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Evolution Chapter 15
BIOLOGY
Classification and Evolution
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Biologists now group organisms into
categories that represent lines of
evolutionary descent or phylogeny,
not just physical similarities
This is called evolutionary
classification
A new favorite animal?
What do we think this is?
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Kingdom?
Phylum?
Class?
Order?
Family?
Genus?
Species?
Capybara :Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris
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Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family:Hydrochaeridae
Genus: Hydrochaeris
Species: hydrochaeris
Video
The Capybara can weigh up to 170
pounds!
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The capybara is the world's largest living rodent.
Capybaras are proficient swimmers, swimming
with only their nostrils, eyes, and ears above the
surface. They are also known to swim underwater
- sometimes for considerable distances.
Capybaras are social animals, living in groups of
6-20 and occasionally congregating in aggregates
as large as 100 individuals. Social groups are
controlled by a dominant male whose social status
is vigorously and aggressively maintained.
They live near Eastern Panama through
northeastern Argentina
Squealy capybara
Info taken from seaworld.org
What about this one?
Pangolin
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Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Pholidota
Family: Manidae
Genus: Manis
Species: gigantea
Pangolin facts from Jurica Nature
Museum www.ibc.edu
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The pangolin is covered with large, thick, brown or
reddish brown scales and has no hair. The scales
are composed of keratin, the same material of
which human fingernails are made.
When threatened, the pangolin can curl up into a
boll, overlapping its scales, creating an armor-like
defense. The pangolin has long claws on the front
feet and a long, wide tail.
It usually measures 16 to 28 inches in length and
the tail is equally as long as its body. Male pangolins
are bigger than females. The pangolin has a long
snout and a small, pointed head with small eyes
that are protected by specialized thick eyelids. They
lack teeth, but have a very long, sticky tongue
(about 9 inches in length) for catching insects.
How did all of this animal discovery and
documentation take place?
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Charles Darwin was a major pioneer
in Biology!
Charles Darwin and his Travels around
the World
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Charles Darwin
22 year old Naturalist began traveling in
1831 on the H.M.S. Beagle for four years!
Began a revolution in Science
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Wherever the Beagle went, Darwin collected
plant and animal specimens
He was amazed by the varieties of animals and
plants that inhabited the earth as he traveled
the world!
Who was Charles Darwin
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Darwin made numerous observations and
collected evidence that led him to propose
a revolutionary hypothesis about the way
life changes over time
It has become the study of evolution:
change over time; the process by which
modern organisms have descended from
ancient organisms.
Living Diversity
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Darwin called the diversity of living
things he collected
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The Diversity of Life
Today scientists know that living
diversity is greater that Darwin
imagined
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5-50 million species
Fossil Diversity
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In many areas Darwin collected
bones and other traces of animals
called fossils
Since Darwins time, scientists have
uncovered many unusual creatures
Reptile or Bird?
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Archaeopteryx
The name Archaeopteryx means ‘ancient wing’,
and this animal may be the most famous fossil
find of all time. Archaeopteryx was thought to
have been the first known bird until the discovery
of Protoavis in 1986. It was larger than a crow
and had sharp teeth, a long bony tail and three
clawed fingers. Although Archaeopteryx could
probably fly a few feet, it was not capable of flight
like a true bird. Archaeopteryx lived in the Late
Jurassic period, and specimens have been found
in limestone deposits in Bavaria, West Germany.
The first specimen was discovered in 1861, and
since then six skeletons have been found.
Adaptation
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Darwin noticed that every species
seemed well adapted to the life it
leads
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Physical and behavioral characteristics
combine to help the organism catch
food, handle harsh conditions and
reproduce
These are called Adaptations
Fitness
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Darwin realized through observation
that a species needed to do more
than survive
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They must reproduce
Darwin used the term Fitness to
describe the ability of an animal to
survive and reproduce
Fitness is now based on an organisms
ability to successfully pass on its genes
to its offspring!
Homologous Structures