MAMMAL SKULLS

Have you ever found an animal skull when you’ve been out hiking? There are ways you can tell what animal it belongs to.

Animals are grouped into three environmental
lifestyle categories:

Carnivore: animals that eat primarily meat/other animals

Herbivore: animals that eat primarily plants

Omnivore: animals that eat both plants and other animals

You can identify mammals by looking at their teeth, jawbone, nasal cavity, and orbit position (location of the eyes).

Here’s a little rhyme that may help you determine if your skull is from anomnivore, herbivore or carnivore. Eyes in the front, animal hunts; eyes on the side, animal hides.

Once you’ve figured out whether the skull belongs to a carnivore, herbivore or omnivore, you can use guidebooks to figure out the species of the animal. Talk to your science teacher to learn more.