Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Notochord
Brain
Mouth
Heart
Gill slits
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mya
Mammals
Birds
65
300
400
450
Fishes
350
Reptiles
Amphibians
150
250
Paleozoic
Mesozoic
Cenozoic
550
Precambrian
The objectives of this lab exercise are for you to understand the:
difference between vertebrate and invertebrates animals.
distinguishing characteristics of the major groups of vertebrate animals.
evolutionary relationships between the vertebrates.
Vertebrate Diversity
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Vertebrate Diversity
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Vertebrate Diversity
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Unlike most reptiles, birds care for their young after hatching and until they are able to fend for
themselves.
Vertebrate Diversity
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Vertebrate Diversity
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Marsupials (e.g., kangeroos) are less common and predominate in Australia, although some
(e.g., the opossum) occur in other regions. The fetus of marsupials develop in an external
pouch of the mother.
Monotremes (e.g., the platypus) have retained the ancestral characteristic of laying eggs.
The major orders of the placental mammals are represented by many familiar animals, such as:
Carnivorous predators (e.g., bears, cats and dogs)
Hoofed mammals (e.g., horses)
Marine mammals (e.g., whales, dolphins, porpoises)
Primates (e.g., monkeys, chimpanzees, humans)
Rodents (e.g., mice, rats, beavers the largest order)
Etc.
Among the mammals certain other traits reached new
heights, including prolonged care for the offspring and
intelligence (although possibly less among some mammals
than they themselves think).
Vertebrate Diversity
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A. Read the section on fish and A. Eexamine the displays pertaining to fish.
1. Complete the diagram
to the right. Identify the
fins and internal organs
labeled in the perch displays.
4. For each of the following fishes on display identify the class in which it is classifiedit belongs to
and a distinguishing characteristic:
Fish type
Class
Distinguishing trait
a) Dogfish
_________________ :
b) Lamprey
_________________ :
c) Perch
_________________ :
5. One of the fish on display is bearing eggs, which fill a significant volume of the body cavity.
Why is it necessary for fish to produce so many eggs?
Vertebrate Diversity
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For each of the following amphibians, identify the order in which it is classified.
Organism
Order
a. bullfrog
_________________
b. mud puppy
_________________
c. salamander
_________________
What are two shared characteristics of the external anatomy of these three organisms?
2. Wearing latex gloves, and handle the amphibians on display. How is the skin important to
the survival of these organisms?
3. Examine the dissected frog. What internal organ first evolved among amphibians to allow
better gas exchange on land and to support the activity of larger muscles?
4. Examine the display of the frog life stages. What events happen during the:
First year of growth:
5. What are three evolutionary innovations that first appeared among amphibians?
1.
2.
3.
Vertebrate Diversity
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_________________
b. Copperhead
_________________
c. Alligator
_________________
2. Examine the turtle egg shells. Unlike eggs of amphibians, reptile eggs are larger, surrounded
by a protective ____________________ and contain a food supply in the _______________.
How did this help reptiles adapt to life on land?
3. Obviously, reptiles produce enough offspring to sustain the species, yet they produce far fewer
eggs than do fish and amphibians. How is this possible?
5. What are three evolutionary innovations that first appeared among reptiles?
1.
2.
3.
Vertebrate Diversity
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3. Examine the bird skeleton on display, and in the diagram to the right
label the furcula and keel. Why are these modified bones only
found in birds?
4. Birds lay even fewer eggs than reptiles. How is offspring rearing
among birds different than for most reptiles?
5. What are three evolutionary innovations that first appeared among birds?
1.
Vertebrate Diversity
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2.
3.
E. Read the section on mammals and examine Examine the displays pertaining to
mammals.
1. The body covering of mammals is called _______________.
How does this covering benefit these animals?
2. Examine the reproductive tract from a pregnant pig that is on display. Although the uterus is
not present, the fetus is surrounded by the membrane called the _______________, and is
connected by the umbilical cord to the __________________.
3. How is reproduction in mammals more efficient than that of fish and amphibians?
4. What do you perceive as some of the evolutionary innovations among mammals that have
contributed to development of advanced societies among humans? Explain.
5. What are three evolutionary innovations that first appeared among mammals?
1.
Vertebrate Diversity
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2.
3.
Hair
Feathers
Scales
Naked
Skin
Internal
Class
Shelled
eggs
Class
Fish
Amphibians
Reptiles
Birds
Mammals
Bony
Scales
Lungs
Class
Fish
Amphibians
Reptiles
Birds
Mammals
Skin
Gills
Fish
Amphibians
Reptiles
Birds
Mammals
Vertebrate Diversity
Wings
Class
Fish
Amphibians
Reptiles
Birds
Mammals
Legs
Fins
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6) What traits do bats possess and not possess that indicate that they are mammals and not birds?
Vertebrate Diversity
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