Meeting Abstract
Two projects in an upper division comparative anatomy course centered on the skeleton of the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis). The first project involved lab groups disarticulating full alligator skeletons from harvested carcasses, followed by isolating, identifying and cataloging the individual bones. Students developed protocols for treating the carcasses in order to separate and clean the bones. Students then identified all the isolated skeletal components, created schemes for grouping and displaying the materials, and produced an inventory of the bones. The second project took place the next time the course was offered and involved articulating a complete alligator skeleton from a full set of individual bones. These students had to properly articulate all bones, devise methods for permanently joining elements together, and conceive of and execute a presentation pose and mounting of the skeleton. This project culminated in display of the articulated specimen, along with a poster describing the process, at an undergraduate research conference. These activities were intended as engaging opportunities to contribute to student understanding of vertebrate/reptilian bones and joints – for example, enhancing appreciating of how bones interact with each other to support the animal’s body and permit movement. The projects each culminated as material that can be used by other students and classes to help understand skeletal anatomy.
