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1. Name of fossil: Mink fossil skull

Age of fossil (give time period as well) - 10,000 years old (Holocene)

1. Name of fossil: Black-footed ferret fossil left-lateral section of skull

Age of fossil (give time period as well)- 750,000 to 850,000 years old (Precambrian)

1. Name of fossil: Sea otter teeth

Age of fossil (give time period as well)- 3.8 million years old (pliocene)

1. Name of fossil: Wolverine skull

Age of fossil (give time period as well)- 60 million years ago (Paleocene)

1. Name of fossil: Fisher skull

Age of fossil (give time period as well)- 78 million years old (cretaceous)

1. Name of fossil: European badger skull

Age of fossil (give time period as well)- 150,000-50,000 years ago (pleistocene)

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Most of my fossils are skulls of different organisms in my taxonomic group. They show evolution as the older fossils such as the wolverine, fisher,  and black-footed ferret skulls are triangular shaped. Both of these fossils are dated back over a million years ago, Whereas the newer fossils, dating back to only thousands of years ago,  such as the mink skull and badger skull are more oblong- shaped like an oval. This shows that due to competition, environment, and resources the organisms in my taxonomic group adapted to their surroundings to survive better. These fossils provide how organisms change through time

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All the organisms in this group live in the same types of land areas or aquatic areas, however, even though they share features they are used in different ways among different species. For instance, all the organisms are endothermic and therefore have fur and smaller slender body frames to keep warmer in colder climates. They are carnivores so they have sharp teeth to hunt prey.

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The sable ( Martes zibellina) is a marten species, a small carnivorous mammal inhabiting forest environments, primarily in Russia from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, northern Mongolia. Its habitat also leans the borders of eastern Kazakhstan, China, North Korea and Hokkaidō in Japan. Its range in the wild originally extended through European Russia to Poland and Scandinavia.

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My ferret (Reno)'s paws when he was 3 month old. This was shortly after i got him and he fell asleep under my pillow with only his paws and tail hanging out <3 I love this photo I hope you enjoy...

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Works Cited

“Blackwell Science, Ltd Genetic variation and population structure in Scandinavian wolverine (Gulo gulo) populations.” PDF, 2001, citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.716.2032&rep=rep1&type=pdf.

BMC Biology. 2018, media.springernature.com/lw785/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1186%2F1741-7007-6-10/MediaObjects/12915_2008_Article_163_Fig1_HTML.jpg.

Comparative Placentatio. placentation.ucsd.edu/seaotter.htm.

Cool Anartica. 2001, www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/wildlife/Arctic_animals/wolverine.php.

Fossil Museum. www.fossilmuseum.net/Fossil_Galleries/Mammalia/mustela-vison/mustela.htm.

Human Karyotypes. 2014, www.mun.ca/biology/scarr/Human_Karyotype.html.

Kilbourne, Brandon M. “Selective regimes and functional anatomy in the mustelid forelimb: Diversification toward specializations for climbing, digging, and swimming.” Wiley Online Library, 1999-2018, onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ece3.3407.

Maryland DNR. dnr.maryland.gov/wildlife/Documents/BottleneckGenes.pdf.

Nature Works. 2017, www.nhptv.org/natureworks/blackfootedferret.htm.

“New River Otter Fossil Discovered in Hagerman.” KMVT11, 2002-2018, www.kmvt.com/content/news/New-river-otter-fossil-discovered-in-Hagerman-381546921.html.

New World Encycylopedia. www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Sable.

Oktar, Adnan. “Atlas of Creation Vol. 3.” Huran Yaha, Global publications, 1994, www.harunyahya.com/en/Books/4632/atlas-of-creation-vol3/chapter/4493.

Paleo Direct. Sitemap, 2018, www.paleodirect.com/ice-age-fossil-badger-skull-cave-meles-fossils/.

Pamela R. Owen, Christopher J. Bell, Emilee M. Mead. “Fossils, Diet, and Conservation of Black-footed Ferrets (Mustela Nigripes).” Oxford Academic, Oxford University Press, 2018, academic.oup.com/jmammal/article/81/2/422/2372877.

Prairie Wildlife Research. www.prairiewildlife.org/bff.html.

PubMed.gov. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25715474.

“Reference Audesirk & Audesirk Ch 22.” The Animal Kingdom, hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Biology/animal.html.

Reproduction. www.reproduction-online.org/content/128/6/669.full.

SoftSchools.com. 2005-2018, www.softschools.com/facts/animals/sable_facts/1227/.

Wild Republic. 2018, www.wildrepublic.com/en/black-footed-ferret.

Wiley Online Library. 1999-2018, onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.2193/2007-026.

https://nationalzoo.si.edu/sites/default/files/01.black-footedferret.jpg

https://kidsbiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Martes-zibellina1141684591.jpg

https://img.purch.com/h/1000/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5saXZlc2NpZW5jZS5jb20vaW1hZ2VzL2kvMDAwLzAzNy8xNzYvb3JpZ2luYWwvd29sdmVyaW5lLXdhbGtpbmcuanBn

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Gradualism
Family mustelidae underwent gradualism as they have been around for over millions of years and have periodically evolving, and also have many different species to prove that each time they evolved a little more instead of a big change with fewer species.  For instance, the pine marten and sable have very similar DNA, but aren't the same. One came after the other yet there aren't any huge differences between the two like there would be through punctuated equilibrium.

Descent with Modification

Mustelids went through descent with modification. Although they passed down traits from parent to offspring offspring could have smaller or larger, traits compared to their parents. For example, a wolverine's paws could be wider than their parents, but they still obtain they same wide paw trait.

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Family mustelidae underwent gradualism as they have been around for over millions of years and have periodically evolving, and also have many different species to prove that each time they evolved a little more instead of a big change with fewer species.

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The species in this family all appear to mate in the same time period so they have no problems with reproductive isolation.

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Through a mitochondrial DNA test of the californian wolverine, it showed that they were isolated from other wolverines. This has greatly decreased the amount of wolverines in California to practically nothing. there has not been a wolverine seen in California for a surplus of years. In general, the populations of mustelidae have been decreasing and being put on endangered lists due to not only hunting, but geographic isolation and lack of resources as well.

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a) Black-footed ferret undergoes directional selection with its paws. It reproduces more offspring with larger front paws in order to be used for digging up food and burrows.
b) The sable undergoes directional selection as well through its size. If its too large it is not fast enough to run away from predators, catch prey, or keep in body heat. However, a small body will do all of this.
c) Finally, the wolverine also undergoes directional selection. The wolverine is the largest animal in the mustelidae family, and one of the most vicious. it uses its extreme huge size, to maintain a tough stocky build to take down prey easily. if they were too small, they wouldn't be able to capture their prey as effectively and would suffer death consequences.

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1. Black-footed ferret mates in March and April. The litter produced is 3-5. Males try to breed with as many females as they can.

2. Sable mates in June to August, the males fights in a courtship ritual to win over and mate with the female.

3. The wolverine mates from May to August and will try to mate with as many females as it can. Males choose mates based on age.

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1. Organism 1 - The black-footed ferret has large paws that are used for digging. They need the large paws to burrow, which is where they find shelter.

1. Organism 2- The sable has extremely sharp claws that are needed to climb up trees in order to find shelter and hunt

1. Organism 3- The wolverine has thick oily fur because they live in cold snowy climates and it keeps in body heat

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1. Natural variations in the wolverine, sable, and black-footed ferret are length, body weight, and fur color. Length ranges from 1 foot to a little over 3 feet. Their fur color ranges from yellow, brown, black, salmon, and white. Their body weight ranges from 2 pounds to the largest, 55 pounds.

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The black-footed ferret population went under a bottleneck effect in 1986 due to disease, habitat loss, and poisoning. They were reduced to 18 ferrets but due to conservation efforts now have 750 ferrets living in the wild was last recorded in 2008. Before 1970 a group of wolverines in Scandinavia had only 2--5 alleles to vary from. This microevolution is genetic drift, and it was heavily place don the isolated wolverines, because they were isolated. Therefore, they didn’t have as many spouses to choose from leaving less genetic variability and therefore more susceptible to death by disease. Sables have a low genetic variability in Hokkaido Japan due to the founder effect. The sables on Hokkaido all evolved from a single common ancestor, therefore their genetic variability is limited to them specifically, leaving no room to increase variability.

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The american mink immigrated to the waters of the UK and killed off water voles. As minks increased, water voles decreased.  The minks after being introduced, obviously inherited more genetic variability as they survived over water voles and other animals. So, their immigration took over because of an adaptive trait they had.

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Multicellular, heterotrophic, sexually reproductivity, mobile, 7 characteristics of life

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Black-footed ferret
K: Animalia
P: Chordata
C: Mammalia
O: Carnivora
F: Mustelidae
G; Mustela
S; nigripes

Sable
K: Animalia
P: Chordata
C: Mammalia
O: Carnivora
F: Mustelidae
G: Martes
S: zibellina

Wolverine
K: Animalia
P: Chordata
C: Mammalia
O: Carnivora
F: Mustelidae
G: Gulo
S: gulo

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Sea otter species Human Karyotype

The sea otter karyotype is of a male and a female, the human is a male. The male sea otter only has 17 chromosome pairs, and a sex chromosome pair, while the male human has 21 chromosome pairs and a sex chromosome pair. The sea otter has less chromosomes than a human because they are less complex than humans.

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a) DNA or RNA analysis
In a study the mtDNA of a sable and pine marten were examined before they were mated. They had low differentiation levels and were able to form a hybrid. This hybrids mtDNA resembled the sable's more than the pine marten. This proves evolution because if a pine marten and a sable continue to mate, more and more organisms with a resemblance to the sable will survive and reproduce potentially cutting out the pine marten.

b)  Chromosomal analysis

The sable has 38 chromosomes, the black-footed ferret has 40 chromosomes. and the wolverine has 42 chromosomes. This shows that these organisms are complex, and although they have different chromosome numbers, they’re closely related as the sable and the wolverine are only separated by 4 chromosomes.

c)  Protein analysis

The wolverine, black-footed ferret, and the sable all have the protein IRBP. IRBP is the interphotoreceptor retinoid building protein. There are some differences, but mainly the IRBP protein in all these animals is the same and is necessary when they use their vision for hunting.

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This tree shows when different species of mustelidae were born. The more subdivisions and or clades between organisms the closer related the are according to time. The bottom of the tree represents the first mustelids and the closer to the top are the more evolved mustelids.

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All organisms in the animalia kingdom are mobile meaning they have some sort of limb, or fin that allows them to be accessible. The organisms in the family mustelidae all have legs with paws and claws. The wolverine has large flat feet which allow it to walk through thick snow easier. The black-footed ferret has larger front paws and sharp claws that are used to dig. Finally, the sable has extremely sharp claws in order to hunt and kill prey. This shows that they all had a common ancestor, as they all have 4 legs, each with five digits, and claws. However, they evolved in order to survive in their environments.

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Mustelids have evolved to produce better chances of surviving offspring. They do so by embryonic diapause. Meaning, they can delay the time of birth of their offspring to ensure the kit is ready for life and will live. The newborn will continue to grow during diapause. this shows that in order to survive more, mustelids perform embryonic diapause to produce more successful offspring.

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Although we don’t know which we know that mustelids evolved from a common ancestor due to their morphology and phylogeny. An example of divergent evolution is the difference between a wolverine and a sea otter. A wolverine is a vicious land predator, while a sea otter is a playful sea animal. These two organisms both evolved from the same common ancestor but overtime in order to survive they diverged into different species, one is a land animal and one is a sea animal.

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Sables can be found spread out through Siberia, however, most are found in Northern Asia. The most common sable locations are Mongolia, China, Japan, and Russia. Sables prefer temperate forests, dense forests, flatlands, and mountains. They make their homes within the forest grounds.

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The sable is not a larger animal, its size ranges from 13-20 inches and weighs      2-5 pounds. Their coat color ranges from light orange to brown and sometimes has salmon patches along their throats. Sable's are also endothermic.

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Use their sense of smell and hearing to hunt small prey including birds. When there is undesirable whether, such as snow, they hide in their dens for days at a time. They are vicious in the wild while hunting.

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Black-footed Ferrets are native to North America. They require grassland prairies and usually make their homes in abandoned prairie dog burrows. Before almost becoming extinct, they ranged the from The North American Great Plains and anywhere prairie dogs were. Now, they are found in Montana, South Dakota, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Arizona, New Mexico, and Chihuahua, Mexico.

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Black-footed ferrets range from 2-3 ft. in size and have yellowish-buff buf fur color with black on the back. They have white faces with a black mask around the eyes. Males are normally 10% larger than females. The have slender bodies with short legs, triangular ears, five digits on each leg and a long tail. They are endothermic.

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These ferrets are nocturnal,live underground, and make loud vocal noises through hissing, chattering, and whimpering. When not in mating season, they are solitary animals. Young black-footed ferrets enjoy playing and wrestling with each other. This species of ferrets prey on prairie dogs.

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They have the physical appearance of a mix between a bear, a dog, and a skunk. They have long legs and an elongated snout with dark fur. However, they do have a stripe of ivory fur along their back. They are the largest of the weasel family.

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They have the physical appearance of a mix between a bear, a dog, and a skunk. They have long legs and an elongated snout with dark fur. However, they do have a stripe of ivory fur along their back. They are the largest of the weasel family.

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Wolverines require large territories that they mark with their scent. Males only share their territory with females. They are solitary and nocturnal. Males also will mate with several females.

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Ermine, Mink, Fisher, Tayra, Striped polecat, Sea otter, Eurasian badger, Honey badger, Smooth-coated otter, Pine marten, American marten.

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1. All animals in this taxonomic group have five digits on each leg, all of their ears are short, all of their legs are short, none of their claws retract. They all have fur as they are endothermic, and contain a vertebrae. These characteristics are adaptations in order to have the highest fitness in their habitat.

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1. The Mustelidae family uses scent markings to communicate with each other, and noise such as whining, to declare territory, and in reproductive state. They're mainly solitary until mating season or when kits. Generally there are more active nocturnally.

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Animals in the Mustelidae family can live in terrestrial habitats or aquatic. Aquatically the organisms can live in freshwater or marine, they can be found in marshes, but not naturally on oceanic islands. Some terrestrial locations include, prairies, steppes, treeless tundras, and forests. Organisms in the family are not naturally found in Antarctica, Australia, or Madagascar. They have been introduced to New Zealand in 2005.

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Kingdom Animalia- They do not contain any prokaryotes, only eukaryotic multicellular organisms.  All mustelids are apart of Animalia.

Phylum Chordata- All animals in CHordata obtain, a hollow nerve cord and a notochord, a flexible rod between the nerve cord and the digestive track. All 3 exemplary examples of mine are in Chordata.

Class Mammalia-  all animals in class mammalia contain, 3 middle ear bones, hair,  and the production of milk by modified sweat glands called mammary glands.

Order- Carnivora, all carnivora animals eat meat.

The mustelids stop sharing information there except perhaps for some genuses.  The black-footed ferret, wolverine, and sable all share the same taxonomic classes until genus and species.  The more similarities organisms have, they closer related they are. Taxonomy clarifies how related an organism is. and normally the more closer related the newer those organisms are compared to longer age differences..