Mammal Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards about mammals, their characteristics, and classifications.

Endothermy

Produce body heat internally through metabolism.

Hair (in mammals)

Insulates the body against heat loss and provides camouflage.

Mammalian Heart

Completely divided, 4-chambered heart with separate ventricles.

Milk

Produced by mammary glands to nourish young.

Single Lower Jawbone

Important characteristic for identifying mammal fossils.

Specialized Teeth

Location determines the function (biting, cutting, crushing, grinding).

Therapsids

Synapsids that gave rise to mammals; had complex teeth and legs positioned beneath their body.

Mammalian Evolution

Involved changes in anatomy, physiology, ecology, and behavior.

Early Mammals

Small, shrew-like, nocturnal insectivores.

Monotremes

Lay eggs (oviparous); includes duck-billed platypus and echidna.

Marsupials

Give birth to partially developed young that continue development in the mother's pouch.

Placental Mammals

Give birth to fully developed young nourished through the placenta.

Rapid Metabolism

Requires more oxygen and food to perform strenuous activities for long periods.

Diaphragm

Sheet of muscle below rib cage that aids in efficient respiration.

Specialized Teeth (Feeding)

Incisors (cut), Canines (grip, puncture, tear), Premolars and Molars (grind, crush, or cut).

Rumen

First chamber of the stomach in some hoofed mammals; used for digesting cellulose with the aid of microorganisms.

Cecum

Large sac branching from the small intestine where cellulose fermentation occurs in some mammals.

Cerebrum

Largest part of the brain; evaluates input from sense organs, controls movement, and regulates behavior, memory, and learning.

Echolocation

Process used by bats to emit high-frequency sound waves that bounce off objects.

Rodentia

Largest mammalian order; characterized by two pairs of incisors that continue to grow.

Edentata

Mammals with small teeth or no teeth; feed on insects (e.g., armadillos, sloths, anteaters).

Insectivora

Mammals with long, pointed noses used for grubbing insects (e.g., shrews, hedgehogs, moles).

Lagomorpha

Differ from rodents by having a double row of upper incisors (e.g., rabbits, hares, pikas).

Primates

Omnivorous mammals with teeth for a varied diet; large brain-to-body size ratio (e.g., lemurs, monkeys, apes, humans).

Chiroptera

Only mammals capable of true flight; wings formed by lengthened bones of last 4 fingers (bats).

Carnivora

Meat-eating mammals with enlarged canine teeth and strong jaws (e.g., dogs, cats, bears).

Pinnipedia

Water-dwelling carnivores with streamlined bodies for swimming (e.g., seals, sea lions, walruses).

Artiodactyla

Even-toed ungulates with hooves; fast runners, mostly herbivores with large, flat molars (e.g., cows, sheep, deer).

Perissodactyla

Odd-toed ungulates that use the cecum instead of the rumen for cellulose breakdown (e.g., horses, zebras, rhinoceroses).

Cetacea

Aquatic mammals with fish-like bodies, flat tails, flippers, and blowholes (e.g., whales, dolphins, porpoises).

Sirenia

Large, herbivorous aquatic mammals with flippers and a flattened tail (e.g., dugongs, manatees).

Proboscidea

Mammals with a boneless trunked nose or proboscis (elephants).