ZOOLOGY FUNDAMENTALS

The prolific use of detailed artwork intro-
duces the many worlds of zoological
science and the classifications that syste-
matize its diversity. Discounts of 25% or
more on bundled sets.

EVOLUTION OF VERTEBRATES
Detailed artwork surveys the evolutionary history of chordates and their adaptations. Includes development of mammalian skull. 7 pgms.140 slides and guides. Save 29%!
EPSS-0995X SLIDES
$199.95

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SAVE OVER $87.00 ON 7 SLIDE SET BUNDLE ORDER EP #SS-0995X....$199.95
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CHORDATE EVOLUTION Order #SS-0995S.........$44.95

A survey of adaptive radiation of all typical chordate representatives, the
vertebrates and two invertebrate groups. Detailed accounts of each group present an
evolutionary point of view. 23 slides and guide. (Filmstrip order SS-0995F.......$15.00.)

CONTENT SAMPLE: 2. The two subphyla of invertebrate chordates--Urochordata and
Cephalochordata--exhibit many specializations for sessile, planktonic, pelagic and burrowing
modes of life. Nonetheless, amidst these various adaptations the primitive chordate features of
the ancestral chordates can probably be revealed. Let’s briefly survey the major urochordate and
cephalochordate groups and then compare and contrast their similarities and departures from the
basic chordate body plan.

Subphylum Urochordata is subdivided into three classes: Ascidiacea, Thaliacea, and
Larvacea. By far the largest of these is the class Ascidiacea, which contains the ascidians or
sea squirts. All adult ascidians are sessile animals that live attached to virtually all types of
marine substrata. The upper left photo in this frame shows a typical ascidian.

Class Thaliacea includes the pelagic salps, whose body organization is somewhat
similar to that of ascidians, except that salps are characterized by a straight alimentary canal
through which water is circulated. Salps often form intricate swimming colonies and are
commonly bioluminescent. Pyrosoma in the upper right-hand corner is a typical pelagic salp.

Class Larvacea includes the planktonic appendicularians. Throughout their lives these
urochordates retain many larval features, such as the notochord, dorsal nerve cord, and
tadpole-like tail. Appendicularians, such as Oikopleura, in the lower left-hand corner of the frame,
secrete a temporary house through which water is circulated to capture food.

Subphylum Cephalochordata contains small organisms with uniformly elongated, fish
shaped bodies. There is no specialized head, paired limbs, or heart, nor is there a backbone.
An elastic notochord extends the length of the body. Amphioxus, at the lower right, a typical and
cosmopolitan cephalochordate, is confined to pure sand and gravel bottoms of shallow moving
waters, such as tidal flats. With fish-like undulations of its body wall, amphioxus can swim
quickly through either sand or water; but it normally lives buried, head up, in the sand. Its
protruding mouth is surrounded by an oral hood from which project many ciliated oral cirri.
Behind the mouth is a spacious pharynx whose walls are pierced with about 180 pairs of gill
slits; these sieve diatoms and plant debris from water that is drawn in through the mouth. The
alimentary canal is complete, with the anus situated on the ventral surface of the body just
before the posterior caudal fin.
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EVOLUTION OF THE HONEY CREEPERS:
A STUDY OF ADAPTIVE RADIATION Order #SS-0440S ...........$34.95

The concept of environmental impact on the spatial proliferation of a species is
explored. An evolutionary classic. 15 frames, guide. (Filmstrip SS-0440F....$15.00.)

CONTENT SAMPLE: 1. The oceanic archipelago of Hawaii is of undisputed biological
interest, much of which is concerned with its abundant endemic fauna. The “oceanic island”
status, however, dictates significant limits for the animal immigrants: Each must arrive by
air or sea. With the exceptions of introduced species, then, Hawaii’s faunal complement is
restricted mostly to aerial animals such as birds and insects. A full 85% of the insect species
are endemic, as are most of their predators, the birds. The extreme variety of avian species on
Hawaii is not merely the result of several fortuitous bird landings. In many cases the variety of
exquisitely adapted birds is the result of adaptive radiation and speciation of one or a few
ancestral species. The implication here is that new arrivals find unoccupied ecological niches,
and through processes such as natural selection become specifically adapted to these niches.
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SPECIATION: A CASE STUDY Order #SS-0290S.........$42.50

An interesting look at the well-documented speciation of the California
salamander Ensatina eschscholtzi, showing the interplay of heredity and environment.
24 frames and guide. (Filmstrip order SS-0290F.......$15.00.)

CONTENT SAMPLE: 24. The deciding factor for speciation among Ensatina
eschscholtzi was geographic reproductive isolation. If individuals become geographically isolated
from members of their populations, any mutations occurring in these isolated individuals will
further remove them genetically from the original population. With sufficient divergent evolution,
the groups, if brought into physical contact, may not be able to produce offspring--and if they are
able to reproduce, the offspring may be sterile.

Some other changes that might accomplish this are seasonal incompatibility (different
breeding seasons preclude cross-copulation), behavioral incompatibility (nonmeshing courtship
rituals), gamete incompatibility (sperm and eggs from different groups cannot form a zygote), and
embryo mortality (the zygote cannot develop past a premature stage).
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EVOLUTION OF THE VERTEBRATE KIDNEY Order #SS-0940S.........$42.50

Vertebrate kidney evolution is a fascinating story viewed in terms of the external
osmotic environments in which the various classes evolved. Freshwater, marine, and
terrestrial habitats pose different problems for the maintenance of internal water balance
and the excretion of nitrogenous wastes. This program details the evolution of the
vertebrate kidney and illustrates how pronephric, mesonephric, and metanephric kidneys
represent successful evolutionary responses to these environmental pressures.
Extensive artwork. 2O and guide. (Filmstrip order SS-0940F.......$15.00.)

CONTENT SAMPLE: 5. The earliest vertebrates evolved in brackish estuaries or fresh-
water rivers. This shift from their ancestral marine environment into fresh water necessitated
many morphological and physiological adjustments, foremost among which were provisions for
dealing with an influx of osmotic water into their now hypertonic tissues. One adaptation was the
development of an impermeable integument, but the thin membranes of the gills and alimentary
canal still allowed free diffusion of water, just as they did the diffusion of respiratory gases and
absorption of food nutrients. Means of eliminating excess osmotic water had to be developed
before fresh-water habitats could be successfully invaded. The earliest vertebrates had inherited
an excretory system similar to those of their marine chordate ancestors: a series of tubules
opening into the coelom drained fluid from the body cavity to the exterior, with some resorption of
valuable solutes through the tubule walls. This system works well in marine animals, whose body
fluids are isotonic with seawater, but evidently cannot eliminate the excess osmotic water that
hypertonic tissues attract in fresh-water environments.

Early vertebrates adapted to their new environment by evolving a device to pump excess
water from the body. This was a tuft of capillaries (celled a glomerulus) that became partially
enveloped by a cup-shaped outgrowth (renal capsule) of the primitive excretory tubule.
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TEMPERATURE REGULATION IN VERTEBRATE CLASSES Order #SS-0970S........$44.95

Illustrates with photos and artwork the evolution of various adaptations that have
allowed vertebrates to successfully exploit the wide variety of thermal environments
encountered on earth. Some recent paleontological discoveries which suggest that
dinosaurs were endothermic are presented. Ectothermy and endothermy are contrasted,
along with facultative heterothermy and hypothermia, from physiological and behavioral
perspectives. 22 slides and guide. (Filmstrip order SS-0970F......$15.00.)

CONTENT SAMPLE: 3. Animals differ in their abilities to regulate body temperature
(thermoregulation). We are all familiar with the terms "cold-blooded" and "warm-blooded." Most
reptiles feel cold to our touch, while mammals and birds often feel warm. But these are
subjective and inaccurate evaluations and, as such, are avoided by scientists.

Somewhat more precise descriptions can be made by using the terms poikilothermic
and homeothermic (or homoiothermic). The body temperature of poikilotherms is relatively
variable, while that of homeotherms is relatively constant.

Even more useful terms are ectothermic and endothermic, which suggest two different
mechanisms of thermoregulation. Ectotherms generally obtain heat from their external
environment. Their body temperature varies, corresponding at any time with the temperature of
their external environment. Invertebrates, fish, amphibians, and reptiles are generally
ectothermic.

Endothermic animals, on the other hand, have relatively constant body temperatures.
Their body temperature is independent of that of their external environment. Monkeys and
walruses, for example, both have body temperatures of about 38° C, despite living in very different
habitats. Endothermy necessitates an array of physiological and morphological adaptations, with
two results: the body temperature of endotherms is derived from heat produced by their own
oxidative metabolism, and the presence of insulating hair, feathers or blubber prevents this
internally generated heat from freely diffusing to the external environment. Most mammals and
birds are continuously endothermic, although some hibernate or estivate and thereby temporarily
avoid the high metabolic cost of endothermy.
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THE MAMMALIAN SKULL--AN INTRODUCTION Order #471.........$42.50

Evolution and classification of mammals is discussed with emphasis placed on
dentition specialization and related feeding habits of various mammalian groups. Ten
orders of mammals are represented. Illustrated are skulls of echidna, opossum,
insectivores, flying lemur, bats, armadillo, lagomorphs, rodents, carnivores and deer. 20
slides and guide.

CONTENT SAMPLE: 21755 The mammalian skull serves primarily for protection of
the central nervous system. Secondarily, it includes the apparatus for the capture and initial
digestion of food. The most prominent feature of the skull is the braincase, which is relatively
large in mammals. Flaring outwards on either side of the skull is the zygomatic arch which
protects the eye, provides a place of attachment for the muscles which move the lower jaw
(dentary), and forms a surface for the articulation of the dentary to the skull. The zygomatic arch
varies in size. It is large in carnivores and some rodents, and absent in some insectivores
(shrews, moles and hedgehogs) and some whales.

A number of openings (foramina) penetrate the braincase and allow for the passage of
nerves and blood vessels. The incisive foramina in the palates of many animals house an
olfactory organ (Jacobson’s organ) which enhances the “smelling” of odors. Scroll-like ethmoid
bones (turbinals) within the nasal cavities support tissues which increase the effectiveness of
Jacobson’s organ and secrete mucus. This mucus humidifies and warms or cools the air
destined for the lungs, acting much like a radiator. It also filters foreign material such as pollen
and dust out of the inspired air. The turbinals were already well-developed in the extinct grazing
mammals which roamed the Great Plains ten million years ago. The mechanisms that allow
sound to be received and interpreted are also housed in or on the skull.
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ANCIENT ANIMALS Order #SS-0020S .........$34.95

Artistic renderings of a selection of extinct species that once inhabited our
planet, from the fossil record. Provides a brief summary of the evolutionary origins of
modern species. 16 slides and guide. (Filmstrip order SS-0020F ...........$15.00.)

CONTENT SAMPLE: 12. Therapsid flourished approximately 230 million years ago.
This group branched early from the main reptilian line (although they were in fact reptiles) and
went on to provide the embryological ancestry for the mammals. During the reign of the large
reptiles, this line dwindled to small forms. With the extinction of the dinosaurs came a
corresponding rise in mammals that had developed adaptations superior to their ancestors. The
limb development (adapted to terrestrial locomotion) as well as greater intelligence aided
mammalian succession.

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RELATED PROGRAMS WORTH NOTING
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FOSSILS & THEIR LIVING KIN Order #306 ...........$42.50

Photos of fossil remains and of a common, living descendant are paired, making
the relationship and continuity clear. Makes comprehensible the sweep of geologic time,
demonstrates the continuity of life forms and their evolutionary development. Includes
fish, lobster, horsetail, dragonfly, algae, trees, snails, conifers, ferns and mammals. 2O
slides and guide.

CONTENT SAMPLE: 13086 Somewhere in Mongolia, 120 million years ago, a swampy
pond went dry. The dying fish, unable to leave the pond, sank into the silt of the bottom, disap-
peared and were covered over. The muck dried and hardened. Many thousands of years passed,
earth processes continued and the one-time muck became rock. In it the delicate bony skeletons
of these little fish remained; except for faint traces, the rest of the animals' bodies had decayed
soon after death.

In observing these skeletons embedded in rock, scientists called paleontologists can
determine that these fish were early members of a group of modern fish called the teleosts
(higher bony fishes). And so, although the individuals died at a particular time in a particular
place, related fishes have continued to populate the earth. This then is the story of a successful
organism: teleost fish today form the largest known group and have survived many other fish
types that were less successful in the evolutionary process.
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THE GEOLOGICAL TIME SCALE Order #SS-0325S ........$44.95

After an overview of the time scale itself, representative fauna of each time
segment are discussed with currently-accepted views of their appearances,
concentrations, and in some cases, extinctions. Special consideration is given to the
evolution of the primates, in terms of the time and logic of their appearances and
disappearances. 25 frames and guide. (Filmstrip order SS-0325F......$15.00.)

CONTENT SAMPLE: 18. The Cretaceous period, beginning about 130 million years
ago, was the most recent of the Mesozoic era. During this time the dinosaurs became extinct
(the reasons for this are not clear). The earliest mammals appeared early in this period--the
marsupials (pouched mammals) and the insectivores. The Foraminifera flourished at this time. All
sharks of today were represented in the Cretaceous, many pelecypods, and a number of new
Cnidaria (Coelenterata). The first urodeles (“tailed amphibians”) such as the salamanders (left)
made their appearance. The first teleosts (bony fish) appeared at this time also (right), along with
the first octopods.
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chord_23. Echidna. graphic by Educational Images Ltd.

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