Vertebrate Zoology: A Study Guide - T. A. Dauda 2014

Preface

The proposed textbook "Vertebrate Zoology" is designed for university students training to become veterinarians, animal scientists, and ecologists. The authors have taken into account the specific ways in которое graduates will apply zoological knowledge in their professional practice. Furthermore, the Selection of material was determined by its practical importance and the realistic amount of time allocated for studying the discipline.

The book examines the main representatives of vertebrates that are widely distributed across the globe. The material is presented in a classical Structure. It begins with the most general and Characteristic Features of a particular taxonomic group, followed by its morphophysiological profile, and concludes with An Overview of the most practically and scientifically important orders whose species are found within our country. After describing the typical traits of an order, the book outlines the specific ecological niches and habits of its species in relation to their habitats, and highlights their role in nature and their relationship with humans (conservation, control, limited harvesting, etc.).

The study guide covers issues of phylogeny, evolution, and the ecology of individual taxonomic groups of vertebrates. Considerable attention is paid to the Practical significance of major vertebrate groups and the status of game and fur-bearing animal resources, along with recommendations for their sustainable use and protection. Special focus is given to rare and endangered species.

Class="center">Introduction

The animal and plant kingdoms are integral and closely interconnected Components of the organic world around us. PLANT AND ANIMAL organisms share many common features: their bodies are composed of Cells, and both exhibit irritability, METABOLISM, growth, reproduction, heredity, Variability, and internal regulation. This points to the common origin of all Earth's inhabitants from a single ROOT—primitive living organisms whose evolution ultimately led to The formation of the various kingdoms of life on our planet: plants, animals, Fungi, and Bacteria.

The main differences between animals and plants are as follows:

✵ most animals are mobile, whereas plants are stationary, i.e., typically attached to a substrate;

✵ animal cells are enclosed by a thin membrane, whereas plant cells possess an additional Cellulose Cell wall;

✵ most animal Organs are located inside the body, which maintains a constant shape, whereas in plants, organs are located externally and body shape is quite variable;

✵ animal growth typically ceases after a specific developmental period (although cells in various Tissues are constantly renewed), whereas plant growth continues throughout their entire lifespan;

✵ differences in the type of metabolism.

Animals consume complex organic substances by feeding on plants or other animals—a mode of Nutrition known as heterotrophy. Plants are capable of absorbing carbon dioxide from the air, and Water and inorganic substances from the soil. Using solar energy in the presence of the green pigment chlorophyll, they synthesize complex Organic compounds through Photosynthesis, releasing oxygen as a byproduct. This mode of nutrition is called autotrophy.

Humanity's first encounters with animals, much like plants, date back to the earliest stages of primitive society. Hunting and consuming animals, as well as their domestication and breeding, provided humans with their first insights into animal anatomy, lifestyle, and diseases.

Later, in Ancient Greece, the synthesis of knowledge about animals led to The Emergence of an independent science—zoology (from the Greek zoon meaning animal, and logos meaning study). The great ancient Greek scholar and philosopher Aristotle (384–322 BC) is considered the founder of zoology, having been familiar with about 500 animal species. He divided all known animals into two major groups: animals with Blood and a spinal Column, and bloodless animals.

After Aristotle, attempts to classify animals resumed only in the 17th and 18th centuries. Among the many researchers of that era, the Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) made the greatest contribution to biological science. His principal work, Systema Naturae, marked the culminating phase of the descriptive sciences of botany and zoology. In this work, he proposed a system and Classification of plants and animals that, with some modifications, still form the foundation of modern plant and animal Taxonomy. Linnaeus divided all the animals known to him (about 4,200 species) into six classes: mammals, birds, amphibians, fish, insects, and worms. He subdivided these animal classes into orders, orders into genera, and genera into species. He defined a species as a collection of similar individuals that freely interbreed, produce fertile offspring, and show no transitional forms to other (neighboring) species.

Linnaeus's introduction of binominal (double) Latin names for species proved highly successful. The first, generic name was common to all closely related species united within a single genus, while the second was the specific epithet (e.g., the great tit — Parus major).

Alongside scientific ideas that have endured through the centuries, Linnaeus's views also contained idealistic notions. Specifically, he believed that the entire world was created by a divine creator. Despite these idealistic views, his methodology (binominal species naming and the strict subordination of taxonomic categories) proved rational and remains in use today.

A major contribution to the further development of zoology was made by the French scientists Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1744–1829) and Georges Cuvier (1769–1832), who refined Linnaeus's animal classification system. The former championed the idea of the historical evolutionary development of living nature, although he misinterpreted the drivers of evolution, linking them to an Organism's innate ability to adapt to its environment. The latter established THE CONCEPT OF anatomical types in zoology and was the first to unite fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals into a single vertebrate type. His work laid the foundations for a new science—vertebrate paleontology. Also noteworthy are the contributions of the German scientist Theodor Schwann (1810–1882), who in 1839 formulated the core Principles of Cell theory, proving that all Living organisms are composed of cells.

Comprehensive studies of animals led to the creation of numerous new animal classification systems, but all of them were artificial because no one before Charles Darwin (1809–1882) infused the concept of a natural animal system with evolutionary meaning. In his book On THE ORIGIN OF Species by Means of Natural Selection, he proved the historical descent of All living organisms from a common root. Darwin explained the existence and hierarchical subordination of all taxonomic categories through The Theory of natural selection and THE PRINCIPLE OF divergence of character, thereby laying the THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF a natural system by demonstrating that it is shaped in The process of organic evolution.

Scientific data on vertebrate zoology were gathered through the efforts of the participants of the Great Northern Expedition (1733–1743), among which the work of the Russian traveler and explorer Stepan Krasheninnikov, Description of the Land of Kamchatka (1755), deserves special mention. This book provided a wealth of faunal data that Linnaeus later utilized extensively in his Systema Naturae.

In 1811, the first comprehensive description of Russia's vertebrate fauna was published (Peter Pallas, Zoographia Rosso-Aziatica). The active study of Russia's animal life truly gained momentum during the era of Peter the Great.

To explore The Nature of Russia, the sovereign dispatched the physician and scientist Daniel Messerschmidt (1685–1735) to Siberia in 1720. Over the course of his travels (1720–1727), Messerschmidt collected and brought back to the capital rich descriptions of mammals and birds. Messerschmidt's report, A Survey of Siberia, or Three Tables of the Simple Kingdoms of Nature, remained unpublished for a long time but was widely consulted by subsequent researchers.

Of exceptional importance for The Study of Russia's vertebrates was the monumental work of Academician Alexander von Middendorff, Journey to the North and East of Siberia (1815–1894), which contained original data on vertebrate ecology and zoogeography.

A major role in The Development of the ecological approach in zoology was played by the work of Professor Karl Roulier (1814–1858), one of the earliest Russian evolutionists.

His student, Nikolai Severtzov (1827–1885), successfully advanced his mentor's ideas in studies dedicated to the ecology of terrestrial vertebrates in the European part of Russia and the zoogeography of Turkestan. Alexander Kovalevsky (1840–1901) and Ilya Mechnikov (1845–1916) became the founding figures of evolutionary Embryology. Together with Sergei Usov (1827–1885), Yakov Borzenkov (1825–1887), and Alexei Bogdanov (1834–1896), they were active proponents of Darwinism. Influenced by Darwin's ideas, Vladimir Kovalevsky (1842–1883) established the evolutionary direction in paleontology in Russia.

Russian scientists have made a major contribution to the study of fish fauna and systematics (L. S. Berg), amphibians and reptiles (P. V. Terentjev; I. S. Darevsky), birds (M. A. Menzbier; P. P. Sushkin; G. P. Dementiev), and mammals (S. I. Ognev; V. G. Heptner).

General problems of animal ecology, primarily of vertebrates, were successfully explored by Professors D. N. Kashkarov, V. V. Stanchinsky, Academicians

S. S. Shvarts, V. E. Sokolov, I. A. Shilov, and Professors A. I. Ivanov, N. P. Naumov, A. G. Bannikov, V. R. Dolnik, S. P. Naumov, and A. V. Miheev. They authored insightful monographs focusing on specific vertebrate groups.

Noteworthy is the extensive body of research by prominent scientists B. M. Zhitkov, A. N. Formozov, and G. V. Nikolsky on the ecology of fish, birds, and mammals. These researchers paid special attention to commercially important animals and species of epizootic significance. Academician E. N. Pavlovsky (1884–1965) developed the theory of natural focal infectious diseases in humans and domestic animals, laying the scientific foundations for controlling the reservoirs and vectors of these diseases.

Brilliant studies in comparative anatomy and phylogeny were conducted by Academician I. I. Schmalhausen (1884–1963), his mentor Academician A. N. Severtsov (1866–1936), and Professor B. S. Matveev

(1889–1973), while the Higher Nervous Activity of vertebrates was investigated by the school of Professor L. V. Krushinsky (1911–1984).

The works of distinguished national scientists have been of paramount importance in establishing and refining The Natural System of animals, as well as in advancing zoological science as a whole.

The modern natural System of the animal kingdom comprises about 2 million species. The animal kingdom is conventionally divided into a series of hierarchically subordinate taxonomic categories, or taxa.

Currently, the principle of binominal nomenclature is used to designate species. Each species is assigned a Latin name consisting of two words. The first word is a noun representing the genus, which groups together closely related species; the second word is typically an adjective denoting the species. For example, the scientific name of the small white butterfly is Pieris brassicae, while closely related species belonging to the same genus Pieris include the small white (Pieris rapae), the green-veined white (Pieris napi), and so on. Binomial names are convenient as they immediately indicate the genus to which a species belongs.

If a species name is established in accordance with the rules of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, it is considered mandatory for all. The correct name for a species is strictly the one established earliest; any name proposed later is invalid.

Closely related genera are grouped into families, families into orders, and orders into classes. The highest taxon in modern systematics is the phylum, which unites several related classes. Zoologists frequently employ "intermediate" taxa—subclasses, suborders, and so on—to group lower-ranking categories within a given taxon.

This manual examines the morphological and Biological features of Representatives of the phylum Chordata, which includes three subphyla:

1. Tunicates, or Urochordata (Tunicata seu Urochordata);

2. Acrania (Acrania);

3. Vertebrates, or Craniates (Vertebrata seu Craniota):

Division Agnatha

Class Cyclostomata

Division Gnathostomata

Superclass Pisces

Class Chondrichthyes

Class Osteichthyes

Superclass Tetrapods, or Terrestrial Vertebrates (Tetrapoda)

Class Amphibia

Class Reptilia

Class Aves

Class Mammals (Mammalia)

QUESTIONS FOR SELF-assessment and review:

1. What are the Similarities and differences between plants and animals?

2. What are the main Stages of development in The history of zoology?

3. Why is zoology currently considered an interdisciplinary science?

4. What are the fundamental principles of zoological classification?