Mammals- different environments?

Question

Which characteristic is NOT widely adapted to allow mammals to live in different environments?

a) eyes

b) heart

c) feet

d) hair

Answer 1

Heart.  The others vary among mammals depending upon which habitat that mammal evolved in.  The heart of mammals is very similar structurally in all mammals.   You'd be amazed at just how similar the heart of a white-tailed deer is to a human.

Answer 2

d.  Hair, or fur, allows mammals to adapt to various environments.  Polar bears have thick fur for the Arctic.  Otters, platypuses, minks, etc. have water proof oil on their fur for an aquatic environment, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, etc. have camouflage fur for hunting in their environments.  

Feet could also be a good answer too.

Answer 3

Of those choices, I would pick b) heart.  

The large, four-chambered mammalian heart is definitely a major advantage in giving mammals the adaptability to survive in different climates by being the centerpiece of the autonomic system that allows for efficient endothermy (warm-bloodedness) - but there's not a huge amount of variation in the overall structure of the heart in the diversity of the mammalian lineage.

Other than scale, there's not a huge amount of difference between the heart of a small subarctic lemming, a savanna dwelling African elephant or a blue whale cruising the frigid polar seas.

All of the other characters listed show a lot more variation in development.  Even though hair is pretty much hair on all animals, there is considerable difference between the density and thickness of pelage between a wolverine, polar bear, spider monkey, elephant and a whale.

And feet and eyes are amongst the most diversely adapted characters (except possibly teeth) amongst mammals.

Answer 4

hair