Mammalogy Fall 2004 - Exam 1

MULTIPLE CHOICE - Select the best answer

  1. The goal of systematic studies is to arrange animals into  ____ groups
  2. A taxonomic key arranges organisms into/how
  3. Mammals in Australia resemble those from continents elsewhere because of ___
  4. Studying and recording the activity of an individual mammal is termed ___
  5. The tapetum lucidum ___
  6. Aposematic coloration is characteristic of which of the following mammals
  7. Semelparous refers to animals that
  8. What is the most important sense that a platypus uses while foraging?
  9. Pelycosaurs are considered to be more closely related to mammals than reptiles, because they
  10. The reptilian jaw joint is (Lower jaw bone\Upper jaw bone)
  11. The mammalian homolog of the reptilian quadrate is the
  12. Texas is part of this zoogeographic region
  13. Primitive marsupials such as opossums have ___ premolars and ___ molars
  14. Which of the following families has a representative that is a native of South Texas
  15. Multituberculates may have become extinct as a result of competition with

 

  1. List from most inclusive to least inclusive the seven fundamental Linnean categories. (5 points)
  2. What information can be determined from using radiotelemetry to study mammals? Give a brief example of how this would be done (5 points)
  3. What is the main disadvantage of endothermy? What are the consequences of this (5 points)
  4. Answer any three of the following (15 points total)
    1. Draw and label a selenodont tooth. What diet is associated with this type of tooth? What is its advantage for this diet? (5 points)
    2. Draw and label a tribosphenic lower molar. What diet is associated with this type of tooth? What is its advantage for this diet? (5 points)
    3. What are the functions of sebaceous glands? (5 points)
    4. Characterize tooth differentiation and replacement in therapsids (5 points).
    5. Discuss the significance of the South American sabertooth Thylacosmilus. (5 points)
  5. Answer any three of the following (15 points total)
    1. What is the Biological Species definition? (5 points)
    2. List and briefly discuss the three most important adaptations for feeding in the Ornithorhynchidae. (5 points)
    3. What is Wallace’s line? Why is it important? (5 points) D. What is the function of the trophoblast (5 points)
    4. What enables macropodids to be able bound so efficiently? (5 points)
  6. Embryonic diapause
    1. IIn general, how does embryonic diapause differ from the typical pattern of mammalian reproduction? (3 points)
    2. Which family is characterized by it? (2 points)
    3. What is the reproductive advantage of this process over the reproductive sequence in most placentals. (5 points)
  7. For ANY 3 of the following mammalian groups, give the Zoogeographic Region(s) (1 pt), Characteristics and Adaptation(s) of Taxon (3 pts), and Ecomorph of (1 pt). If the taxon does not have an ecomorph from another zoogeographic region, note that it does not. I will accept common names for ecomorphs. Do not repeat any information from a previous answer. (15 pts)
    1. Caenolestidae
    2. Phascolarctidae
    3. Thylacocynidae
    4. Tachyglossidae
    5. Tarsipedidae