Mountain Lion

Mountain Lion Andrea vargas

Introduction

Mountain lion: Also known as the puma , panther, and cougar. The mountain lion is a large cat that is tan. It has a whitish grey belly and black markings decorate the tip of the tail and the snout. They can weigh to about 130 pounds.

Habitat: Mountain Lions live mostly in mountains, forests, desserts, and wet lands. They are territorial and have naturally low population densities which means they need large swaths of wilderness habitat to survive.
Classification: Kingdom: animal Phylum: Chordate Class: Mammal Order: Carnivores Family: Felidae Genus: Puma Species: Eastern and Northern cougar
First appearance: In the early 1800's

This is a cougar in its habitat where there is a lot of mountains and dry land.

This is a cougar in its habitat during the winter, and in a more forest'y region.

MORPHOLOGICAL & MOLECULAR EVIDENCE

HOW CUTE :)

Closest relatives: The "argentine cougar" and the mountain lion bot have a similar bone structure and are carnivores. The Tiger and Mountain Lion both tend to kill their prey by grasping it around the throat until it dies of strangulation. Both belong to the genus (panthera) and family (felidae). The domestic cat is the most related to the mountain lion and are more genetically related with 95.6 percent of DNA.
Molecular evidence of evolution: The DNA evidence shows that all living cats trace back to a panther like predator that lived in southeast Asia 10.8 billion years ago. As sea levels rose and fell,cats migrated to new continents and developed new species. Researchers used "molecular clock" analysis to show how all cats are closely related. Example: All roaring cats have a bone in the neck that supports the neck which allow them to roar.

A feline to feline encounter. A car bravely stand up to a cougar when it approaches.

HOMOLOGOUS STRUCTURES

These bones belong to a cougar and a deinonychus. The animals look totally different and have similar bones. These bones had different functions as the deinonychus was a herbivore and the cougar is a carnivore.
A homologous structure is a bone or organ that is in different animals but do different functions.
This shows evolution because they were related in the past but have developed different functions.

VESTIGIAL STRUCTURES

The cougar's vestigial structure is goose bumps. When cougars have fear or get cold they get goose bumps but these do not benefit them in anyway as it just makes them look scared and weak.
Vestigial structures are a part of the body that has no useful function and is just a part from our past ancestors.
Vestigial structures are evidence of evolution because its the process by which beneficial traits are in populations over a period of time.

TRANSITIONAL FOSSILS

A transitional fossil is any fossilized remains of a life form that has traits common to both the ancestor and the descendant group
Transitional fossils show evidence of evolution by showing how the animal used to be and how it looked like and then showing how it transformed to what it is now.

This is a picture of a saber tooth cat and a cougar. The cougar has now evolved and has a longer backbone.

COMPARATIVE EMBRYOLOGY

The mountain lion has evolved from when it was an embryo by growing in size and getting marks on their fur. They have also adapted well to their enviorment and learned how to survive on their own.

Appreciate

Credits:

Created with images by skeeze - "cougar puma mountain lion" • skeeze - "puma sleeping zoo" • Kaz - "cougar puma mountain lion" • cgordon8527 - "cougar cat wildlife" • skeeze - "mountain lion puma cougar"

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