Vertebrate Taxonomy

Phylum Chordata Several classes of fish –Jawless fishes –Sharks and rays –Bony fish Class Amphibia (frogs, toads, salamanders) Class Testudines (turtles, tortoises) Class Lepidosauromorpha (snakes, lizards) Class Crocodilia (alligators, crocodiles) Class Aves (birds) Class Mammalia (mammals)

Class Amphibia Two stage life cycle –Aquatic larvae –Terrestrial adult Respiratory structures –Gills (larvae) –Lungs (adult) –Skin Mucous and poison skin glands Three-chambered heart Ectothermic Egg-layers –Must lay eggs in or near water Major groups –Gymnophiona Caecilians –Caudata Salamanders –Anura Frogs and toads

Reptiles Shelled amniotic egg Skin hard and brittle Many have bony plates under scales Three-chambered heart Ectothermic Major groups –Turtles –Crocodilians –Tuatara –Lizards –Snakes

Birds Feathers –Temperature regulation –Flight Bill  toothless mandibles covered with horny sheath Endothermic Four-chambered heart Eggs with great parental investment Adaptations for flight –Feathers –Fused bones of pelvis, feet, hands and head –Furcula –Hollow bones –Highly efficient respiratory and circulatory systems –Musculature of chest

Class Aves Many orders of birds –Columbiformes: doves and pigeons –Falconiformes: diurnal birds of prey –Apodiformes: hummingbirds –Gruiformes: cranes and rails –Piciformes: woodpeckers –Strigiformes: owls –Anseriformes: ducks and geese –Galliformes: chickens and turkeys –Passeriformes: perching birds

Mammals Hair Endothermic Four-chambered heart Large brain Dentition –Teeth specialized –Incisors, canines, premolars, molars Reproduction –Mammary glands –Most mammmals viviparous –Development of young within the mother Pouch (Metatherians) Placenta (Eutherians)

Class Mammalia Many orders of mammals –Rodentia: rodents –Chiroptera: bats –Insectivora: shrews and moles –Carnivora: cats, dogs, bears, weasels, raccoons –Lagomorpha: rabbits –Artiodactyla: ungulates –Primates –Didelphimorphia: American marsupials

Herp Traps Pitfall traps –Useful for catching terrestrial arthropods and small mammals –Usually include drift fence to increase capture rate

Mist Nets

Mammal Traps Sherman traps Leg-hold traps Tomahawk traps “Noose” traps Snap traps

Noninvasive Techniques Bat Detectors Tracking Stations Scent Stations Observation Trailmaster Cameras

Unknown songbird

Unknown duck

Unknown small mammal skin

Unknown large mammal skin and skull

Unknown Herp #1

Unknown Herp #2

Unknown Herp #3