16. Mammals Flashcards
Clade of afrotheria
One clade of placental mammals
Origins of Africa
Afrosoricida
Tenrecs, golden moles, otter shrews
Insectivorous animals
Most species are nocturnal and have poor eyesight. Insted they have very sensitive wiskers and feel small vibrations in the ground.
Macroscelida
Elephant shrew
Moves like a rabbit and have a nose their look like a trunk.
Several species make and patrol trails for catching prey.
Have a menstrual cycle like humans.
Turbilidentata
Ardvark, look like a strange pig.
Nocturnal insectivore
It has a strange tooth structure, due to it almost only eats termites.
Proboscidea
Elephants
Long proboscis or trunk, which they use to breath, drink, eat and holding things.
Tusks are used for digging, moving objects and fighting.
Hyracoidea
Hyraxes
Cut the vegetation with their molars.
Poor internal thermoregulation, so they compensate by standing close to each other.
Complex multichambered stomachs.
Sirenia
Dugongs and manatees
In families with elephants, which we can imagine because of their strange nose and skin.
They have heavy bones and don´t have that much fat, therefore their lungs and diaphragm extended the length of the vertebral column for buoyancy.
Xenarthra
Sloths, armadillos and anteaters
simplest skulls of all mammals, with absent of teeth.
Females have divided uterus, like marsupials.
In the past, this group fx had the mega sloth.
Clade Boreotheria
Originated from North America and Asia
Dermoptera
Colugos (flying mouse-looking mammal)
Patagium - fur-covered membrane, which allows them to glide from tree to tree.
Poor climbers - instead they jump up the trees
Comb like teeth, for grooming their fur, because they need their gliding fur to be in perfect condition.
The young are born underdeveloped, and live around 6 months in a flap in the mother’s belly, like marsupials.
Scandentia
Tree shrews (but not shrews)
Close to primates, with the highest brain-body mass ration of any mamal. They are often used in lab experiments.
They don´t really care for their young.
They like chili and fermented nectar, equivalent of 9 beers a day.
Primates
Lemurs, monkeys and aps
Adaption to arboreal life in the forests, which give them good visual acuity and color vision to find fruit. Flexible shoulders and dextrous hands to climb.
Social animals
Slow development like humans.
Rodentia
Mice, rats, squirrels, beavers and capybara
Very divers diet
Pair of incisors grow through their entire life, because otherwise the theet will kill them.
Social groups
Lagomorpha
Rabbits, hares and pika
Confuesed with rodants because of their teeth, but there is a different. They have four teeth in the top jaw, where rodants only have two.
Largomorphs have no paw pads.
Females are bigger than females
Eulipotyphla
Shrews (real shrews), moles, hedgehogs
Several members of this group is venemous and use ecolocation.
Hedgehogs - hollow hairs as spikes
Solenodons - venomous and nocturanal
Moles - Are pattroling their tubes and looking for worms that fall into the the tubes. Toxic saliva to store food alive.
Shrews - venemous and use ecolocation.
