My own Mammalogy exam 2 study guide

Mammo exam two

Chiroptera

The order of mammals known as bats, characterized by their unique ability of powered flight. The name "Chiroptera" means "hand wing."

Echolocation

A sophisticated method used by bats to navigate and locate resources by emitting sound waves and interpreting the echoes.

Nocturnal

Bats are predominantly active during the night, making them nocturnal animals.

Hibernation

Some bats hibernate during periods of low food availability or cold weather, reducing their metabolic rate and conserving energy.

Life strategies

Bats exhibit a wide range of life strategies, including feeding on insects, fruits, nectar, and even blood, depending on the species.

Economic benefits

Bats provide large economic benefits to humans, such as pest control through insect consumption and pollination of plants.

Microchiroptera

Also known as echolocating or micro bats, these bats are generally small in size, use echolocation, and primarily feed on insects.

Megachiroptera

Also known as old world fruit bats or flying foxes, these bats are generally large in size, do not echolocate, and predominantly feed on fruits and nectar.

Feeding strategies

Bats can have various feeding strategies, including being insectivores, frugivores, carnivores, sanguinivores, nectarivores, or piscivores.

Wing morphology

The aspect ratio and wing loading of bats' wings determine their flight characteristics, such as speed, maneuverability, and habitat preference.

Perception and resource location

Bats use echolocation to perceive their environment and locate resources, while non-echolocating bats rely on vision and smell, particularly when consuming fruits and nectar.

Threats and conservation

Bats face various threats, including white-nose syndrome, wind turbine collisions, pesticides, habitat conversion, and artificial light. Conservation efforts include education, habitat protection, cave closures, research, wind energy technology advancements, monitoring, and citizen science initiatives.

Monotremes

Monotremes are a group of mammals that lay eggs and have unique reproductive and anatomical characteristics, including cloacas, internal testes, and lack of nipples.

Marsupials

Marsupials are mammals that give birth to relatively undeveloped young, which then climb into a pouch to continue their development. They have multiple vaginas, forked penises, and scrotums.

Afrotheria

Afrotheria is a superorder of mammals that originated in Africa and includes two main clades, Afroinsectiphilia (mostly insectivorous) and Paenungulata (herbivores).

Macroscelidea

Also known as elephant shrews, these mammals have a proboscis, large hind limbs, large ears, and are mostly insectivorous or omnivorous.

Afrosoricida

Afrosoricida is an order of insectivorous mammals that show convergent evolution with other groups.

Tubulindentata

Also known as aardvarks, these mammals are insectivorous, have a long, sticky tongue, peg-like teeth, and are strong diggers.

Proboscidea

Proboscidea includes elephants, characterized by their large proboscis (trunk), large ears, sparse fur, and fatty cushioned feet.

Hyracoidea

Hyracoidea includes hyraxes, which have three hind toes with hoof-like nails, glandular pads for climbing, and are herbivorous and colonial.

Sirenia

Sirenia includes manatees and dugongs, which are fully aquatic herbivorous mammals found in shallow waters.

Xenarthra

Xenarthra is a superorder of mammals found in the western hemisphere, characterized by their unique joints, low metabolic rate, and lack of incisors and canines.

Scandentia

Scandentia includes tree shrews, which have a small body size, arboreal habits, and are omnivorous.

Dermoptera

Dermoptera includes colugos or flying lemurs, which have a gliding membrane and are arboreal herbivores.

Pilosa

Order of mammals that includes sloths and anteaters.

Herbivorous

Feeding behavior of sloths, which consume plant material.

Myrmecophagous

Feeding behavior of anteaters, which consume ants and termites.

Large, recurved claws

Physical characteristic of Pilosa species, used for climbing and feeding.

Multi-chambered stomach with symbiotic microbes

Digestive system of sloths that aids in breaking down plant material.

Anteaters lack teeth

Physical characteristic of anteaters, as they have adapted to consume ants and termites.

Cingulata

Order of mammals that includes armadillos.

Myrmecophagous

Feeding behavior of armadillos, which consume ants and termites.

Homodont

Dental characteristic of Cingulata species, with all teeth having the same shape.

Motivation for Pauli et al

The motivation for the study was to understand why three-toed sloths descend trees to defecate despite the risk of predation.

Key finding of Pauli et al

The study found that the moths living in the fur of three-toed sloths provide benefits in the form of lipids and nutrients, creating a three-way commensalism between moths, sloths, and algae.

Eight characteristics shared by all primates

Refined hands and digits with nails, binocular stereoscopic vision, postorbital bar or plate, long-lived with slow reproduction and extended developmental time, spectrum of social systems, omnivorous dentition, reduced rostrum and sense of smell, large brain size.

Haplorhini

Suborder of primates characterized by a postorbital plate, relatively short rostrum, and continuous upper incisors.

Strepsirhini

Suborder of primates characterized by a postorbital bar, relatively long rostrum, and a gap in the upper incisors.

Factors threatening primate populations

Habitat loss from deforestation, exploitation (pet trade, food, medical research), and climate change.

General characteristics of Rodentia

Derived from Latin "rodere" (to gnaw) and "dentis" (tooth), single pair of large ever-growing incisors, diastema, different suborders have distinct skull and mandible morphologies.

Morphological features differentiating Rodentia suborders

Protragomorphous, hystricomorphous, sciurmorphous, and myomorphous skull morphologies, sciurognathous and hystricognathous mandible morphologies.

Features distinguishing lagomorphs from rodents

Fenestrated maxilla, cecal/hindgut fermenters, second set of peg-like incisors.

Families comprising Lagomorpha

Ochotonidae (pikas) and Leporidae (rabbits and hares).

Differences between hares and rabbits

Offspring precocial vs. altricial, postorbital process extension to parietal vs. not, triangular interparietal bone vs. absence.

Defining characteristics of Order Carnivora

Well-developed canines, carnassial pair teeth, well-developed facial musculature, large c-shaped mandibular fossa, anal scent glands.

Differences between suborders of Order Carnivora

Caniformes have a longer rostrum and no transbullar septae, while Feliformes have a shorter rostrum and transbullar septae. Caniformes lack retractable claws, while most Feliformes have retractable claws.

Why carnivores need more space to survive

Carnivores eat meat and are higher up in the trophic pyramid, requiring more space to obtain sufficient energy.

Mesocarnivore release

When a larger carnivore is removed from an area, smaller carnivores become more numerous and prey on small prey species, causing declines in their population.

Trophic cascade

Indirect interactions between carnivores and plants mediated by direct interactions between carnivores and herbivores.

Challenges to the conservation of large carnivores

Habitat loss and fragmentation, conflict with human interests such as livestock production and competition for prey species, and negative perceptions of large carnivores.

Felidae

Family of mammals that includes cats.

Subfamilies of Felidae

Pantherinae (big cats) and Felinae (small cats).

Differences between Pantherinae and Felinae

Pantherinae can roar but not purr, while Felinae can purr but not roar.

Traits of Felidae

Various sounds, highly sensitive whiskers, foreshortened skull, carnassials and canines for shearing flesh, well-developed sagittal crest, digitigrade, retractable claws, intervertebral discs with extra cushioning, free-floating scapula, tapetum lucidum in eyes, papillae on tongue, vomeronasal organ, short digestive tract, solitary social structure.

Characteristics differentiating ungulates

Walk on tips of toes with hoofs, reduced number of toes, calcaneum articulates with astragalus, specialized digestion.

Differences between Perissodactyla and Cetartiodactyla

Perissodactyla have an odd number of toes, while Cetartiodactyla have an even number of toes. Perissodactyla have hindgut fermentation and upper incisors, while most Cetartiodactyla have ruminant digestion and no upper incisors.

Families of Perissodactyls

Equidae, Tapiridae, Rhinocerotidae.

Differences between Equidae, Tapiridae, and Rhinocerotidae

Cannon bone, feeding strategies, distribution, and threatened or endangered status.

Suborders of Cetartiodactyla

Ruminantia and Suina.

Characteristics of Ruminantia

Horns or antlers, global distribution, economic importance.

Characteristics of Suina

Two families (Suidae and Tayassuidae), habitat generalists, omnivorous, monogastric digestion, upper incisors, tusks, large litter size.

Suborder Tylopoda

Three-chambered stomach, distribution in deserts and arid grasslands, soft hooves, adaptation for walking in sand.

Characteristics of Family Hippopotamidae

Aquatic mammals known as "river horses".

Bunodont molars

Molars with low, rounded cusps, characteristic of hippopotamuses.

Hydrodefecator

A behavior exhibited by hippos where they defecate while submerged in water.

Speciose

Referring to a group that was once more diverse in terms of species.

Cetacean evolution

The evolutionary transition of land-dwelling mammals to fully aquatic animals, such as whales and dolphins.

Astragalus

A bone in the ankle joint that is present in the semi-aquatic ancestors of cetaceans.

Fusiform body type

A streamlined body shape that is advantageous for swimming in water.

Blubber

A thick layer of fat beneath the skin that provides insulation and buoyancy for cetaceans.

Telescoped skull

A skull structure where the posterior bones are compressed and overlap, protecting the head during dives.

Hematocrit

The proportion of red blood cells in the blood, which is higher in cetaceans for efficient oxygen transport.

Myoglobin

A protein in muscle cells that helps store and transport oxygen, contributing to high oxygen efficiency in cetaceans.

Phenological stages

Different stages of plant growth and development, which influence the nutritional quality of plants.

Jarman-Bell principle

The principle that larger herbivores forage on older phenological stages of plants, while smaller herbivores forage on earlier stages.