FREQUENCY: Very rare ([Dungeon Level I])
FREQUENCY: Very rare ([Cold Civilized Swamp]), ([Cold Wilderness Swamp])
FREQUENCY: Very rare ([Temperate Wilderness Swamp])
FREQUENCY: Very rare ([Tropical Civilized Swamp])
FREQUENCY: Very rare ([Tropical Wilderness Swamp])
NO. APPEARING: 2-20
ARMOR CLASS: 8
MOVE: 6"
HIT DICE: 1-1
% IN LAIR: 85%
TREASURE TYPE: [SB]
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-4
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Nil
SPECIAL DEFENSES: [SB]
MAGIC RESISTANCE: [SB]
INTELLIGENCE: Non-
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
SIZE: S to M
LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: I | 10 + 1

Animal skeletons are animated from small vertebrate creatures by
means of an animate dead spell. Animal skeletons are produced at the
rate of 1-1/2 per xperience level of the caster. They are typically
created to serve as guardians of a minor sort. Thus, theywill not usually
have treasure nearby, save possibly that incidentally remaining from
past encounters. Usual animal skeletons are from the size of domestic
cats to the size of large dogs. (Nothing larger than a human can be
animated by the spell.)

Animal skeletons have no special attack forms. They are, of course,
immune to charm, cold, death magic, hold, and sleep. Blunt weapons
inflict normal damage, but edged weapons inflict only one-half normal
damage. They are turned as normal skeletons, but at +1 in the cleric's
favor, and 1 d6+6 will be turned or destroyed.
 

by Lenard Lakofka
 

Q: In issue #66, Leomund?s Tiny Hut lists
some interesting lower-level monsters.
But one of them, animal skeletons, cannot
apparently be made using the spell
animate dead as described in the Players
Handbook.

A: It is conceivable that evil clerics could
develop a spell similar to animate dead
that would allow for the animation of
animal skeletons. Such a spell would
likely be of third-level power and similar
in most respects (such as casting time and
so forth) to the other spell.
Correction: animate dead can be used for the animation of animal skeletons, as per the text in the MM2.
(79.15)