Questions tagged [mammals]
Questions related to mammals, animals that nurse their young, have a neocortex, and three middle ear bones.
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Cats, Dogs and Bears - how are they related?
What is the ancestral relationship between cats, dogs and bears?
I presume they are more closely related to one another than other paraphyletic clades of mammal.
Which came first?
What did their ...
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What species is this rabbit-like animal?
This image was included in something I was browsing through.
It reminds me of my lion head rabbit, but the head shape doesn't match.
Is this some kind of Siberian wild rabbit?
anon
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Why do most mammals have long snouts?
It seems like most mammals, e.g. dogs, have long snouts. My pet dog's snout would seem to me like an evolutionary disadvantage, since her canine teeth are way out at the end of her jaw, which acts as ...
user4617
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How do rodenticides with delayed effect work?
Most modern rodenticides are claimed to cause death no earlier than several days after ingestion.
That's quite strange - once a chemical was ingested it will be absorbed in the digestive system and ...
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Are the byproducts of mammalian digestion simply depleted versions of the food or liquid consumed?
When mammals consume food and digest it or drink fluids that are then filtered by their kidneys, are the waste products generated simply depleted versions of what they consumed?
Are there other ...
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Why is mammal coloration so dull?
I have seen species of birds, insects and fishes with splendid colours. But when it comes to mammals (including us humans), they almost always appear in shades of brown, grey, orange, or in black and ...
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Goats are so fearless but sheep are not. Is there any genetic difference responsible?
As you see in the picture goats (not only wild goats) are so fearless, but I never saw any sheep do this. What is the source of this difference in behavior?
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Is there a difference between pig and cow anatomy that makes religious slaughter of the latter less painful?
This question is not for the squeamish. I was told that non-Kosher animals like pigs have a different anatomy in their neck compared to kosher animals like cows such that the Shechita method of ...
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How are blood vessels affected by UV and infrared radiation?
The lining of the blood vessel as an interface and boundary layer is of existential necessity to the life-support of mammals.
My question is:
How are major blood vessels and the blood vessel lining ...
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Can Squirrels Eat Every Mushroom? [closed]
Squirrels have the ability to eat toxic mushrooms as described below. Are there any mushrooms that they can't eat without dying?
According to Dr. John Rippon, an IMA member and world expert on ...
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How compatible are mammal wombs?
I had read about science working towards the creation of artificial wombs however I wonder how compatible are mammal wombs and connected systems to develop fetuses. What species are so compatible that ...
user1357
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Why do sloths come down from the trees to defecate?
I'm under the impression that most sloths exhibit this behavior, but why? They are slow moving and so have no way of escaping from predators when on the ground. Not to mention the energy they expire ...
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What controls the size of breasts?
I am not a biology student, just a curious person. To be specific, I'm talking about female humans. I know that it might apply to other mammals.
What controls the size of breasts?
I have heard about ...
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Do dolphins really sleep?
I have always wondered, if dolphins sleep with one eye opened, do they really sleep at all?
According to this article dolphins indeed shut down their brains.
I already googled it. No help from ...
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Are ape communities more "anarchist" or "communist" in structure?
I am using these terms because we can imagine them quite good, I guess ;)
By "anarchist" I mean that the ape wants to live without the rule of others apes(same biological race or other) and he pursue ...
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How compatible are mammalian digestive systems?
I'm interested in what kinds of nutrients mammals extract from food and would like to know how similar are the outputs of these systems.
For example, if it is possible to successfully replace one ...
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Can a person really die quickly from biting their tongue?
A common trope in certain circles (like Eastern martial fiction), is someone committing quick suicide by biting his or her tongue. But is this really possible?
The internet turns up millions of ...
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How do bats distinguish between day and night?
How do bats distinguish between day and night? Do they hunt at night - if yes, how they know that?
Are they afraid of sunlight?
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Are there any mammals in which polyspermy produces viable zygotes?
Are there any mammals in which polyspermy produces viable zygotes? In the wikipedia page it is mentioned that there is a delicate equilibrium between female defenses against many sperms, which ...
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Do any cells change in size or mass as mammals grow?
That is to say, are there cells that, between infancy and adulthood, get larger? Or is all growth done entirely via cell division? I'm wondering if it is safe to assume that the approximate number ...
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Could a fetus properly develop in micro/zero-gravity?
I suppose another way of looking at the question is: how important is gravity for the development of mammal fetuses?
And if things would go wrong, what sort of things would they be, and what would be ...
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Do any birds beside the family Columbidae (or any reptile or mammal) feed their young "Crop Milk"
Birds from the family Columbidae (e.g., doves and pigeons) produce a fatty, milk-like substance in their crop. The secretion is often referred to as "crop milk." They feed crop milk to their young ...
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What hair do aquatic mammals have?
I'm reading an essay on the creating of the Mammalia zoological classification (Londa Schiebinger, The American Historical Review, Vol. 98, No. 2 (Apr., 1993), pp. 382-411).
It contains the statement ...
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What selective factors drove the evolution of lactose in lactation?
As far as I can determine, lactose, and the monosaccharide galactose have few biological uses outside of mammalian lactation. It not only required enzymes for its production, but enzymes in offspring ...
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Do omnivore mammals vary food preferences based on dietary needs?
I'm wandering if mammals that can eat many different kinds of food (omnivores) vary their preference for food not only based on the availability, but also based on dietary needs?
I'm looking at this ...
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Why can't humans drink sea water?
Why can't humans drink sea water?
It would seem to be a huge evolutionary advantage for an animal to be able to drink sea water rather than have to rely on fresh water, and it's provably not ...
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Do male mammals other than humans have nipples?
When I grew rabbits, I had a pair, one male and one female. And while the female's nipples were quite prominent, especially after giving birth, I don't remember the male having any nipples at all.
Do ...
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Why was polyploidy not lethal in certain octodontid rodents?
As discussed in Why is polyploidy lethal for some organisms while for others is not?, polyploidy is normally lethal in mammals.
However, two species of Octodontidae (South American rodents), are ...
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laboratory mice, nutrition, and humans
It seems that many nutrition experiments [directed at human diet] are carried on laboratory mice. Is there any justification that nutrition that is good or bad for laboratory mice will also be same ...
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Do cows produce milk excessively?
Do cows produce more milk than it is required for their calves? It seems like cows are able to provide milk all the time (all year around). Is it so? Or do they, like other mammals, produce milk only ...
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