[Animals] Vertebrate Zoology

[Mr.Jhorjan]

 

link:https://www.museo.fcnym.unlp.edu.ar/zoovertebrados#:~:text=Los vertebrados vivientes incluyen los,como reptiles%2C aves y mamíferos.&text=Los animales vertebrados se caracterizan,por cráneo y columna vertebral.

 

Vertebrate animals are characterized by having an internal skeleton made up of a skull and a vertebral column. The Museum of La Plata has four rooms dedicated to these animals: Diversity of birds and mammals, Diversity of amphibians and reptiles, Comparative Osteology and Aquatic and semi-aquatic vertebrates.

In the first room of Vertebrates you can see a wide variety of taxidermied species. Taxidermy is a procedure that allows animals to be preserved with the appearance of being alive, for their exhibition or study. The visitor is invited to recognize the native and endangered species.

Bird and Mammal Diversity

Birds are the only living representatives of the dinosaur lineage. They have numerous adaptations for flight and great visual acuity. Mammals are characterized by having hair and mammary glands.

Among the native birds of Argentina there are numerous Passeriformes or birds, diurnal and nocturnal raptors, and a great variety of aquatic birds such as seagulls, flamingos, cormorants, herons and penguins. There are also walking or running birds, such as rheas or partridges native to South America, cassowaries, emus and kiwis from Oceania, and the African ostrich.

Among the mammals there are numerous native species: rodents such as guinea pigs and vizcachas, primates such as the howler monkey and the spider monkey, swamp deer, tapir, carnivores at risk of extinction such as the jaguar and the maned maned guazú, various species of bats, and native marsupials such as opossums or American weasels.

There are also some exotic species such as the echidna from Australia and New Guinea, and the pangolin from Southeast Asia, both representatives of the oldest lineages of mammals.

On the central axis of the room there are dioramas that recreate the natural environments in which the species live. The diorama of the Andean condor, emblematic of South America, and that of the one-haired sea lions, typical of the Argentine coasts, stand out.

Diversity of Amphibians and reptiles

Amphibians are the first vertebrates to conquer the terrestrial environment, although they depend on water during the larval phase. Reptiles are totally independent from the aquatic environment, as they have an integument that protects them from dehydration and a type of egg whose membranes allow the development of the embryo outside of the water.

In this room, skeletons, taxidermied specimens and preserved in alcohol belonging to native and exotic amphibians and reptiles are exhibited.

Among the amphibians, specimens of anurans (frogs, toads and escuerzos), caudates (salamanders and newts) and caecilians can be observed. Among the reptiles, aquatic and terrestrial turtles, alligators, lizards, lizards and snakes are exhibited.

The snakes have reduced or absent limbs and are the most modified reptiles in the course of evolution. The room exhibits rattlesnake, coral and jararás vipers, which are the most medically important in our country, and vizcacheras or lampalagua boa, with constrictive habits. There are also several snakes.

A rhynchocephalic or tuatara from New Zealand stands out, of evolutionary interest because it represents a very ancient lineage, mostly extinct.

Suspended from the ceiling, the skeletons of two large cetaceans can be seen, whose exhibition is linked to the next Comparative Osteology room; On the left wall there is a recreation of the Laguna de San Bernardo, province of Buenos Aires, with typical fauna of the pampas wetlands.