Vertebrate Diversity Flashcards
What are the four characteristics of all chordates at some time in their life?
- dorsal, hollow nerve cord
- notochord
- pharyngeal slits
- muscular post anal tail
Do tunicates and lancelets have backbones?
no
Are adult tunicates mobile?
no
how are tunicate larva?
tadpole like
What are lancelets?
small blade like marine chordates
What do hagfish produce for defense?
slime
Do hagfish have jaws?
no
Do hagfish have paired fins?
no
What is a lamprey?
a marine parasite that penetrate the sides of fish with their rasping tongues
Do lampreys have jaws?
no
What characterize jawed vertebrates?
gills and paired fins
What are the examples of jawed vertebrates?
Chondrichthyans (sharks), ray-finned fishes, lobe-finned fishes
Where are jaws suggested to have evolved from?
pharyngeal (gill) slits
What are examples of chondrichthyans?
sharks, rays and skates
What are examples of ray-finned fishes?
tuna, trout, goldfish
What are examples of lobe-finned fishes?
lungfish and coelecanths
Skates
-egg bearing (oviparous)
-dorsal fin
-tail with thorny projection
-smaller then rays
Rays
-live bearing (viviparous)
-dorsal fin absent or reduced
-larger, spines on tail
Sharks
-streamline swimmers
-short digestive tract
-acute senses (sight and smell)
How are sharks digestive tracts?
shorts with a spiral valve
What is the function of the cloaca in sharks?
the reproductive, excretory, and digestive tract empty into it
Do ray-finned fishes have a skeleton made of bone?
yes
Osteichthyes
-known as bony fishes
-breathe by drawing water over gills
-have a swim bladder
-lateral line system
-most oviparous (eggs outside of body)
What is the function of a swim bladder?
buoyancy
Actinopterygii
-known as ray finned fishes
-webs of skin supported by bony spines
-fins supported by long, flexible rays
Sarcopterygii
-known as lobe-finned fishes
-fleshy fin jointed to the body by a single bone
-have muscular pelvic and pectoral fins for swimming
What was the first tetrapod to colonize land?
amphibians
Examples of amphibians
salamanders, frogs, caecilians
Why do amphibians have moist skin?
to supplement their lungs for gas exchange
Where do amphibians usually lay eggs?
in the water
What is the process called that amphibians undergo to go from larval stage to adult?
metamorphosis
What is the class frogs are in?
anura
What is the class salamanders are in?
Urodela
What is the class caecilians are in?
apoda
What does amphibian mean?
both ways of life
Anura (frogs)
-lack tails
-powerful hind legs for locomotion
-eggs require a moist environment
Apoda (caecilians)
-legless
-nearly blind
-resemble earthworms
What phylums are amniotes?
reptiles, birds, mammals
How many membranes does the amniotic egg have?
4
What is the amnion in the amniotic egg?
fluid filled sac surrounding the embryo
What is the yolk sac in the amniotic egg?
contains a rich store of nutrients for the developing embryo
What is the chorion in the amniotic egg?
enable the embryo to obtain oxygen from the air and dispose of carbon dioxide
What is the allantois in the amniotic egg?
helos dispose of metabolic waste
What are reptiles scales made of?
keratin
Crocodiles
-longer, more V shaped head then alligators
-more aggressive than alligators
-better adapted for salt water
Squamates
-lizards and snakes
-most numerous and diverse reptiles
Squamates: Lizards
-legs
-moveable eyelids
-external ear openings
Squamates: Snakes
-legless
-carnivorous
-heat sensing organs
-venom
Squamates: Snakes
-legless
-carnivorous
-heat sensing organs
-venom
Label each line
Lepidosaurs
-reptiles
-one surviving lineage in New Zealand
-threatened by rats that eat their eggs
Where did birds evolve from?
small, two legged dinosaurs called theropods
What were early feathers in birds for?
insulation and courtship display
Clade Aves
-birds
-wings with keratin feathers
-lack a bladder and teeth
-small gonads
How many ovaries do females in the aves clade have?
one
What clade are the flightless birds?
neornithes (living birds)
Mammalia
-mammary glands
-hair or fur
-larger brains
-differentiated teeth
Monotremes
-egg laying mammals
-no nipples
Examples of Monotremes
spiny anteater and platypus
Marsupials
-very brief gestation then completes development in a maternal pouch
-attach to nipples in the mothers pouch
Examples of Marsupials
opossums, kangaroos, sugar gliders, koalas
Eutherian
-more complex placenta
-complete embryonic development within a uterus jointed to the mother by the placenta
Eutherians: Primates
-most have hands and feet with flat nails
-large brain and short jaws
-forward looking eyes
-complex social behavior
What do primates forward looking eyes provide for them?
depth perception
How do monkeys and apes differ?
monkeys have tails apes do not, monkeys are smaller
Anthropoids
-monkeys and apes
Anthropoids
-monkeys and apes
Old world monkeys
-many arboreal but some ground dwelling
-nostrils open downward
-lack tail
New world monkeys
-all arboreal
-nostrils open to the side
-many have long tails
