Characteristics of the order Proboscidea. Proboscis family, proboscis family, all about proboscis, about proboscis, proboscis description

Order Chiroptera This order includes bats and fruit bats. The only group of mammals capable of long-term active flight. The forelimbs are transformed into wings. They are formed by a thin elastic leathery flight membrane, which is stretched between

Order Lagomorpha These are small and medium-sized mammals. They have two pairs of incisors in the upper jaw, located one after the other so that behind the large front ones there is a second pair of small and short ones. There is only one pair of incisors in the lower jaw. There are no fangs, and incisors

Squad Rodents Squad unites different types squirrels, beavers, mice, voles, rats and many others. They are distinguished by a number of features. One of them is the peculiar structure of the teeth, adapted to feeding on solid plant foods (branches of trees and shrubs, seeds,

The Predatory Squad The squad unites quite diverse appearance mammals. However, they are characterized by a number common features. Most feed mainly on vertebrates, a few are omnivores. All carnivores have small incisors, large conical fangs and

Order Pinnipeds Pinnipeds - marine mammals, which have retained contact with land, where they rest, breed and molt. Most live in coastal zone, and only some species live in the open sea. All of them, like aquatic animals, have a peculiar appearance:

Order Cetaceans This order unites mammals whose entire life is spent in water. Due to by water During their lifetime, their body acquired a torpedo-shaped, well-streamlined shape, the forelimbs were turned into fins, and their hind limbs disappeared. Tail

Order Proboscis The order unites two species of elephants: African and Indian. These are the largest land mammals, which are characterized by a number of features. One of them is the presence of a trunk, which arose as a result of the fusion of the nose and upper lip. It serves as an organ of smell

Order Odd-toed ungulates These are mostly quite large animals. The number of fingers varies. All equids are characterized by a strong development of the third (middle) finger, which bears the main weight of the body. The remaining fingers are less developed. On the terminal phalanges -

Order Artiodactyls The order includes herbivorous animals of medium and large sizes, adapted for fast running. Most have long legs with a pair of toes (2 or 4), covered with hooves. The axis of the limb passes between the third and fourth

Order Primates This order includes the most diverse appearance and lifestyle of mammals. However, they have a number of common features: a relatively large skull, the eye sockets are almost always directed forward, thumb opposed

7.2. Order Primates Man belongs to the order Primates. To understand systematic position human in it, it is necessary to represent the phylogenetic relationships of the various groups of this

Who are they proboscis mammals? Representatives of these animals appeared millions of years ago. Find out how many species exist now and what they are.

Proboscis mammals

The word “proboscis” usually brings up only a few associations - elephants and mammoths. And this is correct, because the Proboscis order includes only the elephant family. Proboscis mammals appeared in equatorial Africa approximately 45 million years ago. Then their range expanded to Africa, Eurasia, Northern and South America. Mastodons and mammoths are considered their distant ancestors.

Currently, elephants are common in Southeast Asia and Africa. They live in savannas and tropical forests. They are social animals and true long-livers. Elephants die at the age of 60-80 years. They live in groups consisting of several females and young. Males only occasionally join them in order to find a partner for mating.

They can travel hundreds of kilometers for food. Elephants eat up to 500 kilograms of plant food per day and drink up to 300 liters of water. At the same time, animals absorb no more than 40% of food. The basis of the diet is leaves, grass, fruits and tree bark.

Structural features

Their size is impressive. Elephants are huge herbivores with average height from 2.5 to 4 meters, length up to 4.5 meters. Proboscis mammals have a gigantic body, a large head, and big ears. Leather gray covered with sparse vegetation and fine wrinkles.

Huge ears help cope with heat by regulating the intake and release of heat in the body. Additional cooling occurs when the ears flap. Thanks to these powerful locators, elephants are excellent at distinguishing sounds at a frequency of 1 kHz.

Their incisor teeth are greatly enlarged and are called tusks. For humans they are valuable material, so animals are often killed for ivory. Despite their impressive size, elephants walk quietly and softly due to the fatty pads on their feet, which increase the area of ​​the foot.

Why does an elephant need a trunk?

The trunk is an important and irreplaceable organ of elephants. It was formed by the connection of the upper lip and nose. Equipped with muscles and tendons that allow the animal to use it instead of arms. Using this powerful and flexible tool, proboscis mammals can drag branches, logs, and pick fruits from trees.

The trunk also works as a sensory organ. The nostrils located at its end help to smell odors. Thanks to the sensitivity of the trunk, elephants feel objects to recognize them. At a watering hole, they suck up water with their trunk and then put it into their mouth. The sounds produced by this organ allow elephants to communicate.

Types of elephants

Elephants are represented by only three species - African savannah, Indian, and forest. The latter has dwarf sizes, in comparison with its brothers, and reaches only two and a half meters in height. The body of the animal is covered with thicker hair brown. It has round ears, which is why it is nicknamed round-eared. Together with the savanna elephant, the forest elephant is listed in the Red Book.

The African savanna resident is also listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest mammal in the world. The length of his body sometimes reaches seven meters, and the height at the shoulders is four. Average weight males reach 7 tons, and females have two tons less. They live mainly in reservations and national parks, some are common in the desert regions of Namibia and Mali, which is why they are called desert elephants.

Indian, or slightly smaller in size than savannah. Its usual habitat is bamboo thickets, tropical and broadleaf forests. It is the only member of the Indian elephant genus and is considered an endangered species. There are several of its subspecies living in Sri Lanka, Sumatra, India, China, Cambodia, and the island of Borneo.

Infraclass of higher animals, currently consisting of a single family of elephants. Proboscideans are the largest of modern land animals. The body height of elephants at the shoulders reaches 4 m, and their weight is 7.5 tons. They are distributed in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as in South and Southeast Asia from Pakistan through India, Nepal and Burma to Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and the Malay Peninsula and the islands of Sumatra.

The wide legs of elephants are adapted to move on almost any ground - from the hard soil of the savannah to the swampy banks of rivers and lakes. When you lean on your foot, its sole expands, increasing the supporting surface. When walking, the legs spring, which allows the elephants to walk completely silently. Each of the five toes of the front feet, as well as three or four toes of the hind feet, are covered with a small hoof. On the chest between the front legs, just like in primates, sirenians and bats, there is a pair of mammary gland nipples. Despite their massive build, proboscideans are mobile, overcome steep climbs without visible effort and feel free among rocks, swim perfectly, leaving the forehead and tip of the trunk above the surface of the water. Elephant breeding is not associated with a specific season. Pregnancy lasts from 20 to 22 months. The female brings 1, rarely 2 cubs. During the first months of its life, the baby elephant feeds on its mother's milk, which it sucks through its mouth without using its trunk.

The first proboscideans arose in Africa in the Paleogene period in the second half of the Eocene era. Their closest relatives are sea ​​creatures- sirenids (dugongs, manatees, Steller's sea ​​cow), A the oldest representative Merotherium is considered to connect these two orders. Avoided early common path The developmental group of proboscideans were Deinotherium. At the base of the main evolutionary path of development of proboscideans are paleomastodons, from which gomphotheres descend, a kind of “intermediate link” leading to real elephants and to a numerous in the past, but extinct group of real mastodons. Relatives of gomphotheriums included specialized forms adapted to living in swamps - platybelodons, and forms close to them.

Throughout the Cenozoic, there were many dozens of species of proboscis, only mammoths in the Pliocene and Quaternary period there were at least 20 species. Many of them had a completely “elephant” appearance, a trunk and protruding tusks. But some, especially the ancestral and evasive forms, were unusual, such as Platybelodon and the closely related Gnathobelodon and Ambelodon.

The fossil ancestors of elephants inhabited almost all continents, with the exception of Australia and Antarctica. Some of them were no larger than a horse, others, like the southern elephant, were real giants and reached a height of 5 m. Fossil proboscideans lived mainly in forests, savannas and along river valleys. Only the mammoth, with a general cooling of the climate, managed to adapt to harsh conditions tundra

Characteristics of the squad. Proboscideans include large mammals. They got their name because of the trunk formed from the fusion of an elongated nose and upper lip.

Elephants. There are two known species of elephants: African and Asian. The African elephant is larger than the Asian elephant, has a height of 3.5 m and weighs more than 5 tons. Elephants are the largest of all land animals, they live in tropical forests: the African elephant - in Central Africa, and Asian - in India and on the islands of Ceylon and Sumatra. Each of the five toes of the elephant's massive columnar foot is covered with a thin horny hoof. The main weight of the Body falls on a hard and at the same time elastic pillow located under the hand and under the foot. Thanks to this, the elephant moves quickly and silently, despite the bulkiness of its body. It is almost completely hairless: thick skin protects the elephant from the bites of blood-sucking insects.

The elephant's trunk has great flexibility and strength. The nostrils are located at the end of the trunk, and there is also a fleshy and sensitive finger-like outgrowth. With a short, inactive neck and massive head, the value long trunk The life of an elephant is enormous: it uses its trunk to obtain food and water. The elephant detects small objects using the finger-like outgrowth of its trunk.

An elephant has tusks in its upper jaw, but not in its lower jaw. Tusks are modified and constantly growing incisors. With them the elephant rips off the bark and, if necessary, digs the ground. The African elephant's tusks reach a length of 2 m and a weight of about 80 kg. They are present in both males and females. U asian elephant Only males have tusks. Beautiful artistic products are carved from the very dense substance of the tusks - “ivory”. For the sake of these tusks, elephants have now been greatly exterminated.

In addition to tusks, elephants have a huge molar on each half of the upper and lower jaw. There are no fangs. Every day, an elephant grinds several tens of kilograms of coarse plant food - branches and leaves - with its molars. Every 10-15 years, old, worn teeth are replaced with new ones. The growing tooth displaces the old one and gradually takes its place. In the life of an elephant there are about 6 changes of teeth. An elephant lives 60-80 years.

Once every 3-4 years, the female brings one furry cub. After a few days, he can already follow his mother. Asian elephants are easily tamed, although they generally do not breed in captivity. In captivity, elephants are obedient and perform a variety of jobs.

Mammoth. In distant eras, proboscideans were more numerous. In Europe and North America They find bones and teeth of animals similar to elephants - mammoths. In the permafrost zone of Siberia and Alaska, even their frozen corpses are found. The mammoth's body was covered with thick, long hair. On the treeless plains, mammoths also obtained plants in winter, raking snow with their huge tusks. The world's only stuffed mammoth is on display at the zoological museum in Russia.

Elephants are the largest land mammals. These giants live in the grassy plains and rain forests of sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.

The elephant family consists of three distinct species. The largest of them is savannah elephant, which lives on the African plains. Males reach a height of 4 meters and weigh from 6 to 9 tons. The forest elephant lives in the rain forests of central and western Africa. It is much smaller than its savanna relative: adults grow up to 2.8 meters and weigh no more than 2.7 tons. The Asian elephant inhabits the jungles of the lowlands of South and Southeast Asia. In size and weight, it occupies an intermediate position between its African relatives.

Anatomy of elephants

All elephants have a number of anatomical features.

These mammals have a large barrel-shaped body, characteristic structure spine and concave back. The heavy head and huge body are supported by four column-like legs. All elephants have large floppy ears, but two African species they are much larger than those of the Asian one. A network of blood vessels in the ears removes excess heat from the body, helping elephants stay cool in hot, humid environments.

The most prominent part of an elephant's body is its trunk. This is a long extension of the upper lip and nose, which are fused together. The trunk is a very strong and flexible organ. Elephants use it for a variety of purposes, such as lifting heavy logs or plucking leaves from high branches. With its help, they also spray themselves with water or dust.

The trunk of the Asian elephant is designed slightly differently than that of African species. At the end it has one finger-like process. African elephants have two such processes. They are very mobile and serve to lift small objects.

Another hallmark elephants - large curved tusks, which are elongated incisors. In males they are longer and thicker than in females. In males Asian species the tusks are smaller, and in females they are generally hidden by the lip.

Nutritional Features

To maintain strength in their gigantic bodies, elephants eat a lot. An adult male requires about 160 kilograms of food every day. With their strong trunk, elephants bend the branches and, with the help of shoots at the end, deftly tear off foliage. These animals feed on a wide variety of plant foods, from bark and branches to grass, leaves, young shoots, and forest elephants sometimes eat fruit. Elephants chew rough plant food thanks to their large, prominent molars and small molars.

While eating, elephants inflict environment serious damage, stripping bark, breaking off branches and even uprooting small trees. In areas where large herds of elephants live, the landscape can fundamentally change: these animals eat up the dense vegetation at the roots, leaving behind an open grassy plain.

Interestingly, elephants supplement their diet with salt. They often visit areas where the soil is rich in this mineral and use their long tusks to break up salt crystals. Information about the location of salt deposits is passed on from generation to generation: young individuals learn about them from older representatives of the herd.