Animal Skulls: A Guide to North American Species

We were trying to identify an animal skull the kids had discovered. This book is such an amazing resource. We were able to identify the skull and learn some new words and facts. We were even scared by the dreadful image that is a snapping turtle skull. Amazing book.

Outstanding book...wonderful photos of animal skulls...I was able to identify a fragment of a skull that I found by using this book. I know that it's the upper jaw of a house cat instead of a bobcat because of the small premolar tooth that bobcats and lynxes never have, cougars and ocelots always have, and house cats sometimes have. Should be on every naturalist's bookshelf.

The Best skull identification book ever written. A must have book for all Biologists,teachers,schools,collectors and museums of natural history.

This is the book that trackers and naturalists have needed for a long time. It's finally here and it's outstanding! Now when I take apart an owl pellet I'll be able to determine what the owl was eating, and hence what small wildlife is abundant in that area. And when I'm out and discover part of a skull from a mammal, bird, amphibian, or reptile, I'll be able to find what that is too. Mark Elbrock has done it again: an instant classic, and a book that all trackers and naturalists should have in their collection.

This is a thorough and well-written book, which goes into great detail about the skulls of each North American mammal species, in addition to having a section on birds and reptiles/amphibians. The first several chapters, which I found surprisingly readable given the technical subject matter, are devoted to identifying skull bones and landmarks as well as interpreting the function and meaning behind various skull features, determining age and sex, and even obtaining, cleaning and preparing your own animal skulls. What I found most helpful in this book were the real-life sized illustrations of both skulls and jaws, which the author conveniently locates in one section of the book, for easy comparison. I was amazed at how easy it was to identify skulls I had found in years past- skulls that I had spent hours attempting to identify using information pieced together from the internet and other sources. This book is not only incredibly thorough and rich with information, but also well-organized and easy to understand, with helpful diagrams and plenty of beautiful, detailed illustrations. Overall, it is an excellent book that I will be sure to refer back to many times in the future.

A complete book on skulls was not available until this one was so beautifully put together. Elbroch introduces the rather complex study of skulls in such a way that anyone can easily learn the language and terms to more precisely discuss and understand their many and varied features. He goes well beyond simply identifying what species a given skull is from and delves into functions of structures of the skull, how they change with age as well as how they compare with those of other species (not to mention variations found within a given species). Mammals (and their jaws, 188 in all), birds (71), amphibians and reptiles (13) are covered in great detail within the 700+ pages of this book. Clear color prints, drawings and heaps of data round out what I believe to be the most comprehensive guide of its kind. Well done Mark and well worth the cost.