order Euungulata Flashcards
Order Perissodactyla: way more diverse
mesaxonic foot
artiodactyla have
paraxonic feet
Morphology of perisso- and artiodactyls
Large cecum (perisso’s) or rumination (ruminant artiodactyls) to digest cellulose
Living Perissodactyls:
Dentition and cranial morphology are
developed in response to
to herbivorous feeding habits – Elongate skulls – Teeth usually lophodont • Hypsodont in grazing types • Brachydont in browsers
Order Perissodactyla has 3 families
Family Equidae
Family Tapiridae
Family Rhinocerotidae
Family Equidae is from
Africa, Middle East, parts of Asia
Family Equidae Only the
third digit is functional
Family Equidae Most species are highly social
Form herds and/or clans – Polygynous mating system – Social hierarchy—led by dominant stallion • Harems formed in some species • Bachelor herds
Family Tapiridae is from
• New World tropics and SE Asia
Family Tapiridae have 4 toes on? 3 toes on?
front feet
hind feet
Family Rhinocerotidae is from
• Africa and SE Asia
Family Rhinocerotidae have 3 or 4 toes on? 3 toes on?
front feet
hind feet
Family Rhinocerotidae Nasal bones thickened and enlarged to
– Support horn of dermal material
Family Rhinocerotidae are • Solitary to social. They are also
• Territorial—use scent marking (dung piles)
Family Rhinocerotidae use of horns
in traditional “medicine”
– Facing extinction (especially Asian species)
Order Cetartiodactyla has 9 families
Family Camelidae Family Suidae Family Tayassuidae Family Tragulidae Family Antilocapridae Family Giraffidae Family Cervidae Family Bovidae Family Hippopotamidae
Family Camelidae is from
Old World deserts and South
America
Family Camelidae have Distinctive divergence of
metapodials
– Evolved a digitigrade foot
posture
Family Suidae is from
• Old World distribution
Family Suidae
Typically omnivorous
- Some have bunodont molars
* Large, tusk-like canines (in some)
Family Tayassuidae is from
New World
Family Tayassuidae have
• Interlocking upper and lower canines
Family Tayassuidae
range in tropical forests
- Highly social
- Omnivorous
- Rapid, agile runners
Ruminantia includes
giraffes, deer, antelope, sheep, goats,
and cattle
In Ruminantia, • Ruminants:
– Chew their cud
– Stomachs with three or four chambers
– Selenodont molars
Family Tragulidae is from
• Tropical Africa and southeast Asia
Family Tragulidae no antlers
but upper canines are tusk-like
Family Antilocapridae is from
North America
Family Antilocapridae Both sexes with horns
– External sheath of horn shed annually
Family Antilocapridae • Among fastest cursorial mammals
– Speeds up to 85 kilometers/hour
– Extremely good at long-distance running
– Speeds of 65 kph for over 10 kilometers
Family Antilocapridae – Adaptations: • Enlarged • Greater • Greater • Higher concentration
- airways
- lung surface area
- capillary density
- of hemoglobin
Family Giraffidae is from
• Sub-Saharan Africa
Family Giraffidae • Short “horns” covered with fur on parietals
– Ossified cartilage forms ossicones
– Never shed
– Present on both sexes
Family Giraffidae Long neck and limbs
– Not in okapi
– 1st thoracic vert in giraffes is mobile
Family Cervidae is from
• New World, Europe, Asia, Northwest Africa
Family Cervidae All male members have antlers
– Antlers grow and are shed annually
– Female caribou also have antlers
Family Cervidae • Antlers grow from frontal pedicles
• Antler growth under hormonal control
– Triggered by changes in day-length
Family Bovidae is from
• Africa, Asia, parts of Europe and North America
Family Bovidae • Reached New World in Pleistocene
– Across Bering Strait land bridge
Family Bovidae horns can be in males and females
– Horns never shed – Keratinized sheath covers bony core – Horns used for ritualized sparring and defense from predators
Family Hippopotamidae • Skin glands secrete oily, red substance
– Hipposudoric acid and norhipposudoric acid
– Protects skin from sun exposure
– May have antibiotic properties
Family Hippopotamidae is closely related to
cetaceans
Family Hippopotamidae • Amphibious lifestyle
• Spend much of day in water, and forage on land at night • Profoundly alter their environments – Overgrazing near waterways – Create deep channels and paths
