Answer Happy

Musculoskeletal System Be able to distinguish key skeletal characteristics of the main vertebrate taxa (e.g., what specific diagnostic skeletal features distinguish a typical crocodilian from a bird or mammal or sarcopterygian fish from osteichthyan or basal tetrapod, etc?). Describe the compound developmental and structural pattern of the vertebrate skull. How is skull development tied to the evolution of neural crest tissue? Respiratory & Digestive Systems Compare and contrast aquatic and aerial respiration (that's broad, huh?): specifically note the oxygen content of each medium and the implications that property has on gill vs lung breathing. A major adaptive radiation of grasses and open savannas in the Miocene provided both a new food resource as well as a big challenge for mammals. What morphological and physiological strategies have mammalian ungulates (hooved mammals) evolved to deal with this potential resource? Think in terms of both digestion of grasses and locomotion on open plains vs forest environments.