actual fossils. Includes a link to an eThemes Resource on dinosaurs.
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eThemes Resource: Animals: Vertebrates and Invertebrates
These sites explain how vertebrates and invertebrates are classified in the animal kingdom. There is information about the five groups of vertebrates (fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals) and the seven phylums of invertebrates (sponges, coelenterates, echinoderms, worms, mollusks, and arthropods). Includes games that have students guess a type of animal based upon clues about its characteristics. There is a link to an eThemes Resource on identifying bones. For more information about specific animal species, browse our alphabetical listing of eThemes.
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eThemes Resource: Animals: Barn Owls
These sites have information about barn owls, owl pellets, and the children's book "There's an Owl in the Shower." View a live image of a barn owl and watch several videos.
Education Standards
- AL
- MO
