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Vertebrate Taxonomy

Vertebrate Taxonomy. Keeping track of species. Taxonomy: describing and naming an organism >1 million species named, up to 15 million more Taxonomy is not new; cultures have been naming plants and animals around them for 1000s of years It’s practical to have names. Binomial Nomenclature.

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Vertebrate Taxonomy

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  1. Vertebrate Taxonomy

  2. Keeping track of species Taxonomy: describing and naming an organism >1 million species named, up to 15 million more Taxonomy is not new; cultures have been naming plants and animals around them for 1000s of years It’s practical to have names

  3. Binomial Nomenclature Standard system for naming things Linnaeus described and named > 6,000 animals and >4,000 plants using Latin Scientific name does not replace, but instead further defines common name

  4. “Watch out--there is a large, furry, four-legged omnivore with long claws, a big mouth set in a short, stout muzzle, attached to a round head containing small eyes and short triangular ears behind that rock!” OR “Watch out—there’s a bear behind that rock!

  5. Q. What is the largest wild felid (cat) in the United States? Mountain Lion Cougar Panther Painter Puma Catamount

  6. Puma concolor

  7. Early naming of species 1st word was a noun: Genus 2nd word was an adjective: Specific epithet Genus + specific epithet = scientific name of a species

  8. Procyon lotor • Pro = early • Cyon = dog • Lotor = swimming Tamias minimus • Tamias = animal who caches food • Minimus = smallest

  9. Peromyscus leucopus • Pera = small • Mys = mouse • Leuco = white • Pus = foot Canis latrans • Canis = dog • Latrans = barking

  10. May tell you where it was first discovered: • Didelphis virginiana “2 wombs from Virginia” • Sylvilagus floridanus “wood-hare of Florida” Or who discovered it: • Lepus townsendii “hare” discovered by “Townsend”

  11. Taxonomic goals Place organisms into logical categories • system must be capable of being used for information retrieval, so anyone can properly identify any organism Place organisms into categories that show ancestor-descendant relationships

  12. Taxonomic hierarchy Kingdom (Animalia) Phylum (Chordata) Class (Mammalia) Order (Rodentia) Family (Castoridae) Genus (Castor) Specific epithet (species) (canadensis) Scientific name: Castor canadensis

  13. 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)

  14. 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 Class Amphibia

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

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

  17. Herpetology Module • Dr. Sunny Boyd • Lectures on ecology and phylogeny of herps • Field exercises • Collection of herps from UNDERC lakes and vernal ponds • Study of mating calls of frogs • Study of tadpole abundance and diversity

  18. 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

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

  20. Mist Nets

  21. Mammal Traps Tomahawk traps Sherman traps Leg-hold traps

  22. Noninvasive Techniques Scent Stations Bat Detectors Trailmaster Cameras Observation Tracking Stations

  23. Ornithology/Mammalogy Module • Lectures on ecology and conservation of birds and mammals • Field exercises • Exciting morning exercies (birding, mammal trapping) • Fun night exercises (howl surveys, owling) • Radio telemetry

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