order insectivora
TRANSCRIPT
ORDER INSECTIVORASYNONYMOUS TO
ORDER EULIPOTPHYLA
DIVIDED INTO
ORDER ERINACEOMORPHA + ORDER SORICOMORPHA
(HEDGEHOGS) (MOLES, SHREWS, SOLENODONS)
INSECTIVORA
Subsist on a diet of insects, worms, and other small invertebrates
Relatively abundant in the past; represented today by a few survivors
Moles, shrews, hedgehogs – represent examples of convergent feeding strategies
-burrowers and diggers
-hunt for insects living in soil and in organic matter that sits atop the soil
Insectivores vary greatly in appearance. They typically have a long snout, as evidenced by most moles, shrews, and solenodons. Some are covered in a mouse-like fur with a hairy, smooth tail, others are covered in spines and lack tails entirely.
Most insectivores have an excellent sense of smell, touch, and hearing, but have a poor sense of sight. They live in a wide variety of habitats, from streams to open meadows to deep underground.
PRIMITIVE TRAITS OF INSECTIVORES
FLAT-FOOTED (PLANTIGRADE) STANCE
FIVE TOES
SMOOTH CEREBRAL HEMISPHERES
SMALL SHARP POINTED TEETH WITH INCISORS, CANINES, AND PREMOLARS POORLY DIFFERENTIATED
PRIMITIVE INTERNAL FEATURES
Most insectivores lack a separate opening for the genitals and anus, and instead have a cloaca, which serves as the genital, urinary, and fecal system.
Large embryonic allantois and yolk sac
In some genera, testes are retained in the abdominal cavity
HEDGEHOG (ERINACEOMORPHA)
MOLES (SORICOMORPHA)
SHREWS (SORICOMORPHA)
SOLENODONS (SORICOMORPHA)