Dissecting an Owl Pellet

Life Science - Middle School

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Bone Identification/Sorting Chart Skulls Mandible (Jaw) Scapula Front Limbs Pelvis Hind Limbs Ribs Vertebrae Materials Materials Identifying Bones and Reassembling Skeletons Identifying Bones and Reassembling Skeletons Procedure Procedure Inspect the outside texture, color, size and shape of the owl pellet. 1. tweezers magnifier dissecting needle owl pellets Use a dissecting needle to carefully separate the bones from the fur or feathers. As you expose the bones, carefully remove them using tweezers. 3. Gently break the pellet in half and continue to pull it apart into smaller pieces. 2. Use a magnifying glass to examine each bone; then, group similar bones together. 4. Use a dichotomous key to identify the different prey animals in a pellet. Examining lower jaw bones is the simplest way to identify which prey animals have been eaten by the owl. After identifying, group similar bones together. To reconstruct a skeleton, arrange all the bones from an animal on a piece of cardboard. Use white glue to attach the bones to the cardboard. Dissecting an Owl Pellet skull mandible front limb scapula ribs pelvis vertebrae hind limb Dissecting barn owl pellets provides a great way to learn about the environment, habitats, ecosystems, producers, consumers, decomposers, food chains and food webs. www.newpathlearning.com © Copyright NewPath Learning. All Rights Reserved. 94-4615
Bone Identification/Sorting Chart Materials Materials Identifying Bones and Reassembling Skeletons Identifying Bones and Reassembling Skeletons Procedure Procedure _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ 1. tweezers 3. 2. 4. Dissecting an Owl Pellet Dissecting barn owl pellets provides a great way to learn about the __________________ , __________________ , ecosystems, __________________ , __________________ , decomposers, _________________ _________________ and food webs. skull front limb ribs pelvis hind limb www.newpathlearning.com © Copyright NewPath Learning. All Rights Reserved. 94-4615 \|xiBAHBDy01744ozX