Mammals. Flashcards
1
Q
How many species of terrestrial mammals are there in Grenada?
A
22.
2
Q
How many species of primates are there in Grenada today?
A
2.
3
Q
What are chiroptera?
A
Bats.
4
Q
How many species of bat are there in Grenada?
A
11-12 species.
5
Q
How many species of rodent are there in Grenada?
A
5.
6
Q
How many species of marsupial are there in Grenada?
A
2.
7
Q
How many species of edentata are there in Grenada?
A
1.
8
Q
What are edentata?
A
Armadillos, anteaters, sloths.
9
Q
How many carnivorous mammals are there in Grenada?
A
1.
10
Q
What percentage of mammals are bats?
A
20%.
11
Q
What are the only mammals that fly?
A
Bats.
12
Q
What time of day are bats typically active?
A
In the evening and just before the dawn.
13
Q
What do bats tend to eat?
A
Insects.
Some will eat fruit and some will eat fish.
14
Q
What do bats do in the winter?
A
They will either migrate or hibernate.
15
Q
What family of bats live in Grenada?
A
Phyllostimidae.
16
Q
Are there any blood sucking bats in Grenada?
A
No.
17
Q
Do bats tend to be long lived?
A
Yes.
18
Q
Why are bats good for the environment?
A
Insect control.
Seed dispersal.
Plant pollinators.
Keystone species.
19
Q
How many bats can the little brown bat eat per night?
A
Up to 1000.
20
Q
What may happen if bats are removed from an area?
A
Lots of extinctions may follow.
21
Q
What is the main difference in the way that male and female bats tend to live?
A
Males are solitary.
Females form nurses columns.
22
Q
What percentage of bats use high frequency sound to communicate and navigate?
A
50%.
23
Q
Do bats have good vision?
A
Yes they have excellent vision but they cannot see colour.
24
Q
What colour is the Jamaican fruit eating bat?
A
Black and silver grey.
25
What kind of ears does the Jamaican fruit eating bat have?
Long pointed ones.
26
What is the lifespan of the Jamaican fruit eating bat?
10 years.
27
What habitat does the Jamaican fruit eating bat prefer?
Moist habitat that is open but it likes to roost in houses.
28
What is the diet of the Jamaican fruit eating bat?
Mainly fruits such as avocados bananas etc. It is a critical seed dispersal.
29
How many offspring does the Jamaican fruit eating bat produce?
1 per year.
30
What is the species name of the Jamaican fruit eating bat?
Artibeus jamaicensis.
31
What its the species name of the Millers long tounged bat?
Glossophaga longirostris rostrata.
32
What colour is the Millers long tounged bat?
Dark to red brown.
33
What characteristics does the Millers long tounged bat have?
Long snout and very long tongue.
Nose leaf is like a spear.
May defend very small feeding territories (3 – 10 sq. meters).
Diet is based on flowers.
34
What habitat does the Millers long tounged bat like?
Dry thorny scrub habitat.
Tend to live in small groups in caves or hollow trees.
35
What does the Millers long tounged bat tend to eat?
Fruit, nectar and possibly insects.
36
What is the species name of the fish eating bat?
Noctilo leporinus.
37
How does the fish eating bat locate fish?
By using echolocation.
38
What does the face of the fish eating bat resemble?
A bulldog.
39
What colour is the fish eating bat?
Males are a bright red/yellow/orange on backs (dorsally) with lighter colors ventrally).
40
What kind of ears does the fish eating bat have?
Long pointed ears.
41
Which kind of bat has long hind legs and rakes for feet?
The fish eating bat.
42
Where does the fish eating bat tend to live?
Forests, rocky cliff faces near seas or inland lakes.
Roost together in caves, trees etc.
43
Which kind of bat can swim?
The fish eating bat.
44
How many offspring does the fish eating bat produce?
1 per year. Born between Dec and March.
45
What is the species name of the Pygmy or Gervais Fruit-eating bat?
Artibeus cinereus.
46
What is the range of the pygmy bat?
Northern south america to southern Brazil.
47
What is the habitat of the pygmy bat?
Mature and disturbed montane, cloud and rain forests.
Broad in habitat selection. Tolerant of habitat disturbance.
Roost in smaller colonies often in trees.
48
Which kind of bat makes tents out of leave?
The pygmy bat.
49
What is the diet of the pygmy bat?
Omnivorous. Fruit and insects.
50
How many young does the pygmy bat produce.
1 per litter.
51
What is the scientific name of the great fruit eating bat?
Artibeus lituratus.
52
Which kind of bat has brownish grey fur with white facial stripes?
The great fruit eating bat.
53
What is the range of the great fruit eating bat?
Mexico to northern Argentina, Paraguay, Trinidad, and Tobago, Lesser Antilles.
54
What habitat does the great fruit eating bat like?
Moist or dry forests and open areas.
55
What kind of diet does the great fruit eating bat have?
Likely solely seeds.
56
How many offspring can the great fruit eating bat produce?
It can have up to 2 birth periods a year producing 1 offspring in each.
57
What is the scientific name of the little big eared bat?
Micronycteris megalotis.
58
What are the main characteristics of the little big eared bat?
Big round ears.
Spear-like nose leaf.
Long narrow head and snout.
Small dark eyes
59
What colour is the little big eared bat?
Generally brown dorsally and ventrally but coloration can vary with location.
60
Which bat has short broad wings?
The little big eared bat.
61
What is the range of the little big eared bat?
Lower lesser Antilles (Grenada and St. Vincent), Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia and Brazil (northern areas).
62
What is the habitat of the little big eared bat?
Variable from moist tropical forest to dry, scrub habitats.
Roosting sites typically in trees and hollow logs, caves and buildings.
Prefer to roost in small groups of up to 20 or alone.
63
What is the diet of the little big eared bat?
Primarily insects but will also eat fruit.
64
Which kind of bat are seasonal breeders with one breeding cycle in the northern range and 2 in the southern range?
The little big eared bat.
65
Which bats are thought to have evolved in conjunction with echolocation capabilities and allow them to use lower-intensity sounds than other species?
Little big eared bats.
66
Which bats can hover and fly very slowly?
Little big eared bats.
67
What is the species name of the naked backed bat?
Pteronotus davyi.
68
Why does the naked backed bat deserve its name?
Wings attach over the fur at the middle of the back and so back appears naked.
69
What is the colour of the naked backed bat?
Shades of brown or grey or orange-like with lighter coloration underneath.
70
Which kind of bat has a tail?
The naked backed bat.
71
What is the range of the naked backed bat?
Mexico to Peru and Venezuela, Trinidad and the lesser Antilles.
72
What kind of habitat does the naked backed fruit bat like?
Seems to prefer open dry areas.
Prefer to roost in darker areas of caves. Hang singly instead of in clumps.
73
Which kind bat flies roughly 3.5 km each evening to feeding areas and were feeding for 5 – 7 hours from shortly after sunset.
Naked backed bat.
74
What is the diet of naked backed fruit bat?
Insects.
75
How many offspring does the naked backed fruit bat produce?
1 per year?
76
What family are rodents?
Muridae.
77
What is the natural range of rodents?
Global
78
What percentage of oceanic islands were rats introduced to?
80%.
79
Which kind of mammal arrived as stowaways on ships?
Rats.
80
What is the range of countries that are exempt from rats?
Antarctica, New Zealand, some arctic islands, and most oceanic islands including much of the West Indies.
81
What is the scientific name of the black rat?
Rattus rattus.
82
What is the range of the black rat?
Global—anywhere humans are found except extreme climates.
83
What is the habitat of the black rat?
Habitat: beneath roofs, granaries, barns, etc.
84
What is the scientific name of the Norwegian rat?
Rattus norvegicus.
85
What is the range of the Norwegian rat?
Global—anywhere humans are found except extreme climates.
86
What is the habitat of the Norwegian rat?
Sewers, barns, basements, sheds.
87
Which rats are good swimmers?
Norwegian rats.
88
Are the Norwegian and black rats diurnal or nocturnal?
Nocturnal.
89
Which rats are good climbers?
The black rat.
90
What kind of diet does the black rat like?
The black rat is omnivorous but eats mostly fruit and grains.
91
What are the reproduction patterns of the black rat?
Breeds several times per year.
Gestation: 21-29 days. Typically 8 young per litter.
Females sexually mature at 2 to 4 months.
92
Which rat is more common in the tropics?
The black rat.
93
What kind of diet does the Norwegian rat look like?
Prefers more of a meat diet to fruit and grains
Mice, lizards, amphibians, birds, eggs, fish etc.
Very efficient at catching fish.
94
What are the reproduction patterns of the Norwegian rat?
1 - 12 litters per year.
Gestation: 21-26 days. 2 – 22 young/litter.
Weaned at 22 days sexually mature at 2 to 3 months.
95
What are the major economic and health dangers that rats cause?
It is thought that more humans have died from rat-born diseases in the last 1000 years than all of the humans killed in all of the wars.
Destruction of crops, food reserves.
Destruction of endemic species.
96
What are the main features of the black rat?
Pointed nose, sleeker body, ears can be pulled over eyes.
97
What are the main features of the Norwegian rat?
Blunt nose, chunky body, ears cannot be pulled over eyes.
98
Which rat will often eat the eggs and young of birds?
The black rat.
99
What is the scientific name of the house mouse?
Mus musculus.
100
What are the characteristics of the house mouse?
Light brown to darker on back with lighter (white/buff) bellies and sides.
Long tails (longer than body).
Commensally living with humans.
101
What is the habitat of the house mouse?
Grassy meadows.
Variety of forest types.
Rocky outcrops.
Human habitation: nest behind walls, in roofs, woodpiles, storerooms.
102
When is the house mouse active?
At all hours.
103
What is the diet of the house mouse?
Omnivorous.
Feed on anything: fruits, leaves, vegetation, any human or animal food that is available.
104
What are the breeding characteristics of the house mouse?
5 to 14 litters/year depending on conditions.
Gestation: 19 - 21 days.
3 - 12 young/litter. Weaned at 3 weeks.
Sexually mature at 5 – 7 weeks.
105
What is the species name of the Burmese mongoose?
Herpestes auropunctatus
.
106
What is the colour of the Burmese mongoose?
Color: light brown -gold highlights.
107
Which mammal has Carnassial teeth used to shear meat?
Burmese mongoose.
108
When is the mongoose active?
In the day.
109
What will mongooses eat?
Almost anything.
110
What are the breeding characteristics of the mongoose?
Females breed up to 3x per year.
Up to 3 young per litter.
Reproductively mature at 10 weeks.
111
Which species was imported into the West Indies around the 1870s to control introduced rats that were damaging cane crops?
The mongoose.
112
Which species causes an estimated 50 million US dollars in damage/year in Puerto Rico and the Hawaiian Islands?
The mongoose.
113
What is the species name of the Chapman’s Murine Opossum?
Marmosa robinsoni.
114
What is known as the little manicou in Grenada?
Chapman’s Murine Opossum.
115
Describe the Chapman’s Murine Opossum?
Mouse-like animal with pointed snout and protuberant eyes that indicate its nocturnal nature.
116
What is the only marsupial in Grenada?
Chapman’s Murine Opossum.
117
What colour is the Chapmans murine possum?
Thick fur is brown to reddish above and cream colored on belly. Darker fur around eyes.
118
Which mammal uses its tail to grab hold of branches?
Chapmans murine possum.
119
What is the preferred habitat of the Chapmans possum?
Very generalist in choice of forested habitat.
Rain to cloud to thorn/scrub forests, second growth.
Arboreal.
120
How does the Chapmans possum live?
Seeks available shelter when sun comes out (abandoned bird nests etc.).
Solitary and nomadic in behaviour.
121
What is the diet of the Chapmans possum?
Insectivorous with some fruit…may eat some very small vertebrates, and eggs.
122
Is the Chapmans possum diurnal or nocturnal?
Nocturnal.
123
What are the breeding characteristics of the Champans possum?
Gestation: 14 days.
Breed year round.
7 - 9 young/litter.
124
Which mammal has young born premature and must move to nipples where they attach…mother has to walk with stiff legs to keep from knocking them off?
The Chapmans possum.
125
What is the weaning period of the Chapmans possum?
Not weaned until 60 – 70 days.
Young then ride on female's back.
Leave female at about 75 days old.
Females mature at 265 + days.
126
What is the lifetime of the Chapmans possum?
A year.
127
What is the scientific name of the common possum?
Didelphis marsupialis.
128
What are the characteristics of the common possum?
wStrong climber with a prehensile, scaly tail.
Domestic cat size.
Pointed snout.
Fur: gray to brown with white guard hairs.
129
What is the range of the common possum?
Eastern Mexico, Brazil and Bolivia and Lesser Antilles.
130
What habitat does the common possum prefer?
Generalist, but prefers forested areas…record locations are typically on the ground in wetter areas.
131
Is the common possum nocturnal or diurnal?
Nocturnal.
Spend the days in hollow trees, rocky outcrops, burrows (may dig themselves) or under shrubs/brush-piles.
132
Where do common possums tend to live?
In a nest constructed using mouth and tail to carry nesting materials (as does mouse opossum).
133
How do common possums reproduce?
Marsupial: pouch.
Gestation: 12 – 13 days.
Average: 7 young/litter.
Typically litter in January and May
134
How are the young weaned by the common possum?
Young weaned at 100 days and carried on female’s back.
135
Which mammal will often feign death?
The common possum.
136
What is the diet of the common possum?
Diet: Omnivorous-- Insects, eggs, fruits and smaller vertebrates (lizards, birds, amphibians), plants.
137
Which mammal has a range of around 11-13 hectares?
The common possum.
138
Which Grenadian mammal is often hunted for its meat?
The common possum.
139
What is the species name of the nine banded armadillo?
Dasypus novemcinctus.
140
What is often called the tattou in Grenada?
The nine banded armadillo.
141
What are the characteristics of the nine banded armadillo?
Color is brown to gray mottled.
Hair is very sparse.
Stocky body.
142
What is the range of the nine banded armadillo?
South-central to southeastern U.S, to Peru and Uruguay, Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada in the Lesser Antilles.
143
What is the habitat of the nine banded armadillo?
Prefer shade and dense undergrowth/forests.
144
Where do the armadillos tend to live?
Dig out burrows that can be up to 3.5 meters deep and 7.5 meters long.
Build large nests in these burrows made of leaves and grasses.
145
What is the diet of the nine banded armadillo?
Predominantly insects: beetles and ants but occasionally small vertebrates.
146
Which mammal will often live together in burrows with all members typically of the same sex?
The armadillo.
147
What is the reproduction of the nine banded armadillo?
Exhibits delayed implantation (blastocyst does not implant in the uterine wall immediately). Typically mates in July or August implantation may not occur until November.
Implantation can be delayed up to 5 months.
Gestation is about 120 days.
Litter = 4 offspring all the same sex from a single egg.
Weaned about 5 months. Sexually mature at 1 year.
148
Which animal was nearly hunted to expiration in Grenada?
The nine banded armadillo.
149
What is the scientific name of the agouti?
Dasyprocta leporina.
150
What are the characteristics of the agouti?
Head and Body Length: 415 – 620 mm.
Weight: 1.3 – 4 kg
Dorsal fur is a glossy orange to various shades of brown belly is yellow to buff in colour.
Narrow, large head and slim body, short ears.
Hind feet have three toes with claws that resemble a hoof.
151
What is the range of the agouti?
Venezuela, Guiana, Brazil, Lesser Antilles.
152
What is the habitat of the agouti?
Forested areas, thick shrubby areas and agricultural areas.
Agoutis are tightly tied to riparian streams
Burrow into banks, under tree roots, and establish trails out and around their burrows.
153
What is the diet of the agouti?
Fruits, various plant parts and vegetables.
Will store/bury nuts and fruit for later consumption.
154
Which Grenadian mammal is monogamous?
The agouti.
155
How do agoutis defend their territory?
Adults pair is very aggressive in their defense of territory (wounds can be severe).
Agoutis will thump the ground with their hind feet if disturbed.
Alarm bark that sounds like a small dog.
156
How does the agouti reproduce?
Male sprays female with urine which incites a “frenzy” dance and she may allow the male to mate after several spray episodes.
157
How are young agoutis born?
Young are born fully furred with eyes open and ready to run.
Nurse for about 20 weeks.
With new pups born the adults turn on the juveniles and drive them from the burrow
Juvenile survival is low (30 % and less) with many starving during the non-fruiting season and many eaten by coatis .
158
Which mammal will follow monkeys to get the fruit that they drop?
The agouti.
159
Which mammal is extirpated from Grenada?
The agouti.
