mammal_flashcards

Question 1

What are the defining traits of mammals?

Answer 1

Hair, mammary glands, middle ear bones, diaphragm, and endothermy.

Question 2

What is the function of mammalian hair?

Answer 2

Protection, insulation, camouflage, sensory input, and communication.

Question 3

What is the evolutionary origin of mammals?

Answer 3

Mammals evolved from synapsid ancestors.

Question 4

What is the significance of mammary glands?

Answer 4

They produce milk to nourish young mammals.

Question 5

What is the mammalian integument?

Answer 5

The skin, including hair, glands, and specialized structures.

Question 6

What are sebaceous glands?

Answer 6

Glands producing sebum to keep skin and hair lubricated.

Question 7

What are scent glands used for?

Answer 7

Communication, marking territory, and defense.

Question 8

What is keratin?

Answer 8

A protein in hair, nails, and horns providing strength and protection.

Question 9

What are vibrissae?

Answer 9

Sensory hairs (whiskers) that detect environmental stimuli.

Question 10

What are quills?

Answer 10

Defensive hairs modified into sharp spines.

Question 11

What are true horns?

Answer 11

Keratinized sheaths with a bony core found in ruminants.

Question 12

What are antlers?

Answer 12

Bony structures shed annually, found in deer species.

Question 13

What types of teeth do mammals have?

Answer 13

Incisors, canines, premolars, and molars.

Question 14

What are carnassial teeth?

Answer 14

Sharp teeth used for slicing meat in carnivores.

Question 15

What type of teeth do herbivores have?

Answer 15

Broad, high-crowned molars for grinding vegetation.

Question 16

What is the dental formula for humans?

Answer 16

2 incisors, 1 canine, 2 premolars, and 3 molars per jaw side.

Question 17

What are ruminants?

Answer 17

Herbivores with a four-chambered stomach for digesting plant material.

Question 18

What are omnivores?

Answer 18

Animals that eat both plants and animals, including humans and bears.

Question 19

What are insectivores?

Answer 19

Animals that feed primarily on insects.

Question 20

What is filter feeding?

Answer 20

Feeding method used by some aquatic mammals like baleen whales.

Question 21

How does body size affect metabolism?

Answer 21

Smaller mammals have faster metabolisms and need more food per unit size.

Question 22

What is endothermy?

Answer 22

The ability to regulate body temperature internally.

Question 23

Why do small mammals eat frequently?

Answer 23

They have high surface area-to-volume ratios, causing rapid heat loss.

Question 24

What are monotremes?

Answer 24

Egg-laying mammals like the platypus and echidna.

Question 25

What are marsupials?

Answer 25

Mammals with pouches for carrying young, like kangaroos.

Question 26

What are placental mammals?

Answer 26

Mammals with internal gestation supported by a placenta.

Question 27

What is estrus?

Answer 27

The reproductive cycle when female mammals are fertile.

Question 28

What are precocial young?

Answer 28

Young born well-developed and able to move shortly after birth.

Question 29

What are altricial young?

Answer 29

Young born underdeveloped, requiring parental care.

Question 30

How do mammals nourish their young?

Answer 30

Through milk produced by mammary glands.

Question 31

What determines litter size in mammals?

Answer 31

Mortality rates and species-specific reproductive strategies.

Question 32

What is territoriality?

Answer 32

The defense of a specific area for feeding, mating, or raising young.

Question 33

What is a home range?

Answer 33

An area where an animal lives and forages but does not defend.

Question 34

What factors affect territory size?

Answer 34

Food availability, body size, and reproductive needs.

Question 35

What is the evolutionary significance of synapsids?

Answer 35

They are the ancestors of modern mammals.

Question 36

What are therapsids?

Answer 36

Advanced synapsids that gave rise to mammals.

Question 37

What are the key mammalian evolutionary traits?

Answer 37

Hair, endothermy, specialized teeth, and live birth.

Question 38

What are mammalian diaphragm muscles used for?

Answer 38

Breathing by expanding the chest cavity.

Question 39

What are middle ear bones?

Answer 39

Three small bones (malleus, incus, stapes) for sound transmission.

Question 40

What are mammalian incisors used for?

Answer 40

Biting and cutting food.

Question 41

What are canines used for?

Answer 41

Piercing and holding prey.

Question 42

What is echolocation?

Answer 42

Navigation and hunting using sound waves, found in bats and dolphins.

Question 43

What is hibernation?

Answer 43

A state of reduced metabolic activity to survive cold conditions.

Question 44

What is torpor?

Answer 44

Short-term hibernation during cold nights or food shortages.

Question 45

What are marsupial examples?

Answer 45

Kangaroos, koalas, and opossums.

Question 46

What are the three mammalian subclasses?

Answer 46

Monotremes, marsupials, and placentals.

Question 47

What distinguishes placental mammals?

Answer 47

Internal gestation supported by a placenta.

Question 48

What are insectivores known for?

Answer 48

Eating insects using sharp, pointed teeth.

Question 49

What is convergent evolution?

Answer 49

Unrelated species evolving similar traits due to similar environments.

Question 50

What sense is highly developed in most mammals?

Answer 50

Smell, due to well-developed olfactory regions.

Question 51

What is binocular vision?

Answer 51

Vision with overlapping fields for depth perception.

Question 52

What is tactile sensing?

Answer 52

Detecting environmental changes using touch-sensitive skin or whiskers.

Question 53

What adaptations help mammals survive in deserts?

Answer 53

Water retention, nocturnal behavior, and burrowing.

Question 54

What helps aquatic mammals stay warm?

Answer 54

Thick blubber layers for insulation.

Question 55

What do hooves help with?

Answer 55

Efficient movement across different terrains.

Question 56

What is plantigrade locomotion?

Answer 56

Walking with the entire foot touching the ground, like humans and bears.