Invertebrates are animals with no vertebral column or "backbone". There are millions of animal species with exoskeletons; including insects, arachnids, crustaceans, and snails.
Vertebrates are animals that possess a vertebral column or "backbone". Vertebrate animals include mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and many species of fish.
From comparative anatomy to classification to adaptation and locomotion, The Museum of Osteology has been designed with learning in mind. Currently displaying nearly 300 skeletons from all corners of the world, visitors have a unique opportunity to compare and contrast many rare species normally not seen in museum exhibits.
Get up close and personal for a hands on experience with over a dozen real animal skulls. A one of a kind experience for kids to handle and examine various North American species.
Comparative anatomy is the study of similarities and differences in the anatomy of organisms. Compare the specimens on display in this exhibit and you may notice that they all have the same basic design including a skull, 4 limbs, a spinal column, a torso, and a pelvis.
Adaptation is a process of nature in which an organisim becomes better suited to it's habitat. Adaptations can be found throughout nature. This exhibit features several different types of locomotion found in the animal kingdom.
The pathology of a skull can tell you what may have caused an animals death. Pathology is damage that may be the result of trauma, disease or infection.
The order Primates, meaning "prime or first rank", contains approximately 431 species of lemurs, lorises, tarsiers, monkeys and apes. Most primates are arboreal and live in tropical or subtropical regions of the Americas.
There are over 6300 species belonging to the class Amphibia including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts and caecilians. Amphibians are cold-blooded animals whose skin is covered in a layer of mucus which helps to keep them moist.
Members of the Class Reptilia are characterized as air-breathing, egg-laying, cold-blooded (poikilothermic) animals whose skin is usually covered by scales.
Marsupials are pouch-bearing mammals who give birth to underdeveloped offspring. These offspring complete their development within the mother's pouch. There is great diversity within this order.
Carnivore means "flesh-eater", and although this may refer to any mammal dining exclusively on other animals, is also the order assigned by taxonomists to include dogs, cats, bears and weasels.
The class Aves includes all birds. These warm-blooded vertebrates have feathered covered bodies, give birth to egg-bound young and most have two limbs modified for flight.
There are many species of flightless birds ranging from rails to penguins to the ostrich. Flightless birds evolved from birds that could fly but in areas where flight was not needed for survival. Flightless bird's bones are more dense and heavier than flighted birds.
You guessed it, species found and collected solely in the Sooner state. If it's a species that makes Oklahoma it's own, you'll probably find it in Oklahoma Wildlife. View the scissor-tail flycatcher skeleton, the American bison, Beaver, Squirrels, Muskrat, Box turtle, Mice, and Fox!