Comparative Anatomy and Diversity

The National Science Education Standards states, "Although different species might look dissimilar, the unity among organisms becomes apparent from an analysis of internal structures, the similarity of their chemical processes, and the evidence of common ancestry."

Many museums and universities across the country have extensive animal collections (e.g., Smithsonian, Washington, D.C., American Museum of Natural History, New York, The Field Museum, Chicago, and the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California Berkeley). If you are lucky enough to be located near one, consider making arrangements for either a field trip there, or for a museum representative to visit your school, armed with samples of course. There is typically no or a low cost, which might be covered by your principal's fund or a parent-teacher organization fund.

You can let the museum staff members know your objectives and goals so they can tailor their presentation and materials appropriately. Students enjoy the novelty of a guest presenter who has specialized knowledge and resources. This section contains other resources meant to facilitate student acquisition of the notion of simultaneous animal diversity and uniformity.

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Stinging cousins? http://www.alienstingers.com/stingergamecousins

In this game, students use information about the characteristics that certain animals have in common to determine how closely humans are related to “stingers” — invertebrate animals like corals and jellies (jellyfish). The player arranges five animal cards (bird, jelly, sponge, worm, and octopus) in order from most alien to most human-like. A human card is already in place. Students can click seven buttons to show which of the animals, including the human, have specific characteristics. Bones, muscle, a brain, and a mouth are among the characteristics defined. When students check their answers, green or red lights reveal if each card is correctly placed. A congratulatory paragraph describes how scientists study relationships among creatures and what separates humans from stingers. MSP full record

Tetrapod Limbs http://www.teachersdomain.org/6-8/sci/life/div/tetralimb/index.html

This illustration from Evolution by Monroe W. Strickberger shows the remarkable similarities between the bones in the forelimbs of various tetrapods, all of whose limbs serve different functions. Before giving students a copy of the essay on homologies, ask them to speculate on how such different animals can function in their different niches with such similar bone structure. Free registration is required. MSP full record

Animal diversity web high school sample exercise http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/teach/mammalHS.html

This page is an example of how you might use the Animal Diversity Web from the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology with your own students. Identify your objectives, then create a worksheet that helps students achieve the objectives. You may have students focus on similarities/differences in a particular body system among specified animal groups. Don't forget the opportunity to touch on the affective domain by allowing students to identify things like their favorite animal and why, the most amazing taxa of animals and why, and questions about animals that occur to them as they peruse this site and complete the assignment. MSP full record

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Copyright March 2008 — The Ohio State University. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0424671. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.