Name_______________________

1
Name_______________________
Lab Activity Classifying Bony Skulls
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.

• Directions
• Record which skull set you are assigned.______
• Find similarities in the skull set and place them
  in groups.
• 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.
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Class Mammalia
Subclass Metatheria (marsupials)
Order Marsupiala
Family Didelphia Didelphis marsupialis
(opposum)
Subclass Eutheria (non-marsupials)
Order Insectivora
Order Hyracoidea
Family Soricidae Blarina brevicauda
(shorttail shrew)
Family Procaviidae Procavi johnstoni (rock
hyrax)
Order Chiroptera
Order Lagomorpha
Family Pteropodidae Pteropus sp
(fruit-eating bat)
Family Leporidae Sylviagus floridanus
(cottontail rabbit)
Order Primates
Order Perissocactyla
Family Cercopithecidae Cercopithecus
aethiops (vervet monkey) Family Pongidae
Gorilla gorilla (Gorilla) Family Homididae
Homo sapiens (Human)
Family Equidae Equus burchelli (zebra)
Equus caballus (domestic horse)
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Class Mammalia (cont.)
Order Carnivora
Order Artiodactyla
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)
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
(Thomsons 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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