Apart from teeth and skull bones, many bones of the post-cranial skeleton are identifiable to some useful level. Figure 1 shows many of the major bones, but omits vertebrae, ribs, sternum, toe bones, wrist bones, and ankle bones (other than the astragalus and calcaneum), as well as a few others.
Fig. 1. Some of the more prominent post-cranial skeletal elements. Bones shown are of a cottontail rabbit. As in a number of mammals, the distal part of the fibula is fused to the tibia; the entire bone then is known as the tibiofibula.
The pelvic girdle consists of two innominate bones, usually fused together ventrally in adult animals by the pubis bones. Each innominate consists of three bones that fuse together early in life: the ilium anteriorly, the ischium posteriorly, and the pubis ventrally. A socket (the acetabulum) for the head of the femur forms where the three bones come together centrally. The ilia attach by connective tissue to the sacrum, forming a stable platform for the hind legs.