Field Trip to the Age of Mammals Exhibit
Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History
Name ____________________________
Class ____________________________
Night attending (tue/wed/thur) ___________ Instructor ____________________
Take the Harbor Freeway north. From the 110 (Harbor) Freeway, take the Martin Luther
King Jr. Boulevard exit and head west toward Vermont Avenue. Turn right (north) on Bill
Robertson Lane (formerly Menlo Avenue). Make a left into Exposition Park Lot 3.
Parking is 8 dollars. I recommend carpooling but you must make your own arrangements.
This exercise is worth 10 pts to Bio 3 students.
They are open seven days a week, 9:30 am - 5 pm, except some holidays.
Admission cost is the following.
Adults
$9
Seniors (62+)
$6.50
Students 18 and over with ID
$6.50
Children 13-17
$6.50
Children 5-12
$2
Children under 4
FREE
Be sure to have this stamped before you leave in order to get
credit or attach your entry ticket.
Enter the Museum and follow the map to the new Age of Mammals Exhibit on the ground
floor.
Enter Rotunda and take a moment to view some of the special exhibits in this area. Then
enter the Age of Mammals to the left.
Downstairs Exhibits:
Cheetah Exhibit:
What is special about the cheetah backbone that helps them achieve great speed?
____________________________________________________________
List four characteristics of mammals mentioned in the exhibit.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Megacerops coloradenis. Exhibit
What group of mammals does this species belong to? Is this group of animals now extinct?
Draw its horns.
What was its probable diet? __________________________________
Adapting to Grasslands Exhibit:
How long ago did grasslands first appear on the planet? __________________
What happened to the climate change which helped the grasses to spread?
__________________________________________________________
“Cracking Bones” Exhibit:
The herbivores had lots of predators. Describe adaptations of canine jaws and teeth for
meat-eating.
________________________________________________________________________
Go to the touch screen nearby on the evolution of the horse. Horses first evolved in
North America, diversified into many species, and later dispersed from this continent to
colonize Europe, Asia, and Africa.
______________________________________________________________________
The Miocene Epoch lasted from about 23 million years to about 5 million years ago. It was
a period when mammals diversified across the planet.
During the Miocene Epoch, how many different species of horse were present in North
America? ______________
Were they all grazers, or were some browsers?
______________________________________________________________
Slide the Time Bar at the bottom of the screen and watch for significant events. What was
happening to the climate during the Miocene?
______________________________________________________________
The continents were not in their present position during the Miocene. When did Australia
and South America finally break away from Antarctica? ___________ When did India
slide into Asia? __________
When did the grasslands expand? ___________________
When did the ice age occur? __________________
“Running Faster” Exhibit: Horses adapted to the new grassland habitats in many ways.
How did the horse leg change over time in regards to its length and the toe structure?
“Eating Grass” Exhibit: How did the teeth of horses adapt to the grass diet?
“Humans (?) Among Giants” Exhibit:
Although horses evolved in North America, they were extinct here by the time Europeans
arrived. How long ago did they disappear? _____________
Why in general do mammals tend to get bigger over time?
“Measure up” : There were lots of large predators eating the herbivores.
One large species of bear that use to live here in Los Angeles was the Short-faced bear.
Using the measurements on the wall, how tall was it standing on all fours? _________.
The smaller Grizzly and Black bears migrated here from elsewhere. Where did the Grizzly
bear originate? ___________________. The Black bear? ______________.
When did they arrive here respectively? _____________________________________.
“Smilodon fatalis” : The common or English name of this species is
_________________________. African lions usually kill large herbivores by strangling
them, cutting off their air. This particular predator is thought to have taken prey in a very
different way. Describe it.
_______________________________________________________________________.
What reasons are given for the extinction of the large herbivores at the end of the ice age?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Did the camel originate in North America like the horse? ___________________
“Early Humans” Exhibit: What 3 key factors were important in human evolution?
1.
2.
3.
“Similarities…” Exhibit:
We are in an order of mammals which contains all Primates (monkeys, apes, hominids):
What 4 features set primates apart from other mammals?
1.
2.
3.
4.
A subset of the primates are the hominids (we are the only living member). Other hominids
now extinct include the members of the genus Australopithicus such as “Lucy” and extinct
species of our genus Homo such as “Turkana Boy”, both on display here.
“Head and Shoulders” Exhibit: Why is the hominid spine distinctly different from that of
apes?
“How we walk” Exhibit: What is different about our knee joint from that of apes?
“Footprints in the Ash” These replicas of Australopithicus footprints show that hominids
have a different toe arrangement then apes? What is it?
“Plates Collide and Continents Shift” Exhibit: What was the “Great American Biotic
Interchange”? ___________________________________________________
When did it happen? ______________
What event created it? ________________________________________
Center Area Exhibit: Biologists think that we are now undergoing another major
extinction event. Stroll around the exhibit and list the major reasons why modern mammals
are going extinct today.
1.
2.
3.
4.
“From the Shadows of Dinosaurs” Exhibit;
Small mammals co-existed with dinosaurs during the Mesozoic Era. They survived the
extinction at the end of the Mesozoic which obliterated the dinosaurs and eventually
evolved into the species of today.
Which species on display is though to have been a distant ancestor of the whales and
dolphins? ____________________________________
“DNA Relationships” Exhibit:
Where did the following mammals originate?
Elephants _______________
Armadillos _____________
Horses eventually arrived in Africa and diversified into the modern zebras. When did they
first arrive in Africa? ________________
“Migrating Mammals” Exhibit: Many of the mammal species migrate over long distances.
Why does migration help some species of mammals survive climate change?
Go to the Touch Screen display nearby. What species of mammals migrated across the
Panama land bridge to North America? _________________________
What species migrated to South America? _________________________
“Migration across a Land Bridge” Exhibit: What land bridge linked North America with
Asia during the ice age? _________________________________
Why did sea levels drop so low during the ice age?
Upstairs Exhibits:
“Mammals have Tell-Tail Teeth” Exhibit: Teeth provide us with many clues about a
species.
What do we look for when we find ancient teeth?
“Can Bones Help us ID Gender” Exhibit: How can we determine the gender (male or
female) of a species from the bones?
“Ankle Bones” Exhibit: What can we learn from the ankle bones of the Walking Whale?
“Stance Affects Leg Length” Exhibit: The stance of an animal will change the way it
runs. Animals with longer leg bones have a longer stride and will run faster. What are the
toe adaptations in mammals which have increased their leg length?
Some mammals like bats have adapted for flight. What has happened to their front limbs
which aid them in flying?
How is the forelimb of a cat adapted for grasping prey?
Why do healed bones indicate this species was a pack hunter?
During the ice age, Bison migrated into the southern California area through part of the
year. What fossil evidence tells us they were only here 2 months of the year?
In what ways were ancient dolphins different from modern dolphins?
“How do we know what the climate was Like in the Past Exhibit”
If you could get in a time machine and travel to the past of southern California, you would
probably find a very different world.
“40 Million Years Ago”:
What was the topography and climate like in eastern Ventura County?
What fossil clues indicate this is true?
What mammals were present?
“15 Million Years Ago”: What was LA like at this period in prehistory?
What type of mammals were present?
“10 Million Years Ago”: What was the environment like in the Red Rock Canyon area at
this time in prehistory?
What type of mammals existed?
“21,000 Years Ago”:
What was the environment like?
What mammals were present?
Be sure to have this stamped before you leave in order to get
credit.