Eutheria

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/eutheria

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name?Eutheria
2. What is the earliest unambiguous fossil record?Early Cretaceous, approximately 120 million years ago (Yixian Formation, China)
3. What are Eutheria and who are some examples?Eutheria are the group of mammals that includes humans, dogs, cats, and many other animals.
4. Why do Eutheria have a placenta?The placenta lets babies grow inside the mother for a long time, giving them nutrients, oxygen, and waste removal.

Monophyletic Group: A taxonomic group consisting of a common ancestor and all of its descendants.
Viviparity: A mode of reproduction where the embryo develops inside the body of the mother, leading to live birth.
Adaptive Radiation: The diversification of a group of organisms into forms filling different ecological niches.
Phylogenetic: Relating to the evolutionary development and diversification of a species or group of organisms.