Midterm Flashcards
Explain why Mysticeti have 2 blowholes and Odontoceti only have 1
Describe the differences in echolocation between Mysticeti & Odontoceti
Which rorqual is the most different from the rest?
Which family shows in-between characteristics of 2 others?
Largest odontocete with the greatest sexual dimorphism
Which family has flipper ‘pockets’?
Ziphiidae
Which beaked whale species is unlike the others and does NOT have reduced teeth?
What is the relationship between throat grooves and baleen?
Which delphinidae species has no dorsal fin?
Which is the only dolphin with differentiated teeth?
Why do some families of pinnipeds have ear pinnae while others do not?
Explain some differences between a right whale vs the pygmy right whale
Which species has a symmetrical skull?
Franciscana - questionable echolocation abilities
Cetaceans have _____ to aid with flexibility?
Sternal ribs are attached to vertebral ribs
Which species has an unfused vertebrae?
Amazon River Dolphin
How many vertebrae does sousa have?
51
Characters that aid in sounds transmission
Melon (odontoceti) - bulbous heads -acoustic fat
Toothed - Hollow rostrums (open mesorostrum canals) - minus sperm whales
**since most baleen are filter feeders, they don’t need to echolocate the same way toothed whales do
- Hollow mandibles - sound travels down lower jaw to ear bones
What unique trait does the genus mesoplodon have?
rostrum with a dense mammalian bone/tusk (Blainville’s beaked whale)
- secondary sexual trait?
- used for sound?
Diphyodont vs Monophyodont
Diphyodont - Nursing teeth (pinnipedia)
Monophyodont - 1 set of teeth (cetacea)
