In this lab we took apart an owl pellet to identify by the bones what animals the owl ate. Owls swallow their prey whole then regurgitate a pellet of indigestible materials: hair and bones. The owl pellet contained a vole skeleton. Our owl pellet contained 3 skulls, all from a vole. We can tell this by the shape of the skull. Also the humerus has a distinct shape for a vole; it has a point on one of the edges that distinguishes it form other rodents.
The femur in the pellet resembled a human bone. The epiphysis had two distinct knobs on each end and a long diaphysis between. The radius and ulna were connected too. In humans, they lie next to one another with a small gap between. The scapula also is similar between the 2 species. It is flat and triangular.
The skulls of humans and the vole are very different. The vole has a longer head with eyes on the side and long arching teeth in the front. The tibia and fibula also look different. Although the fibula is smaller in both, in the vole it arcs and does not travel the full length. The humerus also appears different. In the vole it has a large point on the diaphysis; in humans this is very subtle and called the deltoid tuberosity.
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| The skull. It is a vole due to the shape and size. |
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| The mandible |
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| The humerus. This was also very helpful in identifying the vole because of the distinct bump on it. |
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