Video Transcript
Which of the following
characteristics would help distinguish an organism belonging to order Proboscidea
from an organism belonging to order Edentata? (A) The presence of large, pointed
canines. (B) The number of limbs being less
than four. (C) An omnivorous diet. (D) The absence of a complex
nervous system. Or (E) the presence of a long,
muscular trunk.
The kingdom Animalia, to which all
animals belong, can be divided into two major groups: vertebrates and
invertebrates. While invertebrates are organisms
that do not possess a vertebral column, vertebrates do possess a vertebral
column. One subset of vertebrates is class
Mammalia, which comprises all mammals. Mammals are organisms that either
have hair or fur and whose biological females usually have mammary glands to produce
milk for any offspring they might produce.
Proboscidea and Edentata are both
orders within class Mammalia. So, what distinguishes organisms
belonging to these orders? The only living members of the
order Proboscidea are elephants; however, some extinct species, like the woolly
mammoth, are classified into this order as well. The defining characteristics of
organisms belonging to the order Proboscidea are their large size, the presence of
tusks, and a long, muscular trunk.
The word “Edentata” means
toothless. It is used to describe an order of
organisms that do not have incisor teeth and lack well-developed molar teeth. Species that are classified in this
order include armadillos, aardvarks, and sloths.
If we use this information and take
a look back at the answer choices, we can see that the best way to distinguish an
organism belonging to the order Proboscidea from the order Edentata is (E). Organisms belonging to the order
Proboscidea can be characterized by the presence of a long, muscular trunk.
