ZOO 3303
VERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY
NAME:________________________________
EXAM 2
ID:__________________________
I. Multiple choice. Read the questions carefully. Select the best answer to the question. Write your answer in
the space to the left of the numeral.
A
_____1. The Teleostei is the largest radiation of vertebrates. Teleost means “perfect bone” and ichthyologists
use certain bones to identify groups of fishes. The important bones that vary among major groups are the:
a) ural bones, b) suspensorium, c) dentary bone, d) phalanges, e) atlas
C
_____2. Turtles have a distinctive and unique morphology that provides protection for the body. Which feature
functions to strenghten the carapace and plastron of the shell? a) the scutes and bones are perfectly aligned,
b) the bones cover the scutes and calcify them, c) the scutes and bones are offset , d) the scutes cover the bones
and keratinize them, e) the bridge fuses to the ribs and interclavicles
E
_____3. A ZOO 3303 student has a summer job working at a summer camp in Panama. Part of the camp
activities involve field studies of organisms. During a field sampling exercise a student finds a caecilian.
Which of the following statements is true concerning these limbless amphibians? a) one species is known to
engage in maternal dermatotrophy, b) the tentacle detects chemical cues, c) there are scales in the annular rings,
d) primary annuli can be subdivided into secondary and teritiary annuli, e) all of these are true statements
concerning caecilians
D
_____4. Which of the following statements concerning the Chondrostei is false? a) the taxon includes
sturgeons and paddlefish, b) the members lack endochondral bone, c) the members have an extensive
notochord, d) they are commonly known as bichirs, e) they are polyploids
E
_____5. Feathers are characteristic of birds and they are derived from keratin. Which of the following is not a
function of feathers? a) insulation, b) communication of age and sex status, c) provide lift, stability, and control
during flight, d) detect sensations, e) incubation
B
_____6. Which of the following statements concerning coelacanths is true? a) they are abundant off the coast
of Madagascar, b) people harvest them for liquid associated with the notochord, c) they use the limbs to walk on
the ocean floor, d) have a functional physoclistous swim bladder, e) all of the above are true
C
_____7. Which of the following statements concerning migration is false? a) complete migrants include all
individuals in the movement from breeding to feeding grounds, b) insectivores migrate more than granivores,
c) birds are endotherms and lose only 10% of their mass during migration, d) frugivores migrate over short
distances, e) piscivores migrate if lakes freeze
A
_____8. The elopamorph radiation within the Teleostei includes tarpons, gulpers, bonefish, and true eels. What
feature unites them? a) leptocephalus larvae, b) persistent notochord, c) spiracle location, d) swim bladder
morphology, e) adipose fin
D
_____9. Solenoglyphous snakes differ from other snakes because: a) the fangs are fixed and venom is
delivered by chewing, b) the fangs are located at the back of the mouth where the force is maximal during
envenomation, c) the fang is grooved and permanently erect, d) the fang delivers venom deep into prey when
muscles around the venom gland contract e) the fang rotates forward on the dentary bone prior to envenomation
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_B __10. Neoteny characterizes several salamander species. Which morphology below would be considered
neotenic? a) a finless tail and four limbs, b) external gills and a lack of eyelids, c) presence of eyelids, d) an
elongate urostyle and eyelids, e) a trunk with primary annuli and a lack of eyelids.
II. True/False. Please indicate T or F in the space to the left of the numeral. If the statement is false (F), you
must rewrite the statement completely and include the bold-faced words (in the original statement) in
your re-write of the sentence.
F
_____1. The ostariophysians produce Shreckreaktion in response to conspecifics.
Ostariophysians engage in shreckreaktion in response to the presence of shreckstoff.
F
_____2. Male salamanders accomplish internal fertilization by producing a spermatheca that females pick
up and store in the spermatophore.
Male salamanders accomplish internal fertilization by producing a spermatophore that females pick up and store
in the spermatotheca.
F
_____3. The primary feathers of a bird are found attached to the humerus.
The primary feathers of a bird are attached to the hand of the bird.
T
_____4. Tuatara are “living fossils” found on the islands of New Zealand. They are nocturnal and live in
burrows near birds.
F
_____5. The gars are the sister-taxon to the bowfins and chondrostians.
The gars are the sister-taxon to the bowfins and the teleosts.
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III. Definitions: Define FIVE (5) of the following terms. Include the ecological or evolutionary significance
of each “term” for the animal group it applies to as part of your definition: Cladistia; Weberian Apparatus;
Candiru; Osteolepiformes; Triadobatrachus; Phallodeum, Ginglymoidy, Femoral Pore, Guano, Air Sacs:
Cladistia: The primitive bony fish that includes the bichirs. Mix of primitive and “derived” traits. Found in
Africa. Includes the rope fish found in shallow vegetation or in swampy parts of lakes and rivers. The most
primitive of the bony fishes. Obligate airbreathers with spiracles. Inhale using air recoil breathing. Two gular
plats, lobe-like fins, spiral valve in the intestine, 2 gular plates.
Weberian Apparatus: found in Ostariophysians and Clupeomorphs. These are bones that connect the otophysic
swim bladder to the ear. The bones are derived from cervical vertebrae, their neural arches, ribs, ligaments &
muscles. The apparatus transmits water-bourne pressure waves to the inner ear via the Weberian Apparatus.
Candiru: The only vertebrate that is a parasite. The candiru is a catfish from the Amazon. It is a parasite on
gills and is attracted to flowing water. Candirus will swim up male urethra if they urinate in the water. The fish
then spreads the opercular spines and is stuck.
Osteolepiformes. These are the ancestors of terrestrial vertebrates. The bones found in the fins are homologous
with tetrapod limbs. They have a wide gape, and skull kinesis. They are all extinct but are related to tetrapods.
Triadobatrachus: The sister-taxon to the frogs and toads. A tailed fossil that preceeded the salientian radiation.
Phallodeum: elaboration of wall of cloaca into intromittent organ that deposits sperm into the cloaca of the
femalee. Ensures internal fertilization. Lock and key mechanism.
Ginglymoidy: vertical rotation because of ginglymes in the neck of crytodiran turtles. These are on the
posterior cervicals and all turtles to retract the head into the shell
Femoral Pore: Openings of exocrine glands that open on the ventral side of the legs of some male and some
female lizards. The gland has a complex structure and become filled with what appears to be a lipid rich
material during the breeding season. Involved in communication.
Guano: The excretory and digestive wastes of sea birds that live colonially. The waste accumulates and is used
for fertilizer. Harvested in Peru.
Air Sacs: Part of the respiratory system of birds. A system of thin-walled membranous sacs that air moves into
when birds contract muscles. Increases efficiency of respiration by moving air through lungs twice. Can
penetrate bones and lighten mass. Will absorb shocks of landing for aquatic birds. Important in
buoyancy/diving in aquatic birds.
IV. Essay (5 points). Select A or B. PLEASE CIRCLE YOUR CHOICE. You are confined to the space
provided below: A. Lobe-fined fishes are critical to understanding the evolution of terrestrial vertebrates.
What are lobe-finned fishes and why are they critical to understanding vertebrate evolution? OR B. Describe
the physical forces acting on a bird in flight. Include a diagram that identifies how each force acts on the body
of a bird.
A. LF Fishes share several features with osteolepiforms that are the closest relatives to terrestrial vertebrates.
The Sarcopterygian fishes (LF fishes) are characterized by a mix of primitive and derived features. They are
found on all continents and the living fish are survivors of radiations that dominated Paleozoic and Mesozoic
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environments. Includes coelocanths and lungfish & osteolepiforms. Lung fishes are facultative or obligatory
air breathers and have archipterygeal fins that are homologous with tetrapod limbs. Osteolepiformes are extinct
but are closest relatives to living tetrapods.
B. Gravity acts to pull a flying bird downward towards the earth. Lift opposes gravity and is supplied by
flapping flight, Drag results when the flying bird interacts with the environment, momentum is exchanged and
several features affect drag. Drag opposes the direction of movement or thrust. Thrust is also provided by
flapping flight. When Thrust exceeds drag, the bird accelerates, when drag exceeds thrust, the bird slows, and
when thrust = drag, a constant flying speed ensues.
gravity
drag
thrust
lift
direction of flight
V. Essay (5 points). Select A or B. PLEASE CIRCLE YOUR CHOICE. You are confined to the space
provided below: A. The amphibian decline phenomenon is part of the biodiversity crisis. Describe the
phenomenon. OR B. Describe nest parasitism in cuckoos. If a female European Cuckoo lays 8 eggs with a
70% survival to hatching and an 80% survival of hatchling to fledging. What is overall egg survival when 50%
of the fledged young survive to reproduce?
A. Amphibians have declined globally because of habitat loss and alteration. Additionally a fungus, BD, has
caused death in many frogs and scientists are scrambling to discover the cause of death in these animals. In
addition to disease and habitat alteration, many other causative factors have been linked to amphibian decline
including pollution, acidification of the environment, increase UVB radiation, climate change, and some fear
that these factors interact synergistically to negatively affect amphibians that require good conditions in both
aquatic and terrestrial systems.
B. In the nest parasitism system, a female cuckoo oviposits in the nest of a host bird after it knocks one of the
native eggs out of the nest. The female cuckoo then leaves and when the mother returns to the nest she either
rears the clutch or abandons it. The cuckoo hatches before the other chicks and instinctively pushes out other
objects until about 3 days of age. When the cuckoo is the only thing left in the nest, the host mother rears the
bird until fledgling. The Cuckoo spreads 9-12 eggs around in individual nests. Overall egg survival = 0.28.
VI. Essay (10 points). Select A or B. PLEASE CIRCLE YOUR CHOICE. You are confined to this sheet. A.
Describe how the major groups of bony fishes are related to one another. What major advances are shown by
each group of fishes? Include a tree showing relationships in your answer. OR B. Describe how the major
groups of terrestrial vertebrates are related to one another. What major advances are shown by each group of
terrestrial vertebrates? Include a tree showing relationships in your answer.
A. ((bichirs (paddlefish, sturgeon)(gars (bowfin, (osteoglossomorpha (elopomorpha (clupeomorpha,
euteleosti))). The bichirs are the most primitive bony fish and they are related to the Chondrostei (paddlefish &
sturgeon). The next branch of the tree includes gars and the bowfin is the sister taxon to the Teleosti which has
true Euteleosts as the sister taxon to clupeomorpha and the elopomorpha are sister to that clade and
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osteoglossomorpha are basal within the Teleosti. The birchirs/Cladistia are found in Africa, dorsal spiracles
exhale spent air from lungs, recoil breathing, lobe-like fins, ganoid scales, sprial valve, bony skeleton is major
advance over sharks. Chondrostei are the next lineage. These fishes have secondarily become cartilaginous and
it is a weight reduction strategy to allow them to chase prey. They are large predatory fishes that have large egg
loads and are the source of caviar. These fishes migrate to breed, polyploids, extensive notochords, spiracle,
Paddlefish is extinct in China and surviving in north america. Gars are sister taxa to bowfins and teleosts.
Dorsal and anal fins are posterior on body, ganoid scales provide protective covering. Spiral valve and
vaxcularized gas bladder connected to pharynx by pneumatic duct. Regulate buoyancy in water colcumn.
Bowfin with long dorsal fin, eastern North america. Move location -- deep water during the day and in
shallows at night. Many bones in skull. Teleosts have perfect bone. Osteoglossomorpha have well developed
teeth on tongue that bite against toothed bones of the roof of the mouth. Elopomorphs have leptocephalus
larvae which changes considerably during the developmental period. Clupeomorphs have schooling fishes have
a well developed gas bladder that extends into braincase. Teleosts - very diverse, most with adipose fin.
Shrekstoff & Shrekreaktion.
B. Terrestrial Vertebrates include: amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. They are related as follows:
((caecilians (salamanders, frogs & toads)) ((turtles, squamates (crocodilians, birds) mammals)). Amphibians
are the first terrestrial amphibians and include 3 groups: caecilians which are the basal sister-taxon to
salamanders + anurans. They exhibit all tetrapod traits, they have permeable skin and eggs. Two lineages
(caecilians & salamanders) have internal fertilization while the largest (in terms of # of species) has external
fertilization. Many have distinctive aquatic larval stage and a terrestrial adult stage. The biphasic life style
requires good conditions in both environments. Insectivorous. Parental care present in all lineages. Reptiles
are the first amniotes and they are covered by a keratinized skin that retards water loss allowing them to exploit
a variety of habitats that amphibians cannot easily occupy. They are insectivorous to carnivorous and include
the turtles that appear to be basal, rhyncocephalians, squamates, crocodilians, and birds. Mammals are related
to this radiation and were not covered in the course. Turtles have a distinctive and unchanged morphology and
those with TDSD are threatened by a changing (warming climate). Tuatara are living fossils that are nocturnal
and live among colonial seabirds. Squamates are remarkably diverse and include lizards, snakes, and
amphisbaenians. Snakes are modified legless lizards with amazing gapes. Amphisbaenians are fossorial
burrowing creatures with reinforced skulls. Birds are the only homeotherms we discussed. High metabolic
rates allow for exploitation of all kinds of habitat not occupied by ectotherms.
VII. Extra Credit. You are restricted the the space provided below (5 points each - max 10 points).
1. We always hear “The test did not cover material I studied.” Describe a phenomenon about fishes,
amphbians, reptiles, or birds that you studied but was not covered on exam 2. Include the ecological or
evolutionary relevance of the phenomenon to Vertebrate Zoology as part of your answer.
2. To paraphrase Eminem, “species - they come, they go” - There have been a number of evolutionary
experiments that defy the imagination (think dinosaurs). Design a novel vertebrate. Describe its overall
morphology (e.g., body size, shape, skin type), its metabolism (endothermic vs. ectothermic), its habitat type
(aerial, aquatic, terrestrial), foraging strategy and diet, reproductive strategy, ecological role, ecosystem type,
and global distributional pattern.
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