Carnivorans

Question 1

Brief intro to mammals
Feliformia - cats
Caniformia - dogs

Answer 1

170 ma Therian “beasts”
98 ma Placentals
Xenartha and Afrotheria are Sern Hemi Lineages
Laurasiatheria and Euarchontoglires are Nerm Hemi lineages
292 extant species

Question 2

Key characteristics

Answer 2

Carnassial teeth (blade like posterior pre molars/anterior molars.
Compressed and sharply point claws, at least partially retractile

Question 3

Feliforms

Answer 3

Tend to be more adapted for climbing and ambush predation than dog-branch.
Few amphibious species in some groups, but no aquatic or marine forms.

Question 4

Felidae

Answer 4

Most specialised for carnivory.
Strongly reduced or absent molars.
Enlarged fully retractile claws
Small and large bodied forms that exploit a range of prey and occupy most terrestrial habitats
Good swimmers.

Question 5

Viverroidea, viveriids

Answer 5

33 species,
many arboreal species not all carnivorous.
Strong fruit component of diet
Few fishing species, otter civet etc

Question 6

Viverroidea, hyeans

Answer 6

4 species. dog like but are cat branch
Africa and eurasia during Miocene
Some are social predators of large mammals
Other are solitary and eat smaller things

Question 7

Vivveroidea, Euplerids and Herpestidae

Answer 7

Mongooses, 34 species
Chiefly terrestrial, some semi-aquatic or semi-arboreal.
Madagascan carnivorans, long bodied short limbed fossa, nocturnal long tails

Question 8

Caniforms

Answer 8

Dogs include long-legged predators of small and large mammals
Otherwise tend to be short legged small mammal predators or omnivores
Herbivory has evolved many times
Include pinnipeds, and amphibious otters and bears

Question 9

Caniforms, mephitidae

Answer 9

Skunks 12 species
Largely terrestrial in wide range of habitats

Question 10

Caniforms Ailuridae

Answer 10

Red panda. Arboreal, varied diet, notable leaf and bamboo consumption

Question 11

Caniforms, Procyonidae

Answer 11

14 species
Kinkajou, coatis, racoons, arboreal specialists

Question 12

Mustelids

Answer 12

66 species
Weasel family
Weasels, martens, otters and badgers

Question 13

Otters

Answer 13

Large, smaller SA:V for aquatic life.
Streamlined body with dense fur
Webbed digits.
Long- sensitive whiskers.
Large eyes for underwater vision

Question 14

Sea otter

Answer 14

Endemic to N Pacific coastal regions of Asia and N America
Dives to 100m, eats crabs, molluscs, urchins

Question 15

Sea otter anatomy

Answer 15

Can reach 45kg
Big males can be 1.6m long
Long body, massive ribcage, big feet, short tail and prehensile hands
Short deep snout, powerful jaws.

Question 16

Pinnipeds

Answer 16

Phocidae, seals
Otariidae, sea lions
Odobenidae, walruses
From puijila, freshwater stem-pinniped from early oligocene.

Question 17

Enaliarctos

Answer 17

First member of pinniped lineage to have flippers
Shorter tail than puijila and large, more streamlined form.
Still has carnassials

Question 18

Pinniped characteristics

Answer 18

Proportionally enormous eyes.
Replaced carnassial teeth with simple sub traingular post canine teeth.
Pinnipeds are large, insulated and streamlined by blubber

Question 19

Phocidae

Answer 19

Earless or true seals
Mostly Sern hemi monachines as well as mostly Nern hemi phocines.
Phocids cannot rotate hindlimbs to use in land mvt.
Most are shallow-water foragers but some are vertical migrators to 1000m or more
Biggest elephant seals over 2000kg, smallest phocid is 68kg ringed seal

Question 20

Otariidae

Answer 20

Sea lions and fur seals
14 species in coastal waters of N pacific, coasts of S America, Australasia
Eared seals with blunt snouts and short tail
Forelimb dominant but agile on land, move erect walk.
Generalist predators.
Males sometimes 500% bigger than females
Fierce comp between males mean big teeth and display structures like the neck.

Question 21

Otariids and Phocid swimming

Answer 21

Otariids use enlarged muscular forelimbs to swim, hind limbs for steering
Phocid propel themselves with alternative strokes of webbed hind feet, use fore limbs for sculling and steering. Less good on land than otariids

Question 22

Odobenidae

Answer 22

Walrusesm one living species.
Reaches 3.2m and 1750kg
Hindlimbs can be rotated forwards for land
Large hindlimbs provide main propulsion, can dive to 180m
Skin up too 50mm thick and thickly creased and wrinkled, with stiff guard hairs across body
Highly social

Question 23

Walrus tusks

Answer 23

Suction feeding apparatus, act as guides along sea floor.
Suction used to remove molluscs from shell
Males have pharyngeal pouches for flotation and create noisy display underwater.

Question 24

Bears, ursidae

Answer 24

Evolved in late eocene, include digitigrade cursorial predaotrs and plantigrade omnivores
Shearing carnassials evolved back into crushing premolars
Specialised herbivory evolved a few times.

Question 25

Polar bear

Answer 25

Close relative of brown bear
Most carnivorous of all bears, still has crushing premolars and molars not slicing carnassials like cats
Insulated by thick layer of fat
White fur, black skin, hollow hairs to hold air for insulation
Long claws, partially webbed digits and huge feet

Question 26

Polar bear future

Answer 26

Decline in sea ice means they are less able to hunt enough seals and are failing to build up body fat.
Polluted tissues by chemicals
20-25000 polar bears, protected by intl law but ~750 killed every year.
Escalating conflicts with people as bears are having to stay inland for longer

Question 27

Anatomical and behavioural features of marine carnivorans

Answer 27

Large compared to terrestrial relatives
Fat layers, dense fur to keep warm
Wide, webbed hands and feet
Teeth more specialised for carnivory to crush hard shells or grabbing fish
Large eyes for vision underwater
Tails might be used for propulsion, but are short in cool water forms

Question 28

Dogs Canidae

Answer 28

Ancestrally are small omnivores that den underground have limited climbing ability
Large size, running ability evolved in the miocene with development of grasslands and evolution of large bodied hoofed snimals
Canis- jackals, wolves, domestics.