12 orders of placental mammals 12 orders of placental mammals

Living in southern North America, Central America, & South America About 30 living species Means “strange joints” Many of these organisms do not have prominent teeth Anteaters completely lack teeth Sloths, on other hand, are herbivores that are continuously growing teeth that are adapted to grinding plants Order Xenarthra

Sloths (add to notes) Half blind half deaf Feed on leaves Defecates once a week Very slow animal Lives in canopy of trees Claws hook over branches so it uses as little energy as possible Slow metabolism Sloth means “slow & sluggish” Can swim faster than it can move on land Can hold breath for 40 minutes

Order Lagomorpha Lagomorphs ~ about 70 species Rabbits, hares, pikas Native to many continents Differ from rodents = have double row of incisors, with 2 large front teeth backed by 2 smaller ones Teeth continue to grow throughout lifetime Adaptation to herbivorous diet

Rabbit vs Hare (add to notes) Rabbit Hare Newborn “kitten”“leveret” Completely naked/helplessself sufficient after birth Lives in burrowslives above ground Smallerlarger Shorter legs and earsstrong hind legs/larger ears with black tips

Difference between newborn rabbit & hare Kittens – Leverets --

Order Rodentia Rodents = largest mammalian order… +1,800 species (40% of placental mammals) Squirrels, marmots, chipmunks, gophers, muskrat, mouse, rat, beavers, porcupines Every continent except Antarctica Produce many young each litter Teeth consist of a few molars and premolars & 2 pairs of incisors that continue to grow throughout life

Chipmunk vs squirrel (add) Chipmunk has stripes on face (squirrel doesn’t) Squirrels are found worldwide except polar regions. Chipmunks are only in North America Rat vs mouse (add) Rat is larger than mouse Rat has thicker, longer tail Rats have very large eyes and ears

Beaver vs Muskrat (add) Beaver: larger, broad tail, stores food for winter, cuts trees for the dam it builds in water, 1 litter of young per year Muskrat: thinner, vertical tail, smaller, doesn’t store food for winter, doesn’t cut trees because it lives in den on riverbank, multiple litter per year

Order Primates 235 living species : lemurs, tarsiers, monkeys, gibbons, apes, humans Most are omnivores & have teeth suited for a varied diet Brains have a relatively large cortex = enables complex behavior Wide range of body sizes and adaptations to live in a variety of terrains Most have forward-facing eyes that enables depth perception All have grasping hands All but humans have grasping feet Some have grasping tail (for living in trees)

Tarsier

Order Chiroptera Only mammals that TRULY fly=bats 900 species Found worldwide except in polar environments Modified front limb with a membrane of skin that stretches between extremely long finger bones to the hind limb Wingspan can measure up to 1.5 meters Bat’s clawed thumb sticks out from top edge of wing (used for walking, climbing, grasping)

Small eyes & large ears for ECHOLOCATION Most are nocturnal & feed on insects Some tropical bats are diurnal & feed on fruit & flower nectar They have large eyes & keen sense of smell Few species feed on meat or blood

Order Insectivora ~390 species Found in North America, Africa, & Europe Insectivores ~ animals that eat insects **NOT all insectivores belong to this order Few species eat meat Most have long, pointed noses that enable them to probe into soil for insects, worms, etc. Sharp teeth for grasping and piercing prey

kTdcCFCto Moles are members of the mammal family Moles live underground and burrow holes. Some species are aquatic or semi-aquatic. Moles have cylindrical bodies covered in fur with small or covered eyes; the ears are generally not visible. They eat small invertebrate animals living underground. Moles can be found in North America, Europe and Asia.

Order Carnivora ~274 living species Carnivores ~ eat meat Most are skilled hunters with strong senses of sight and smell Other adaptations: strong jaws, long canine teeth, clawed toes, long limbs Aquatic carnivores=pinnipeds – Efficient swimming, streamlined body and 4 limbs adapted for flippers – Return to land to sleep & give birth

h2YpA1JzE When it comes to hunting prey, spotted hyenas seem to know the secret: divide and conquer! Canada allowed hunters to kill more than 300,000 baby seals this year—one of the largest quotas in history.

Order Artiodactyla 2 main groups characterized by their foot structure and presence of rumen or cecum Rumen=chamber of the stomach that contains microorganisms *Animals that chew cud have this Cecum=large sac that branches from the small intestine *Animals that don’t chew cud have this Ungulates with an even # of toes are artiodactyls Most are herbivores & are adapted to grind plants

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Order Perissodactyla Ungulates with an odd # of toes are perissodactyls Most are native to Asia & Africa Some species of tapirs live in Central and South America Have a cecum

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Order Cetacea Cetaceans include about 90 species Have fish-shaped bodies with forelimbs modified as flippers Lack hind limbs Have broad, flat tails that help propel them thru the water Totally aquatic but evolved from land-dwelling mammals Breathe thru modified nostrils called blowholes

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Order Sirenia ~ Manatees & dugongs~ 4 species make up this order.. Called sirenians Large, torpedo-shaped herbivores Live in tropical seas, estuaries, and rivers Front limbs are flippers modified for swimming Lack hind limbs and have flattened tails for propulsion Only sirenian found in North America is the manatee

Order Proboscidea Have nose modified into a long, boneless trunk =proboscis Only living species of this order are the Asian and African elephant (largest living land mammal) Feeds on plants for up to 18 hours a day Trunk allows them to gather water or gather leaves from high branches Modified incisors, (TUSKS), efficently dig up roots and strip bark from branches

Have long gestation periods Female elephants can continue to give birth until the age of 70 Elephants can live to be 80 years old

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