As a naturalist, I always thought it would be a fun idea to have a nature based version of Antiques Road Show. For the most part, it's what happens almost every day with visitors that come to nature centers and outdoor education places. If you're a parent you've probably had more than one "What is this?" or "I found this, what is it?" questions when walking in nature. One of the most common questions that arises comes from students finding bones and skulls in the woods and wanting to know what they've found and how to clean them up. I'll cover cleaning and preserving skulls in another post, but for this one I want to provide you with some identification guides and tools to use to identify the bones and skulls you find.
NOTE: I just added a post on animal skull ID using teeth and dentition. Click here to check out the blog post.
First, when you find a skull or bone and you want to know if it's OK to keep you need to be aware of the Federal and state regulations regarding animals. A good resource that covers these regulations, and a state-by-state breakdown of laws, can be found at the Green Wolf website. You can also find information at the Animal Legal and Historical Center from the Michigan State University College of Law. In general, it's OK to keep non-endangered mammal skulls from animals that died by natural means. NOTE: this does not mean road kill. Most game species and their skulls are legal to possess as well, but check your state regulations, especially regarding moose, bighorn sheep, etc. Bird skulls are illegal to collect for the most part, unless they are non-migratory native game birds or poultry. See my previous post for more information on the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
First, though, some terminology: osteology is the study of bones (and skulls) so when you find a bone you are embarking on an osteological study. There are many great guides out there to help you identify the skulls and bones, so it really depends on your ability level (novice to expert), interest, and the type information that you want about the skull(s) that will dictate which you choose. (Just an added thought: Don't look at "kids" books as beneath you somehow. Often they have the best explanations and illustrations without getting mixed up with overly technical jargon.) Here are some of my favorites:
For Beginners and Kids:
For More Advanced Studies:
Animal Skulls: A Guide For Teachers, Naturalists, and Interpreters, Richard White. You'll find some great lesson plans and ideas for teaching about animal skulls with these units (around the middle school level). You will need some skulls in the classroom to work with, but this guide can help you plan out your activities. See the links below for places to purchase skulls.
Skulls Unlimited Catalog of skulls and skeletons to purchase online.
You can also find skulls for purchase, decorated and not on E-Bay and Etsy.com. Use common sense when purchasing, and ask questions about the skulls, such as how they were obtained, hunted, or collected. Be sure that what you purchase from one state isn't illegal to own in your state!
Project Noah Mission: Identifying Animals Through Osteology. If you'd like to join a worldwide hunt for skulls and bones you can visit the photo based citizen science program called Project Noah. Here you can join different missions to collect photos and information about different animals and plants around the world. The Osteology Project focuses on bones and skulls. If you find something you don't recognize then the Project's participants can help you.
Smithsonian Museum of Natural History exhibit: Osteology: Hall of Bones
Museum of Osteology in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
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