Questions and Answers About Animals

Two-Toed Sloth

If you can see the sloth's hands, their long claws make it difficult for the sloth to 'walk' on the ground.So what advantage does their hand design provide the sloth?

Two-toed sloth has long claws in their hands which help in holding the tree branches firmly since it mostly lives on trees. The holding of tree prevents it from falling and from being identified by predators. Their long claws also make them move slowly leading to little energy requirement obtained from feeding on leaves which have low nutrients

How might extraordinarily slow movement provide some defense against a flying predator?

The sloths have the slow movement which saves them from the flying predators such as hawks and eagles as they don't identify them quickly on the ground due to their slowness

Spider Monkey

Do the eyes of this animal face towards the front of its skull (stereoscopic vision) or to the side (peripheral vision)? How does their eye placement reflect the spider monkey's lifestyle?

The eyes of black spider monkey face towards the front of its skull meaning that it can be able to focus a single object using its two eyes giving it sharper and straight focus. Tapered and straight focus adaptation enables it to look for food such as fruits and seed easily. It also helps it when jumping from one tree to another since it can focus a single point (Dove & Byrne, 2014, p. 340).

Watching the animal move, what use does it make of its tail? Compared to most mammals' tails, how is the spider monkey's tail modified so it can be used for this purpose?

The monkey uses the tail to maintain balance and gripping the tree when hanging. The long tail facilitates the ease and the speed with which it moves from one tree to another

Watching the animal move, what use does it make of its tail? Compared to most mammals' tails, how is the spider monkey's tail modified so it can be used for this purpose

The spider monkey has long limbs which it uses to jump at any point of the trees including canopy navigation.

As you watch the spider monkeys, how do they use their hands and feet while moving? What advantage does a large toe provide while walking?

What advantage does the design of their hands provide during rapid movementThe monkey has extended limbs which are useful in dropping at any end of a tree during canopy navigation. Arms are longer than the legs; thumbs are non-existence and hand-hooked arms which enhances grip during movement favoring its arboreal life.

Orangutan

What advantage would longer forelimbs provide the orangutan?

Longer forelimbs enable orangutans to swing from one tree to another due to their strong muscles with the support of shoulders which supports the whole body weight.

What advantage might opposable thumbs provide these arboreal animals? Why would orangutans not have lost their thumbs like spider monkeys did?

The thumb of the orangutans opposes to enable it to grasp tools and object, especially during manipulation. The orangutans have active inches, unlike spider monkey in which tail function as the thumb. The thumb of a spider monkey is replaced by the tail.

Watch the gorilla move (or imagine it moving). What advantage do the longer forelimbs provide the gorilla? How does the gorilla's style of walking differ from that of the orangutan?

Gorillas have longer limbs meaning they can climb trees with ease. The gorillas dwell on the ground meaning they cannot swing like orangutans.

What do the differences between male and female gorilla skulls suggest about their lifestyles or social organization?

Differences between male and female gorilla skulls suggest about their lifestyles or social organization

The male head is bigger for male than female and also more massive, and they are crucial in determining the sex

Lesser kudus

How is the design of this animal adapted for rapid movement in terms of body shape and limb proportions?

Adaptation of lesser kudus to rapid movement is that it can pass through dense vegetation easily due to its narrow size. It upraises tail together with high leaping enables it to fasten speed of running escaping predators as it is difficult for the predator to be scared by the prey and how their shapes are modified to suit this purpose.

Considering the shape of their horns and gender differences, what is the most likely purpose for the horns and how has their shape been modified to better suit this purpose?

Horns are meant for establishing mating partners. The male has long horns spiraled while female have short ones

Zebra

Watch the zebra interact with its environment or feed. Does it primarily use its lips or does it also use a long tongue to touch surfaces or eat? What does this tell you about the zebra's digestive system?

Zebra uses lips to bring food to the mouth and has enlarged cecum to digest plant materials, and this shows that it is a non-ruminant hence its digestion begins at the cecum

How many toes on each foot does the zebra have? Does this confirm or clash with the interpretation of its digestive system that you made above

Zebras are single hoofed animals meaning that they are non-ruminants.

The zebra's stripes make is stand out from its environment (as few areas are black and white). So what advantage might they provide a herd animal that was trying to escape a predator?

Zebra white and black color blends the color of the surrounding habitat confusing lion which is color. Lion is the main predator of zebra.

Giraffe

Watch the giraffe interact with its environment or feed. Does it primarily use its lips or does it also use a long tongue to touch surfaces or eat? What does this tell you about the giraffe's digestive system?

Giraffes use the tongue to pull food into the mouth before cutting and has four-chambered digestive system meaning it is a ruminant.

How many toes on each foot does the giraffe have? Does this confirm or clash with the interpretation of its digestive system that you made above?

Giraffes have two toes meaning they have even toes hence ruminants.

Pay attention to the giraffe's mouth and behavior. Is there any behavior that the giraffe exhibits that would also provide a clue as to whether it had a rumen or not?

Giraffes have a horny pad, which replaces incisors and canines in the upper jaw.

What advantage might longer forelimbs provide this animal in terms of its behavior and skeletal design? Which of the dinosaurs covered in lecture is this body design most similar to?

Longer forelimbs enable the giraffe to access shrub and twigs which are far higher from the ground and useful during jumping. It resembles the zebra in body form.

Are ossicones only present on adult males or do they only develop with sexual maturity? What would this suggest about their use? Are they primarily present for mating battles or might they be used in social dominance by both genders?

Giraffe are born with ossicone, and they are useful during battling to make the head heavier in necking contest, they are used for social rituals especially by male giraffes

Lion and tiger

What does the pattern of movement suggest about these animals? Does one probably have a larger 'home range' for hunting than the other?

The pattern of movement of lion and tiger while tells as that resting animals spend less energy hence low food requirement while those animals which outside use a lot of energy due to movement thus they have to survive by hunting constantly.

What does the size of the forelimbs in lions and tigers suggest about their hunting styles?

Lions and tigers have strong forelimbs more flexible which is helpful during running for prey and long walking and gripping the prey.

Reindeer

Based on the animals' behavior and features, do you think that reindeer are ruminants or hind-gut fermenters? What features or behaviors support your conclusion?

Reindeer are ruminants because they have a horny pad which replaces the incisors and canines on the upper jaw and regurgitates the cud apart from tongue pulling the food to the mouth before they cut.

Do only male reindeer have antlers or are they present on both males and females? Based on their design, shedding, and gender dispersal, what do you think is the primary purpose of these antlers? Are they primarily for defense against predators, mating battles between males, or social competition and dominance displays? Briefly explain why you think your conclusion is better than the other options

Both male and female have antlers but male have long antlers. The antlers are meant to for sexual behavior as mating battles meaning the animal which win is allowed to mate

Are the ears of the Arctic fox larger or smaller than those of most dogs, wolves, or coyotes? What advantage might their relative size provide the animal?

The ears of arctic fox are short. Short ears have the advantage of conserving heat and front faced and extensive ears to locate the prey.

Dall sheep

Do only male Dall's Sheep have horns or are they present on both males and females? Based on their design, shedding, and gender dispersal, what do you think is the primary purpose of these horns? Are they primarily for defense against predators, mating battles between males, or social competition and dominance displays? Features can have more than one purpose, but briefly explain why you think your conclusion is better than the other options.

Both male and female Dall sheep have horns. The primary function of horns is to fight when establishing mate ranks since they live together they have to compete

Based on the animals' behavior and features, do you think that Dall's Sheep are ruminants or hind-gut fermenters? What features or behaviors support your conclusion?

Dall sheep are ruminants. This is because they chew the cud and the presence of a horny pad on the upper jaw.

American plain bison

Do only male bison have horns or are they present on both males and females? Based on their design, shedding, and gender dispersal, what do you think is the primary purpose of these horns? Are they primarily for defense against predators, mating battles between males, or social competition and dominance displays? Again, features can have more than one purpose, but briefly explain why you think your conclusion is better than the other options

Both male and female American plain bison have horns. The primary function of horns is to compete as they look for the mating partner, predator. Animals living together always compete for mating patners

Considering the animal's overall body proportions, what advantage might its longer set of limbs provide? Which of the dinosaur groups covered in lecture is this body design most similar to?

The long legs of American plain bison facilitate the ease of locomotion; it is similar to lesser kudus.

Polar bear

What other benefit might wide feet and hands provide an animal that lives in a world of snow and ice

The polar like the lion has strong and wide fore and hind limbs to walk long distances hunting and gripping the prey.

Is there anything about the design of these animals compared to other bears that suggests these polar bears are excellent swimmers? If so, what is it? If not, what implications does this have for our interpretation of the behavior of extinct animals?

Polar has a deep subcutaneous layer and presence of hydrophobic fur which makes it an excellent swimmer hence able to survive in the water region

Considered talented swimmers, they can sustain a pace of six miles per hour by paddling with their front paws and holding their hind legs flat like a rudder.

Penguins

What features (or lack of features) suggest that this flightless bird had a flying ancestor?

The fact that penguins have feathers shows that they had a flying ancestor but its ancestors who continuously adapted to water where food was plenty

What advantage might this animal's design provide it in its natural habitat or lifestyle?

Unlike flying birds which have...