Final Chordates Test

oh bud good luck......... ;-;

The study of birds is called:

Ornithology.

What is an occipital condyle and how many do birds have?

Basically a small bony knob, they have 1.

How is bird waste similar to that of a reptile?

Both are nitrogenous wastes.

What do scientists call the small two-legged dinosaurs birds are thought to have evolved from?

Theropods.

What fossil species is the earliest known bird?

Archaeopteryx.

What single unique feature that distinguishes birds from other living mammals?

Feathers.

What do we call the covering of feathers on a bird?

Plumage.

What are the two main functions of feathers?

1. Providing lift.

2. Insulate (prevent heat loss).

What are the four main types of feathers?

1. Contour feathers.

2. Down feathers.

3. Filoplume feathers.

4. Powder-down feathers.

What is preening and what gland do birds use to preen?

When the bird cleans/smooths its feathers, they use the uropygial gland.

What is molting?

When birds shed/replace their feathers.

What shape is the sternum of a bird and why?

It’s keeled, so it can provide room for the large pectoral muscles to attach.

What terms do we use to describe birds which feed on a wide range of food items? What is the pro and con for this type of diet?

Euryphagous generalists.

Pro’s: Less danger of the food source running out.

Cons: More competition.

What terms do we use to describe birds which feed on only one type of food? What is the pro and con for this type of diet?

Stenophagous Specialists

Pros: Less competition

Cons: Danger of losing food source.

What is the role of the crop?

Storing excess food. (stretchy organ)

What are the two compartments of a bird stomach?

1. Proventriculus.

2. Gizzard (ventriculus)

What organ performs most digestion in a bird?

Small intestine.

What is the function of ceca?

Helps absorb remaining water from food.

Why do some birds produce pellets?

they can’t digest the bones, fur, feathers, etc.

Describe the heart of a bird.

4-chambered heart, double-loop circulation, fast heartbeat.

How are bird blood cells different from mammals?

They are nucleated,biconvex.

How do birds produce vocalizations?

Through the syrinx (special voice box)

How many breathing cycles does it take to move air through the respiratory system? Why?

2, air flows to posterior air sacs, to the lungs, then anterior air sacs, and finally out.

What excretory organ is missing from a bird and why?

Urinary bladder, it would weigh the bird down.

How is bird eyesight similar to and different from humans?

They can see color like us, but can also see colors we don’t. (ultra violet light)

Birds have what type of thermoregulation?

Endothermic homeotherms.

What term refers to periodic round trips between breeding and nonbreeding areas?

Migration.

What term means that birds lay eggs that develop outside the body?

Oviparous.

What term refers to bird mating in which each individual has one mate?

Monogamy.

What term refers to bird mating in which each individual has more than one mate during a breeding season?

Polygamy.

What do we call the featherless area on a bird which helps incubate the eggs at an ideal temperature?

Brood patch.

What term refers to birds that are helpless at hatching.

Altricial young.

All birds belong to what class?

Aves.

What two terms are used to describe Nightjars and Potoos?

Insectivorous, and nocturnal.

What bird group is described as compact, plump birds, strong fliers, that gather in flocks?

Columbiformes.

What bird group is described as “The Lions of the air”?

Falconiformes.

What is the largest order of birds which have perching feet and well-developed vocal cords?

What long beaked tropical bird is grouped with woodpeckers?

Toucans.

What are the aquatic, flightless birds living almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere called?

Penguins.

What group of birds are nocturnal carnivores with extraordinary good hearing and excellent night vision.

Strigiformes.

Birds are important because they help control the population size of what two common pest animals groups?

Insects, and rodents.

What pesticide biomagnified and affected birds in the 1950s? Why was it bad?

DDT, when the birds sat on their eggs they cracked (no young).

Keratin is what?

The protein in scales and feathers.

What’s a follicle?

Hollow quills emerging from tiny pits in skin.

What’s the cloaca?

Where liquid and solid food pass through to exit the bird’s body.

The study of amphibians and reptiles is called.

Herpetology.

What three characteristics prevented amphibians form being fully terrestrial?

Shell-less eggs, thin moist skin, and gilled larvae.

What important structure allowed reptiles to become the first fully terrestrial vertebrates?

Amniotic egg.

What is the outermost membrane of the egg; surrounds all other membranes? What is its function?

The chorion: helps protect the embryo, allows oxygen to enter the egg.

What is the thin membrane enclosing the fluid in which the embryo floats? What is the purpose of the fluid?

Amnion: Serves to cushion the embryo, prevents dehydration.

What is the function of the allantois?

Stores metabolic wastes.

What is yolk?

A fat-rich food supply for the embryo.

What is albumen?

Additional protein/water (egg white).

How is the egg shell of a reptile different from a bird egg shell?

Reptile eggs are softer and more leathery while bird eggs are hard.

The earliest reptiles go by what nickname?

Stem reptiles.

Why are reptiles considered a paraphyletic group?

They don’t include all descendants of their recent ancestor.

What time period is often called the “age of Reptiles”?

The Mesozoic Era.

What type of thermoregulation do reptiles exhibit?

Poikilothermic ectotherms..

List several ways reptiles skin is different from amphibian skin.

-Keratinized epidermis

-Beta keratin (extra protection)

Describe the heart and blood circulation of most reptiles.

3-chambered heart, pulmonary loop; heart → lungs → heart.

Systematic loop: heart → body → heart.

How do crocodilian hearts differ from other reptiles? Why is this?

They have a 4 chambered heart, they need more energy and oxygen.

Which blood circulation loop delivers deoxygenated blood to the lungs?

Pulmonary loop.

Which blood circulation loop delivers oxygenated blood to the body?

Systematic loop.

What is the main nitrogenous waste excreted by reptiles and what organ helps excrete it?

Uric acid, paired kidneys help excrete it.

How is reptile urine different than our own? Why?

Semi-solid mass of uric acid, and it’s resorbed in the bladder.

How is a reptile jaw different from other vertebrates?

Several bones in their lower jaw that help it open larger.

What does it mean to have an anapsid skull? Which reptiles have this?

Have no opening behind the eye socket, seen in turtles.

What does it mean to have a diapsid skull? What reptiles have this?

Have 2 fenestrae behind the eye socket, all reptiles (except turtles and birds).

What is the name of the two copulatory organs found in most male reptiles?

Hemipenes.

What kind of reptiles are land-dwelling and tend to have dome-shaped shells with thick sturdy legs and feet?

Tortoises.

What kind of shelled reptiles spend their time both on land and in water, and live along rivers, ponds, and lakes or in brackish, swampy areas?

Terrapins.

What kind of reptiles are usually water-dwelling with streamlines, disk-shaped shells and webbed feet or flippers to rapidly move in water?

Turtles.

Describe the shell of a turtle. What are the dorsal and ventral parts called and covered with?

Disk shaped shells, dorsal is carapace, ventral is plastron, covered with individual plates called scutes.

What determines the sex of turtle hatchlings?

Temperature.

What reptile is known as the largest turtle on Earth?

Leatherback sea turtle.

What reptile is known as the biggest freshwater turtle in North America?

Alligator snapping turtle.

How is a snake adapted to eating large prey?

It now has a kinetic skull.

What causes a snake’s cold, unblinking stare that many people find frightening?

They lack a moveable eyelid.

What is the name of the pit-like organs in the roof of the mouth used to smell/taste chemicals in the air?

Jacobson’s organs.

The most common S-shaped movement in snakes in which the head moves side to side causing waves of muscular contractions is called what?

Lateral undulations.

Slow forward movement in which scutes or scales on the belly catch on rough surfaces is called what?

Rectilinear movements.

Some desert snakes use this type of movement in which the head is vigorously flung from side to side causing this whip like body motion.

Sidewinding.

What three snakes are commonly known as constrictors?

Boas, Pythons, and Anacondas.

Rattlesnakes inject what type of venom that attacks red blood cells?

Hemotoxin.

Copperheads inject what type of venom that works on the nervous system affecting heart rate and breathing?

Neurotoxin.

Describe the three types of fangs found among venomous snakes?

1. Rear-fanged: bites prey and uses grooved back teeth to guide venom into the punctured wound.

2. Front-fanged: injects poison through 2 small front fangs that act like a hypodermic needle.

3. Hinged-fanged: Roof of mouth swing forward to inject poison.

Name the two types of lizards which are venomous.

Gila monsters, and beaded lizard.

Name the group of lizards which are often brightly colored with ornamental crests, frills, and throat fans.

Iguanas.

Name the group of lizards which are small, agile, and mostly nocturnal with adhesive toe pads that enable them to walk upside down and on vertical surfaces.

Geckos.

Name the group of lizards which are arboreal with a sticky-tipped tongue and excelled camouflage abilities.

Chameleons.

What is the largest lizard species?

Moniters.

Which group of living reptiles is the most closely related to dinosaurs?

Crocodiles.

What type of crocodilian has a wide flat head, round nose, and only upper teeth of varying size that show when their mouth is closed?

Alligators.

What type of crocodilian is native to Central America and South America but have been introduced in Florida?

Caimans.

What type of crocodilian lives only in India and Burma and are fish eating reptiles with very slender, long snouts?

Gavials.

What type of crocodilian has a triangle-shaped head with both upper and lower teeth that show when their mouth is closed?

Crocodile.

Where can we find the two species of alligators?

China, and Southern United States.

What do crocodiles use their secondary palate for?

Breathing while mouth is full of food or water.

What type of reptile is nocturnal, lizard-like, and often found living in burrows shared with petrels?

Tuataras.

Where are Tuataras found and why are they at risk?

New Zealand, because they introduced nonnative animals that now prey on them.