Cooperative Extension
Wildlife Skull Activities
LAWRENCE M. SULLIVAN
Extension Natural Resources Specialist
School of Renewable Natural Resources
AZ1145 • October 1999
0195
2 The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension
Contents
Teacher/Leader Background Information ............................................................................... 3
Skull Diagrams.............................................................................................................................. 5
Activity Lesson Plans ................................................................................................................... 8
Suggestions for Further Learning Activities .......................................................................... 12
Vocabulary List ........................................................................................................................... 12
Sources of Animal Skulls........................................................................................................... 13
References ................................................................................................................................... 13
Student Worksheet Master ....................................................................................................... 14
This information has been reviewed by university faculty.
Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, James A. Christenson, Director, Cooperative Extension, College of Agriculture, The University of Arizona.
The University of Arizona College of Agriculture is an equal opportunity employer authorized to provide research, educational
information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function without regard to sex, race, religion, color, national origin,
age, Vietnam Era Veteran’s status, or disability.
Wildlife Skull Activities 3
Animal skulls can tell us many things about creatures
and how they once survived in their natural environ-
ment. A few relatively simple observations of an
animal’s skull can tell us what the animal ate, whether
the animal was predator or prey, and which senses were
most important to the animal’s survival.
Some of the characteristics of skulls that we use to tell
us about how the animals lived are explained below.
The skull diagrams on pages 5 through 7 in this publica-
tion will be very useful references while reading this
information.
Note: Words in the Vocabulary List (page 17) are italicized
in the body of this publication.
Teeth
The teeth in an animal skull can tell us whether the
animal was a carnivore (meat eater), herbivore (plant eater)
or an omnivore (meat and plant eater). These classifica-
tions and some of the corresponding characteristics of
teeth are:
CARNIVORE: (meat eater, e.g. mountain lion, bobcat)
Carnivores have comparatively small, less developed
incisors. Incisors play a minor role for carnivores such
as grooming. The canine teeth are large, long and
pointed for piercing and holding prey. Cheek teeth
(pre-molars and molars) are sharp and pointed for
cutting and tearing flesh. Some of the upper cheek
teeth overlap lower teeth, providing a scissor-like
shearing action to cut meat. These teeth are referred to
as carnassial teeth. With overlapping cheek teeth and
long canines, carnivores do not have the ability to move
the lower jaw from side to side in a chewing motion.
Carnivores are predators (they kill and eat other
animals) and tend to bite, tear and gulp food without
any chewing action. The meat eater’s teeth tend to be
clean and white because they are not stained by plant
material.
HERBIVORE: (plant eater, e.g. mule deer, elk)
Herbivores have large, well developed incisors for
cutting plant material. Their canines resemble incisors
in form and function. Most ruminant (cud chewing)
herbivores (deer, sheep, cattle, etc.) do not have upper
incisors or canines. Instead, they have a hard upper
palate that serves as a “cutting board” for the lower
incisors to cut through plant stems. This arrangement
permits the rapid ingestion of large amounts of plant
material. Ruminant animals often seek cover after
eating to regurgitate and chew their cud while watch-
ing for predators.
Herbivore cheek teeth are large and wide with high,
sharp crowns for grinding and chewing plant material.
Instead of overlapping, the cheek teeth make surface
contact to provide a grinding action. Unlike predators,
herbivores have side-to-side movement of the lower jaw
and are able to chew food. This chewing, grinding
action causes their teeth to wear with age. Herbivore
teeth are often stained from substances in plants.
NOTE: American elk are the only members of the
North American deer family that have upper canine
teeth. These teeth, found in both males and females are
often referred to as “ivory teeth” or “tusk teeth.” They
are not ivory and they do not presently serve any
function. These stubby, rounded upper canines are
carry-overs from the pre-historic ancestors of the
American elk. Elk ancestors had tusks which pro-
truded outward from the upper jaw over the lower jaw
and served a defensive purpose. For an excellent
treatise on the North American elk, that contains a
complete description of the evolution of elk “ivory
teeth” including the historical use of these teeth as
ornaments and trade items by Native Americans see:
Elk of North America, Jack T Ward and Dale E. Toweill,
eds., Stackpole Books, 1982.
OMNIVORE: (plant and meat eater, e.g. bear, coyote)
As might be expected, omnivores have a combination
of carnivore and herbivore teeth characteristics. Omni-
vores have fairly large and well developed incisors for
cutting plant material. The canine teeth are long and
pointed for killing and holding prey. Cheek teeth are a
combination of sharp, scissor-like carnassial teeth for
shearing meat, and teeth with more rounded cusps for
grinding and crushing plant material. There is surface
contact between some upper and lower molars. Omni-
vores (except some primates) do not have side to side
lower jaw movement. Rather than a chewing action,
their cheek teeth perform both shearing and crushing
actions.
Many omnivores are either predominately meat eaters
or predominately plant eaters. The cheek teeth of these
animals can usually tell us their predominant feeding
strategy. The cheek teeth are the principle indicators.
For example, the coyote is an omnivore that is predomi-
nately a meat eater and has cheek teeth very similar to a
carnivore. However, the coyotes’ most posterior molars
have rounded cusps for grinding and crushing plant
material. On the other hand, the black bear is an
omnivore that is predominately a plant eater and has
cheek teeth more closely resembling those of an herbi-
vore.
Eyes
The size of the orbits (eye sockets) in relation to the
overall size of the skull, is generally proportional to the
sharpness of the animal’s eyesight. The larger the orbits,
the better the eyesight of the animal. As an example,
mountain lions (and most cats) have very large orbits and
hence, very acute vision. The large eyes of cats, and many
other nocturnal animals, play a role in their keen night
vision. The javelina (collared peccary) has small orbits
4 The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension
and hence, comparatively poor eyesight. The javelina
must rely more on its keen sense of smell, rather than
eyesight, to locate food and predators.
Nasal Passage
The relative size of the nasal passage on a skull is an
indication of the animal’s sense of smell. The thin bony
structures inside the nasal passage (nasal turbinates)
provide the framework for membranes which sense odor.
The greater the size of these sturctures the greater the
sense of smell. The short nasal passages of cat skulls tell us
that cats do not have a very good sense of smell compared
to many other animals and rely more on other senses to
locate prey. Conversely, the long nasal passage of a coyote
indicates that coyotes have a very keen sense of smell and
that this sense is important to the coyote’s survival.
Auditory Bullae
The auditory bullae (“bully”) are the bony portions of a
skull that encase structures of the inner and middle ear.
In general, the larger, more inflated, this structure the
greater the sense of hearing. Cats have comparatively
large, inflated auditory bullae and very acute hearing.
Although their hearing is much better than a human’s,
deer and elk have a relatively poor sense of hearing as
compared to that of a cat.
Predator and Prey
Predators are animals that eat other animals and prey
are animals that are eaten by other animals. Predators
can also become prey. When a cat eats a mouse, the cat is
predator. When a cat is eaten by a coyote, the cat is prey.
Predators are always carnivores or omnivores, whereas
prey may be carnivores, herbivores or omnivores. When we
consider humans as predators, all animals may become
prey.
When examining skulls to determine predators, we of
course look for the teeth characteristics of a carnivore or an
omnivore. If the teeth characteristics of a skull are strictly
those of a herbivore, we consider the animal to be a prey
species.
There is another skull characteristic that is very useful
in determining predator/prey classification. This is the
location of the orbits (eye sockets.) Most all predators have
the eyes located in a forward position on the skull.
Forward eye placement provides the animal with a
greater degree of binocular vision. Binocular vision means
that both eyes focus on an object providing the animal
with a greater ability to judge distance (depth perception).
Binocular vision is an advantage when attacking prey and
an important element of the predator’s survival.
Herbivores are strictly prey and most have orbits located
on the side of the skull. This placement limits binocular
vision, but enhances the animal’s field of view or periph-
eral vision. These herbivores have monocular vision which
means that they can see an object with only one eye. With
monocular vision, each eye has a field of view of almost 180
deggrees. Therefore, by using both eyes, these animals
almost have a 360 degree field of view. This field of vision
provides the animal with a greater ability to locate
predators and is an important element of their survival.
In some herbivores there is some overlap in the field of
view and these animals may have partial binocular vision.
Characteristics for Survival
All of the characteristics discussed here are elements of
survival. The particular combination of characteristics
that an animal has determines how that animal survives.
Ruminant herbivores, such as deer and elk, are able to
ingest large amounts of food and retreat to cover to
regurgitate and chew this food (chew their “cud”) while
hiding from predators. These herbivores are equipped to
detect predators with keen senses of hearing and smell
along with monocular vision which provides for a wide
field of vision. When predators attack, the herbivores best
defense is their fleetness of foot. Carnivores that would
predate upon these herbivores are equipped with large
canine teeth to capture and kill prey. These predators have
orbits forward on their skulls and thus binocular vision
which permits depth perception when attacking prey.
Omnivores, with the ability to eat both meat and plants,
have a wider choice of food sources than strict carnivores
or herbivores.
An example of one of the most successful animal
survivors is the coyote. Coyotes are currently found in all
the contiguous United States, throughout Canada, north
to near the Arctic Circle and south to the Panama Canal.
Within this extensive range of climates, this animal is
found in remote wilderness and in large urban areas. The
characteristics that play a role in this survivability
include the combination of being an omnivore that can eat
almost anything with excellent senses of sight, hearing
and smell.
Wildlife Skull Activities 5
CAT
6 The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension
COYOTE
Wildlife Skull Activities 7
DEER
8 The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension
Wildlife Skull Activities
GOAL: To teach students some of the differences and
similarities among animals and how an animal’s
skull can reveal certain characteristics about how
that animal survived in its natural habitat. Later
in the lesson plan, the students will have the
opportunity to put this new knowledge into
practice with a “hands-on” activity.
Instructions for Teacher/Leader
1. These activities are written to make extensive use of
questioning as a teaching method.
2. Students, especially younger ones, could be disturbed
by skulls — go slowly, gently. After the initial
introduction, most students are eager to handle skulls
and to learn about them.
3. Caution and closely supervise students when they
are handling the skulls. Skulls are breakable and
difficult to repair or replace. The children should be
encouraged to touch the skulls and the features
pointed out in this lesson, but the teacher/leader
should retain control by holding the skull until the
hands-on activity near the end of the lesson plan. If
the students are seated in a circle on the floor, they
can pass the skulls around the circle and there is less
chance of the skulls being dropped.
4. The skulls used to describe activities 1 through 3 in
this publication are: a mountain lion to represent a
carnivore; a mule deer doe to represent an herbivore;
and a black bear to represent an omnivore. The
discussions and answers to questions presented here
may need to be altered somewhat when different
species are used.
Materials Required
• Skulls — A minimum of 1 carnivore, 1 herbivore and 1
omnivore.
• A large photo or poster of the live animal for each
skull.
• Individual placards containing the words:
CARNIVORE PREDATOR
HERBIVORE PREY
OMNIVORE PREDATOR AND PREY
• One photocopy of the Mystery Skulls Worksheet for
each student.
Objective 1
Students will learn some of the skull characteristics of
several animals. They will learn how an animal’s teeth
can tell us what the animal eats, and they will learn the
definitions of the words carnivore, herbivore and omnivore.
Activity 1a. What did this animal eat?
Invite guesses and discussion to the questions posed.
Show the skulls separately, ask each question about each
skull and point out the feature described in the answer.
Do not identify the animal until later, in Activity 2.
Before posing questions, tell the students we will
identify the animals later.
Skull 1. (
Carnivore
— mountain lion)
What did this animal eat?
Answer — This animal was a meat eater. We can tell
what this animal ate by looking at the teeth.
Why are the canine teeth so long and pointed?
Answer — The canine teeth are used for piercing and
holding other animals.
Why are the incisors (smaller teeth in front between the
large canines) relatively small and short?
Answer — Incisors play a minor role for this animal —
such as grooming.
Why are the cheek teeth (pre-molars and molars) sharp?
Why do the upper and lower cheek teeth overlap?
Answer — The molars are used for cutting and shearing
meat in a scissor-like action.
Could this animal chew?
Answer — The long canine teeth and the type of
attachment of the lower jaw prevent this animal from
having side-to-side movement of the lower jaw. This
animal bit, sheared and gulped its food without any real
“chewing” action.
Skull 1. This animal is a CARNIVORE. (show placard
with word). Carnivores eat meat. They kill and eat other
animals.
Skull 2. (
Herbivore —
deer)
What did this animal eat?
Answer — This animal ate plants. We can also tell what
this animal ate by looking at the teeth.
Compared to the carnivore, are these incisors relatively
larger or smaller?
Answer — The incisors are relatively large and well
developed.
What are these incisors used for?
Answer — They are used as blades for cutting plant
parts and stripping away leaves.
Do these canines look like the canines in the carnivore?
Answer — No. The canine teeth in this animal resemble
Wildlife Skull Activities 9
and function as incisors because as a plant eater, this
animal had no use for long, pointed canine teeth.
Do the cheek teeth (molars and pre-molars) look like the
carnivore’s?
Answer — No, they are large with high crowns and wide
across the top for grinding and crushing plant materials.
Do the upper and lower cheek teeth overlap?
Answer — No. The upper and lower molars fit together to
provide grinding and crushing surfaces.
Could this animal chew?
Answer — Yes. This animal had the ability to move its
lower jaws in a side-to-side, chewing motion
Notice there are there no upper incisors or canines. Why
not?
Answer — Most ruminant (cud chewing) animals (deer,
sheep, cattle, etc.) Do not have upper incisors or canines.
Where the upper incisors and canines would be, these
animals have a hard palate that serves as a “cutting
board” for the lower incisors to cut grass and other plant
materials and to strip leaves off branches.
(Note: See note on page 2 which describes upper canine
teeth in American elk.)
Skull 2. This animal is a HERBIVORE. (show placard
with word). Herbivores eat plants.
Skull 3. (
Omnivore
— black bear)
What did this animal eat?
Answer — This animal ate both meat and plants. We see
in this skull, teeth features of both carnivores and
herbivores.
Why are the canine teeth long and pointed?
Ans. The long, well developed canines are used for
capturing and killing other animals.
How do the incisors compare to carnivores and
herbivores?
Answer — The incisors are relatively large for cutting
plants and stripping leaves.
How do the cheek teeth compare to carnivores and
herbivores?
Answer — This animal has both high crowned cheek
teeth with sharp edges for shearing meat, and cheek teeth
with wider crowns to crush bone and plant parts.
Look closely at the back molars. They look very similar to
ours. Humans eat both meat and plants.
Why don’t we have long canines?
Answer — We do not kill and capture animals with our
teeth.
Skull 3. This animal is an OMNIVORE. (show placard
with word). Omnivores eat both plants and animals.
Activity 1b. What animal is this?
Skull 1. (
Carnivore
— mountain lion)
Look at the teeth. What did this animal eat?
Review the teeth characteristics of a meat eater:
Incisors — small
Canines — large, pointed
Cheek teeth — sharp with high crowns — some
overlap like scssors
Answer — This animal ate meat.
Is this animal a carnivore, herbivore or omnivore?
Answer — A carnivore.
What animal is this?
Invite guesses. Give hints such as, “this animal hunts
mostly at night”, or “notice the very large orbits and
short nasal passage”.
Answer — This is a mountain lion. (show photo/
poster).
Mountain lions live in rugged mountains, forests and
swamps and are found in most of the western U.S.,
western Canada, northern Mexico and southern Florida.
Mountain lions are chiefly nocturnal (active at night) and
feed on deer, rabbits, mice and occasionally on domestic
animals.
In Arizona — Live in desert or forest mountain
ranges with rough canyons and rocky slopes. Found
statewide, wherever deer are found. Occasionally
crosses through non-deer habitat.
Skull 2. (
Herbivore
— deer)
Look at the teeth. What did this animal eat?
Review teeth characteristics of a plant eater:
Incisors - large
Canines - small, resemble incisors
Cheek teeth - wide crowns with surface contact
between upper and lower teeth.
Ans. This animal ate plants.
Is this animal a carnivore, herbivore or omnivore?
Ans. A herbivore.
10 The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension
What animal is this?
Invite guesses. Give hints such as, “notice the absence of
upper incisors and canines”, or “this animal can run very
fast to avoid danger.”
Answer — This is a mule deer.
Is this a male or female mule deer?
Answer — This is a female mule deer (called a doe —
show photo/poster). Male mule deer (called bucks) have
antlers. Females do not.
Mule deer live in desert shrubs, semi-open forests,
mountain meadows, foothills, plains and valleys. They
are found in scattered areas of the western United States
and Canada. The males have antlers which are shed
each year. Deer are crepuscular (most active in early
morning and late evening). They feed on browse plants,
grasses, herbs, twigs and bark.
In Arizona — Found throughout the state except for
the southwestern corner.
Skull 3. (
Omnivore
— black bear)
Look at the teeth. What did this animal eat?
Review teeth characteristics of an omnivore:
Incisors — relatively large
Canines — large, pointed
Cheek teeth — provide for both shearing and
crushing
Answer — This animal ate both meat and plants.
Is this animal a carnivore, herbivore or omnivore?
Answer — An omnivore.
What animal is this?
Invite guesses. Give hints such as, “notice the long nose
and relatively small orbits.
Answer — This is a black bear. (show photo/poster).
Black bears live in the mountainous areas of the
western United States and in forested areas of the eastern
United States. Black bears are also found in most of
Canada. Bears feed on berries, nuts, roots, insects, eggs,
honey, carrion, garbage, small animals and occasionally
domestic animals. They are primarily nocturnal (most
active at night.) Their color varies from black to
cinnamon.
In Arizona — Found in mountain ranges of the
north, east and southeastern parts of the state, usually
above 5000 feet elevation.
Objective 2.
Students will now learn the definitions of the words
PREDATOR and PREY and the skull characteristics that
correspond with these classifications.
Activity 2. What do the words
“predator” and “prey” mean?
Ask students to define the words predator and prey.
Ask if an animal can be classified as both predator and
prey.
After the students provide definitions, be sure each
word is correctly defined. Give examples of each classifi-
cation and show placard with the words “predator”,
“prey”, and “predator and prey.” Place placards on table
with the appropriate skull placed behind each placard.
• Predator = an animal that kills other animals for food.
Some predators also eat carrion. Predators are
carnivores or omnivores.
• Prey = animals that are eaten by other animals. Prey
animals may be carnivores, herbivores or omnivores.
Example: A mountain lion kills a deer. The lion is
the predator and the deer is the prey
• Predator and Prey = an animal that eats other
animals but may also be eaten by other animals.
Example: An animal can be both predator and prey.
A cat kills a mouse — the cat is predator. A coyote
kills the cat — the cat is prey.
Objective 3.
Students will learn some of the skull characteristics of
predator and prey animals.
Activity 3. Was this animal a preda-
tor? Prey? Both?
Using the skulls from ACTIVITY 1, describe and point
out the characteristics indicated below.
Skull 1. — Mountain Lion
This animal, the mountain lion, is a carnivore and a
predator.
Point out and review the skull characteristics that tell
us this was a predator.
Wildlife Skull Activities 11
• From looking at these teeth, how do we know this is
a predator?
Answers: Large canines in upper and lower jaw for
piercing and holding prey.
Cheek teeth (pre-molars and molars) sharp and
pointed for tearing flesh. Upper and lower cheek
teeth overlap for shearing action to cut meat.
Long canines prevent side-to-side, chewing movement
of lower jaw. Predators tend to bite, tear and gulp
food without chewing action.
Teeth clean and white, not stained by plant
materials.
• From looking at the orbits in this skull, how do we
know this is a predator?
Answer: Orbits are forward for binocular vision.
Forward eye placement is common in predators and
helps them to judge distance (depth perception)
when attacking prey. Orbits very large; providing for
excellent eyesight. Nocturnal with good night vision.
• What do the auditory bullae tell us about this
animal’s sense of hearing?
Answer: Auditory bullae are inflated and large in
relation to skull size. Cats have a very acute sense of
hearing.
• What does the nasal passage tell us about this
animal’s sense of smell?
Answer: Nasal passage is relatively short. Sense of
smell not as good as some other animals. Relies more
on eyesight and hearing and less on sense of smell to
locate prey.
Skull 2. — Mule deer
Deer are herbivores and prey animals.
Point out and review the skull characteristics that tell
us this was a herbivore.
• From looking at these teeth, how do we know this is
a prey animal?
Answers: Large, well developed incisors for cutting
plant material.
Canines resemble incisors in form and function.
Cheek teeth high crowned with grinding surfaces
and often stained from plants.
Has side-to-side movement of lower jaw for chewing
action.
• From looking at the orbits in this skull, how do we
know this is a prey?
Answer: The placement of the orbits at side of head
for wide field of vision to help this animal watch for
predators. They can almost see behind them. This is
common in herbivore, prey species.
Comparatively large orbits, but not as large relative to
cats. Good vision.
• What do the auditory bullae tell us about this
animal’s sense of hearing?
Answer: Comparatively small, indicating a relatively
moderate sense of hearing and more reliance on
smell and sight to locate predators.
• What does the nasal passage tell us about this
animal’s sense of smell?
Answer: Very long in relation to skull size. Deer
have an excellent sense of smell.
Objective 4.
Students will apply their knowledge of the primary
characteristics of an animal skull that were used to
determine if the animal was a carnivore, herbivore or
omnivore and if the animal was a predator, prey or both.
Activity 4. Mystery Skulls
Additional skulls, that have not been previously
examined in this lesson are numbered and placed at
several different locations in the room.
Distribute worksheets (For original worksheet for
photocopy see page 14.) Divide students into approxi-
mately equal groups with one group at each skull loca-
tion. Ask students to examine the skull at their location
and rotate to the next skull location. Students are to
individually record their observations on the worksheets
by skull number.
When worksheets are completed, ask for volunteers or
call on individuals to tell the group/class what they have
entered in a particular blank on the worksheet. Proceed
through the answers for each animal represented. Show
photos/posters of each animal as it is identified.
If no student is able to identify the species, tell the
group what the animal is and, if desired, discuss where
this animal is found, how the characteristics observed
relate to the animal’s survival and habitat and other facts
we may know about the animal.
Teacher/leader may collect worksheets to evaluate
the knowledge gained by the group.
12 The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension
Suggestions for further
learning activities
1. Continue a discussion of how these characteristics
help each animal survive. How do these characteris-
tics fit with what we know about each animal? Other
characteristics such as length of legs, claws and
coloration may be discussed from the photographs.
2. Have students draw (or describe) a fictitious animal
which has all of the “best” characteristics for sur-
vival. When finished, have them “show-and-tell” to
the class. Give their animal a fictitious name. Stu-
dents may work in small groups to encourage inter-
play of creative ideas.
3. Ask students to read about their favorite animal and
report back to the class.
4. Ask students to bring a photographs and drawings of
animals clipped from magazines or news newspa-
pers and discuss the characteristics covered here for
each of the animals.
5. Include vocabulary list in spelling and language arts
program.
6. Include the geographic range of each animal in a
geography program. Maps showing each species
distribution can be found in the “Peterson Guide”
and other references listed in the teacher/leader
materials.
Vocabulary list
anterior — situated located before or toward the front.
auditory bullae (singular - bulla) — bony capsules
which encase parts of the inner ear.
binocular vision — the ability of an animal to focus on
an object with both eyes.
canine teeth — located between the incisors and pre-
molars; usually large, conical and pointed when
found in meat-eating animals; used to kill and hold
prey;.
carnivore — an animal that eats meat nearly exclusively.
carnassial teeth — “scissor like”, cheek teeth in
carnivorous animals used for shearing meat - very
noticeable in both the cat and dog families.
carrion — the remains of dead animals.
crepuscular — most active in early morning and evening.
cusps — a point on the grinding surface of a tooth.
deciduous teeth — teeth that have an earlier form which
is shed and replace by permanent teeth.
diurnal — most active during daylight.
habitat — an arrangement of food, water, cover and
space that constitutes a natural environment for a
particular species of animal.
herbivore — an animal that eats plants nearly
exclusively.
incisors — teeth at the front of the jaw used for nipping
or chiseling .
mandible — the entire lower jaw.
maxilla (maxillary) — the bone in the upper jaw that
bears the canine, premolar and molar teeth.
molars — the non-deciduous, posterior teeth in the upper
and lower jaws.
Monocular vision — the ability of an animal to
individually focus on an object with one eye.
nasal passage — the anterior most pair of middle top
bones encasing “flaky” thin bony structures (nasal
turbinates) which provide the framework for the
membranes in the nose that sense odor.
nocturnal — most active during darkness.
omnivore — an animal that eats both meat and plants.
orbit — the bony socket that contains the eyeball.
palate — the bony roof of the mouth.
posterior — situated behind or toward the rear.
pre-molars — deciduous teeth posterior to the canines
and anterior to the molars..
Wildlife Skull Activities 13
Sources of animal skulls
Getting a supply of sufficient skulls for this lesson
can be difficult. All skulls are all somewhat fragile and,
some are very fragile. If this lesson is to be conducted a
number of times, by several different people in a variety of
situations, it is advisable to have a backup supply of
skulls.
Some possible sources of cleaned skulls are:
• State or federal fish and wildlife agencies
• The Arizona Game and Fish Department, Re-
gional Offices have “Bone Boxes” available for
loan to educators. These boxes contain skulls,
hide and fur samples, animal tracks, and lesson
plan activities.
• College and university biology, zoology and
wildlife departments
• Taxidermists
• Commercial suppliers
There are several, relatively simple, methods to clean
and preserve skulls from intact animal heads. See The
University of Arizona, Cooperative Extension publication
AZ1144: Cleaning and Preserving Animal Skulls.
Some sources of animal heads are:
1.
• State or federal fish and wildlife agencies.
• College and university biology, zoology and
wildlife departments
• Local hunters
• Shooting, hunting and related groups
• Farmers and ranchers
• Meat packing plants
• Carrion
• Road kills
1.
Note: There are state and federal regulations for the
possession of certain wildlife species or parts of these
species. Always check with your state game and fish
agency before taking or possessing any carrion or road
killed wildlife.
Skull talk references
Burt, Wm. H. and R.P. Grossenheider, A Field Guide to the
Mammals of North America North of Mexico, Peterson
Field Guide Series., 3rd. ed., 1976., Houghton Mifflin
Co., Boston.
Chapman, Joseph A. and George A. Feldhamer, Wild
Mammals of North America, 1982, The Johns Hopkins
University Press.
Cockrum, E. Lendell, Mammals of the Southwest, 1982, The
University of Arizona Press.
Hamilton, W.J. Jr., American Mammals, Their Lives, Habits
and Economic Relations, 1st. ed., 1939, McGraw Hill
Book Co. Inc.
Hildebrand, M., Analysis of Vertebrate Structure, 2nd ed.,
1982., John Wiley & Sons.
Hoffmeister, Donald F., Mammals of Arizona, 1986, The
University of Arizona Press and The Arizona Game
and Fish Department.
Acknowledgments
Information, materials and other resources for this project
have been obtained from the following:
• Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Education
Department
• Arizona Game and Fish Department
• John Stair, Extension Wildlife Specialist (Retired),
The University of Arizona
• Allyson Baehr, State Office, Arizona 4-H Youth
Development
14 The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension
Mystery Skull Worksheet
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Wildlife Skull Activities 15
16 The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension
AZ1145