Biol. 425-Mammalogy. Things to think about for the final exam.
Lecture 2. Mammalian Characteristics
•What are the three '-apsid' conditions among amniotes?
•What cranial, dental, and postcranial features characterize mammals?
•What function(s) does hair serve in mammals?
Lecture 3. Teeth
•Review list of terms handed out in class.
•What are the constituent tissue types in a mammalian tooth?
•Why is it important to know the primitive dental formulas for eutherians and metatherians?
•What are some modifications of the tribosphenic molar?
Lectures 4 and 5. Systematics and phylogenetics
•Review list of terms handed out in class.
•Why do we care about phylogeny?
•What are the fundamental differences between evolutionary systematics, phenetics, and phylogenetics?
•How is parsimony used in systematics?
Lecture 6. Mesozoic mammals; evolution of endothermy
•How are pelycosaurs, therapsids, and cynodonts related to living mammals?
•What are some major trends in the evolution of mammals from their extinct reptile-like relatives?
•What are some features associated with endothermy and what can they tell us about the evolution of
endothermy?
Lecture 7. Cenozoic mammals
•What are the subclasses and infraclasses of Mammalia?
•What three models have been used to describe the temporal diversification of living mammals?
•What are some plesiomorphic characters present in living prototherians?
Lectures 8 & 9. Marsupials
•What are some major morphological and reproductive differences between metatherians and
eutherians?
Lectures 10 & 11. 'Insectivora' and higher-level eutherian clades
• What are the implications of a monophyletic Afrotheria with respect to the traditional concept of
"Insectivora"?
•Are 'insectivorans' primitive? Why or why not?
Lecture 12. Menotyphla
•What are the three orders formerly placed in the order Menotyphla?
Lectures 13 & 14. Chiroptera
•How have bats become modified for a volant lifestyle?
•What are the implications of microchiropteran paraphyly?
•What are some perceptual problems related to echolocation?
•Did the earliest fossil bats echolocate?
Lecture 15. Barnes lecture
No exam questions from this lecture.
Biol. 425-Mammalogy. Things to think about for the final exam.
Lecture 16. Primates
•What are defining traits of primates and how are they important for primate evolution?
•What are the major lineages of living primates and their biogeographic distributions?
• What are the four basic kinds of locomotion found in primates and one putative adaptation
(morphological modification) related to each?
•What are the implications of body size for arboreal locomotion?
Lecture 17. Quakenbush lecture: Alaska's pinnipeds
No exam questions from this lecture.
Lecture 18. Carnivora II
•What are some postcranial and cranial adaptations for carnivory seen in members of the order
Carnivora?
•What are the suborders of Carnivora?
•What is hypercarnivory and what can it tell us about adaptation and extinction?
Lectures 19 & 20. Glires
•What are some examples of convergence between rodents and non-rodents?
•What are some dental and associated adaptations of Rodentia?
•What are the suborders of living rodents and how are they characterized with respect to mandibular and
masseteric morphology?
•How do rodents and lagomorphs differ?
Lecture 21. Xenarthra, Pholidota, Tubulidentata
•What are some similarities found in living myrmecophagous mammals?
Lectures 22&23. Paenungulata, Artiodactyla, Perissodactyla, Biomechanics
•Compare and contrast the different foot postures found in living large-bodied herbivores.
•What are the major trends in ungulate evolution?
•What are three ways to increase speed in a cursorial mammal?
Lecture 24. Cetacea
•What are the major differences between the two suborders of living cetaceans?
•How has the cetacean body plan been modified for a fully aquatic lifestyle?
•What, phylogenetically speaking, are whales?
Lecture 25. Hundertmark lecture: Conservation and taxonomy
•Is taxonomy important in conservation? Why or why not?
Lecture 26. Pleistocene extinctions and response to climate change
•What does the Pleistocene tell us about how mammals responded to climate change in the past?
•What are some ways mammals respond to climate change?
Biol. 425-Mammalogy. Things to think about for the final exam.
General questions:
What are two kinds of geographic variation within species (think "rules")?
Why are some orders more diverse than others? This is a very general question, but a good one to think
about.
Be able to discuss adaptations for myrmecophagy, general insectivory, omnivory, carnivory,
fossoriality..
What are some examples of skeletal elements (bones) that have been gained or lost (or extremely
reduced) in some lineages? For each example, what is one suggested adaptive benefit of this
gain/loss/reduction?
What are three examples of convergence between members of Laurasiatheria and Afrotheria? Be able to
provide the family or order for each of your examples.