Owl Pellet Lab

Summary:
We started this lab by weighing the owl pellet sample and taking the measurements of the length and width. Then we started to pull apart the pellet and separating the bones from the mass of fur. Once we had the majority of the bones separated, we located the skull in order to identify the type of animal we had.

CER:
From our skull findings, my partner and I concluded that our animal was a vole. The skull length of 20mm and the mandible length of 20mm as well fell perfectly within the range of that of a vole. In addition, the teeth also helped use to identify the animal as a vole.

Similarities and Differences:

Similarities: One similarity between the skeleton of the vole and that of a human is that they have all the same leg bones as a human, fibula, tibia, and femur. Another similarity is that both humans and voles have 24 ribs and 12 pairs of ribs. Lastly, human and vole skeleton's both have distinct vertebrates. 

Differences: One difference between the human skeleton and the vole skeleton is the skull. The skull of the vole appeared to be more pointed while the human skull is a rounded shape. Another difference between the two is the teeth. Voles have large front teeth that point out from their skull, in order for them to be able to dig for food in the ground. The last difference between the two is eye socket location. Since the skull of a vole had a very small width, the location of the eyes is on the sides of the head, while human eyes are placed in the center of the face.