Shared Flashcard Set

Details

Geo
Finals
314
Geology
Undergraduate 1
12/05/2011

Additional Geology Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
What is the major limit on global climate over the geologic time scale?
Definition
The supercontinent cycle. Three supercontients, Nuna, Rodinia and Pangea and corresponds to three major ice ages in earth history.
Term
Why does supercontinet = ice age?
Definition
Lost of exposed land, pulls co2 out of air, forms clay, leads to ice age
Term
What is the fischer greenhouse icehouse cycle?
Definition
Alternating periods of greenhouse and icehouse over the geologic time scale. Icehouse in cambrain, greenhouse until permian, ice house through triassic, greenhouse through cretaceous and ice house in the modern times
Term
When does india run into asia? why is this important?
Definition
In the late paleocene, which lead to earth to be lifted, up, clays are formed and lead to ice age.
Term
What is the effect of separating australia from antartica?
Definition
That set up circmantartic winds and climates, leading it to getting cold. Caused icehouse
Term
What proves the cause of the paleocene icehouse/
Definition
Foraminfera, oxygen isotopes, surface water oxygen isotope ratios
Term
When are their the highest oceans?
Definition
The ordovician
Term
Most marine life (other than modern time)
Definition
Ordovician
Term
What are the three evolutionary faunas of marine animals?
Definition
Cambrian fauna, paleozoic fauna, modern fauna
Term
When did the cambrain fauna start and end, what is typical of them?
Definition
Start in cambrian, fall off steeply until ordovician. They are represented by trilobites, mudgrubbers, most things on surface
Term
When did the paleozoic fauna start? What is typical of this time? Top predators?
Definition
Started in cambrian, huge ordovician radiation. Typified by armoured filter feeders (brachiopods, coral, crinoids and byozoa). Top predator is nautiloid cephalopod
Term
Describe the modern fauna (start time, major radiation) and what dominates it?
Definition
Starts in cambrian, radiates after permian extinction. More mobile and less armoured than palozoic fauna.
Term
What caused the changes of the modern marine fauna to become more mobile and less armoured?
Definition
More burrowing existed, so the water was impure bad for filter feeders, and more predation existed (no need to have more weight if it won't protect you)
Term
What is the major extinction, and the four intermediate extinctions?
Definition
Major - Permina, intermediate - ordovician, triassic, cretaceous and devonian.
Term
what was lost in the permian extinction?
Definition
nearly everything 95% gone
Term
What is the major extinction, and the four intermediate extinctions?
Definition
Major - Permina, intermediate - ordovician, triassic, cretaceous and devonian.
Term
What is the major extinction, and the four intermediate extinctions?
Definition
Major - Permina, intermediate - ordovician, triassic, cretaceous and devonian.
Term
What four things affect biogeography?
Definition
Temperature, size of continent, plate movement (simpson coefficient of similarity) , super continent cycle
Term
When were the highest sea levels ever
Definition
ordovician, tropics all the way to the poles
Term
What epiric seas?
Definition
seas that only existed with high sea levels (could have swam from from newfoundland to vegas)
Term
What is the kingston climate like in the ordovician?
Definition
Hot, dry, arid and periodic high velocity winds
Term
What are the three levels of the basal strata in ordovician era?
Definition
Intertidal - briefly covered by tides, supratidal (leveles are above normal tides (touched every year or so), tetradium thicket (continuously submerged) and supratidal ramp (shallow sea bottom that is rarely submerged).
Term
Describe the intertidal marine life?
Definition
Covered for a few minutes, cyanobacterial mats, mostly hot and dry, filled with salt and gypsum and mudcracks. Ostracods and some trilobites
Term
Describe marine ramps in the supratidal strata in the ordovician?
Definition
Supratidal are areas normally above tides, very saline conditions, gypsum grown into area and mudcracks. Mostly ostacods and stromatolites.
Term
What is the most saline toleratnt organisms in the world?
Definition
ostracods
Term
Describe the marine life in tetradium thicket/
Definition
porites, coral mounds, like a fringe reef. some trilobites, snails, clams and cephalopods.
Term
What was the top carnivore of the ordovician?
Definition
Straight shelled cephalopods
Term
Describe the marine life in a subtidal ramp?
Definition
Things typical of fringe reefs and bahamas - clusters of algae and sponges (as it bathed in light), crinoids, brachiopods, solitary and colonial corals, trilobites and cephalopods.
Term
List one low, mid and high level suspension feeder?
Definition
Brachiopods, solitary corals, and crinoids (high level)
Term
Chronologically, list the different strata in the ordovian era in kingston?
Definition
Earliest is tidal flats, tetradium thicket, subtidal ramp
Term
Describe the ordovician trophic web
Definition
Primary producers are photosynthetic (phytoplankton), feed zooplankton, many armoured filter feeders, grazers (gastropods that eat algae), detritus eaters (trilobites) and top predators were shelled cephalopods
Term
Why weren't cambrian represented in kingston fossil records?
Definition
It was an icehouse, continents were high, and sea level fall caused erosion.
Term
What are the three subgroups to chordata?
Definition
Urochordata (v shaped muscle, long tail, similar to chordates in larvae but otherwise don't look alike), cephalocordata (typified by pikaei and amphioxus), craniata (earliest fish like chordates in the world)
Term
What are two examples of cephalochordata?
Definition
Pikaia (ancestral chordate from burgess shale), and amphioxius (modern form of pikiaia, critically has a notochord, origin of vertebral column and spines)
Term
What were the first fish?
Definition
Agnathans
Term
how many modern genera of jawless fish exist? how many existed at one point?
Definition
2 now, 3 other extinct genera
Term
What is a heterostracan?
Definition
extinct group of jawless fish from the ordovician. had an external skeleton, tiny plates on it's exterior, not sleek. Had shields, tiny scales covering the back.
Term
What two events lead to fish being major players in the devonian?
Definition
Origin of Jaws, shedding of skeleton and making internal skeleton
Term
Describe the origin of jaws in fish?
Definition
Front gil slit was modified into a folding appartus that functioned as jaws, allowed them to chew things.
Term
What was the last armoued fish that had jaws?
Definition
Placoderms (dunkleiosteus)
Term
What was the first bony fish, without an external skeleton?
Definition
Acandthodians, ancestors of all mammals and birds today. Example of cheirolepsis, also called ray finned fishes
Term
What was the lobe finned fish? what was it actual name?
Definition
four lobed anatomy, origin of terrestrial walking legs. Called sarcoptergii, but evolved lobes as a preadaption, more because it made it highly maneuverable.
Term
What are coelocanths?
Definition
Relative of old sarcopterygii, modern fossils, unchanged since mesozoic.
Term
What are lung fish?
Definition
Also modern fossils, relatives of sarcoptyregii, lobe finned fishes, had gills and lungs.
Term
What adaptation did lung fish have that was incredibly important?
Definition
they had gills and lungs, allowed them to breath air and transition to land
Term
What was the first fish the moved to the land?
Definition
Rhipidistian, lobed finned fish that function independantly and had lungs.
Term
What causes lungfish to develop in devonian?
Definition
First land plants arose, gave tons of leaf litter than fell in water, lead to water anoxia. Lung fish developed in response to deal with period anoxia in water column.
Term
When could the first rhidipistian walk? why did it go to land?
Definition
In the devonian, possibly to find food, put young babies in a easy place.
Term
What other factors, other than anoxia, influenced the move from the water to the land for marine animals?
Definition
Plate tectonics, creation of laurasia created a mosaic of lands (not just tons of shallow seas) which created a chance of evolution.
Term
What about rhidipstian teeth is interesting?
Definition
Early fish had simple dentine, humans have folded and so did the rhidipistian
Term
What are earliest land plants derived from?
Definition
green algae
Term
When did green algae first appear? when did they move to land?
Definition
850 in marine setting, 450 they moved onto land
Term
What was the major evolutionary change that allowed plants to move away from the water?
Definition
Production of xylem to move nutrients from base to stem (more xylem = further away)
Term
What are the most primitive plants called? Vascular or avascular, how much xylem? Where did they live? Special features?
Definition
Bryophytes, not vascular or xylem. Live exclusively on ground, modern versions are mosses. Only live in places that are nearly always wet (but not fully submerged). They had spore tetrads and cuticle sheets, because they couldn't control water, so they tried to protect themseleves from water loss with wax
Term
What are the oldest modern vascular plants?
Definition
Ferns
Term
What is earliest vascular plant? how much xylem? Where did they live?
Definition
Rhyniophyes, 1% xylem, mostly live near water and couldn't grow taller than your knees. They are the first plants to associate with arthropods
Term
When did trimeriophytes exist, what are they? Vascular or avascular, how much xylem? Where did they live? Leaves?
Definition
Exist only in devonian, 10% xylem , have edges of branches that are thichkened.
Term
What is gilboa? what kind of plants appear here?
Definition
World's oldest woody forest (from 385Ma), first find lycopods.
Term
Where do we find lycopods first? what other remarkable features do they have?
Definition
Found in gilboa, important bc first plants to have leaves, major group in upper paleozoic.
Term
What is archaeopteris? Where was it found? What is another name for secondary xylem? stable?
Definition
A progymnosperm from gilboa, leaves, lots of xylem, also known as wood. Could be 10m, not very stable, very superficial root system
Term
Where do we find first leaf litter? what does that lead to?
Definition
Gilboa, provides habitat for early arthropods, find centipedes, detrivors, world's oldest spiders with spinning organs for silk
Term
Where do we find an early "real forest", not like gilboa, where there are no leaves? When? Major tree, how do they reproduce?
Definition
Joggins, Nova scotia, carboniferous. Bark patterns with lots of secondary xylem, main trees are lycopods, reproduce via spores
Term
When do tree ferns first appear? What do they lack? What ate them?
Definition
They first appear in permian, they have no real trunk, but a single stranded fractal branching strand into leafs, which allowed them to grow large. Eaten by dinosaurs
Term
When do we find first fractal branching of trees with spores
Definition
Ferns in permian
Term
When do we first see seed ferns? What is different about seed ferns, what is an example of one?
Definition
Carboniferous, no spores but seeds Glossopteris in gondwana.
Term
What do cross section of glossopteris show us?
Definition
Rings that show glaciers, growing as gondwana is getting glaciated
Term
Lycopods exist in ____ climates, Glossopteris in _____ climates?
Definition
Warm, cold (seed ferns)
Term
List Four global implications that incorporation of plants have?
Definition
Bindng of loose sediment by plants root permanently changed patterns of erosions and sediemntation on the continents, first appearance of meandering river, first appearnce of coal, dramatically altered carbon cycling (drew down co2 leading to ice age), abundant vegetation providing food source for terrestrial animals and ecosystem, permanent rise in atmospheric oxygen levels
Term
What is Romer's Gap?
Definition
20ma period where there is little land fossil record
Term
Describe the typical amphibian of the carboniferous?
Definition
Carnivorous, fish eating, some in open water, some in shallow lakes, many in lake margin, but few in upland areas.
Term
What is the cleidoic egg, what did it allow?
Definition
Egg with a hard shell around it, allowed amphibians to populate uplands because they can have penetrating sex and don't have to worry about using the water as a midwife. Few sperm, fewer eggs, loss of larval stage
Term
Where do the oldest reptiles in the world come from? What kind of life did they live
Definition
Joggins, Nova scotia, arborial animals
Term
What are genera of first true reptiles?
Definition
Hylanomus and Paleotyris
Term
What are the three kinds of temporal fenestrae?
Definition
Anapsids (earliest reptiles, now extinct), synapsids (modern humans, pelycosaurus (dimetredon), therapsids and mammals), diapsids (birds and dinosuars)
Term
Who has stronger skulls synapsid or diapsid and why?
Definition
Diapsid have stronger skull because if you break a part you don't break the whole thing
Term
What was the first aerial tetrapod?
Definition
Coelurosauravus
Term
Describe dimetredons method of temperature manipulation and their domination?
Definition
Their had sails with neural spines that allowed them to heat up very quickly in the morning, gave them a huge selection advantage. 85% of tetrapods were pelycosaurus in permian
Term
Who outcompeted the pelycosaurus?
Definition
The therapsids, because they were partial endotherms.
Term
What was killed in the late permian extinction? what was hardest hit
Definition
Almost everything, but specifically widespread extinciton in syanpsids and amphibians. No glossopteris, marine realm was hardest hit, biodiversity crisis lasted less than 1m years
Term
What caused the late permian extinction? why was it so deadly?
Definition
Siberian Traps, at 252, largest volcanic eruptions ever. Rich in rare and deadly metals, most of worlds platinum comes from this explosion. Also supercharged air with co2 and caused intense marine anoxia
Term
What exploded in diversity after permian extinction?
Definition
Vertebrate realm, diapsids.
Term
What are the two major branches of archosaurs (diapsid reptiles)
Definition
Lepidosauromorpha (snakes, lizards and turtles), archosauromorpha (crocodiles, pterosaurs and dinosaurs)
Term
What separated crocodiles from pterosaurs and dinosaurs?
Definition
Erect gait, allowed pterosaurs and dinosaurs to dominate their respective areas.
Term
What was the major carnivore in the triassic?
Definition
Crocodile
Term
What was the last animals, last branch before dinosaurs? What did it have that it wasn't considered a dinosaur?
Definition
Euparkeria, had a closed acetabulum and therefore no upright stance.
Term
What were the earliest dinosaurs? what were all early dinosaurs classified as?
Definition
Eoraptor and herasaurus, all saurischian
Term
What was the cause and result of the end triassic extinction?
Definition
Cause was volcanic, pangea broke up and trapped heat underneath it, lead to badly reduced many competitors of dinosaurs. Lead to the age of dinosaurs
Term
How do we determine the mass of an extinct species like a dinosaur?
Definition
Compare femur/humerus of log scale plot of mass versus circumference. As the mass increases as a cube ratio, weight bearing areas could only increase as a square.
Term
What is the theoretical limit of all animal weight? why?
Definition
140T, legs would not be able to move
Term
What are the similarities between elephants and apatosaurus?
Definition
Both walked the same way, both unathletic (elephants can't jump).
Term
What does getting stuck in the mud tell us about dinosaurs?
Definition
APatosuarus had a 290 rating, cattle at 150, and T. rex at 120, shows up that apatosaurus legs were not made for walking and t. rex's were not that agile
Term
Describe apatosaurus's neck?
Definition
Could bend its head around the underside of body, allowed it reach food without moving far (couldn't anyways)
Term
What allowed diplodocus to have an incredible range of motion?
Definition
It's tail could operate as a tripod
Term
What do footprints tell us about dinosaurs?
Definition
Theropods (meat eaters) had three funtional toes with claws, Ornithpods had no toes or claws just hoods, and sauropods (the biggest herbivores) had huge rounded pads.
Term
Why did sauropods grow so big?
Definition
Possibly because they had a different style of lung structure that was more efficient and different overall metabolism
Term
Why did people think that auropods snorkeled? why was it wrong?
Definition
You never see back footprints, only front ones. so they came up with the idea that sauropods push with front limbs to drift and they rest of their body is underwater. Wrong because the snorkel would put 2atm of pressure (a lot) on the lung, causing them to blow up. The Sauropods actualy floated but were highly unstable
Term
Why can you more easily see front limb tracks of dinosaurs?
Definition
There was more eight on front limbs because they were less borad, dug deepest into the sediment
Term
Name two sauropod tracksites? Did they walk alone or in pairs?
Definition
Sucre, Bolivia, Paluxy river in texas. Pairs, see elaborate mechanism looking like a herd
Term
How can you calculate dinosaur running speds?
Definition
Compare stride lengths (L to L)
Term
Where are ectotherms and endotherms respectively favored? What are two examples of partial endotherms?
Definition
Ectotherms in tropical regions, endotherms in cold and variable climates. Examples of partial endotherms are monotreems (like platopus) and early permian therapsids
Term
Describe the argument for dinosaur endothermy/ectotherym in body size and energy ouput?
Definition
As mass increases, surface area doesn't increase as fast. Chemical reactions produce heat proportional to mass, loss of T is proportional to surface area. Therefore it results in decreased metabolic needs with larger size
Term
What is the limit for inertial homeotherms?
Definition
over 1T
Term
What is the argument for endothermy/ectothermy in the predator prey ratio? What was concluded
Definition
Warm blood carnivore are only 3-5% of population, but cold blooded organims exist at 25% of population. Dinosaur predators were 3% of population, therefore probaby endotherms, but says nothing about the prey dinosaurs
Term
What is the upright stance argument for endothermy?
Definition
all modern ecotherms exhibit sprawling stance, modern endotherms have upright stance. Dinosaurs all exhibit upright stance, therfore endotherms? inconclusive argument
Term
What is the running speed argument for dinosaur ectothermy?
Definition
long distance sprinting requires endothermy (longer metabolism). But there are no long trackways, so it is an inconclusive argument
Term
What is the polar dinosaur ecothermy argument?
Definition
Dinosaurs existed from pole to pole, some had feathers, while ectotherms only exist in tropics. No due to continental drift, but inconclusive because earth was in global greenhouse, seasonal migration might have occured
Term
What is the growth rate argument of dinosaur endo/ectothermy?
Definition
Ectotherms show indeterminate growth (lizards gradually grow bigger and bigger) while endotherms show determinate growth. Dinosaurs actually are neither deterministic or indeterminate, therefore it shows that they range between ectotherms and endotherms
Term
Plates and frills argument for endothermy and conclusion?
Definition
Use frills for blood vessels to heat itself (not through endothermy). Conclusive that all dinosaurs with frills were endotherms, but those were already inertial homeotherms
Term
What is the oxygen isotope argument for dinosaur ecto/endothermy?
Definition
IF there is little difference in T from fingertip to heart, the ratio of oxygen isotopes should we consisent. However, again, it is not helpful because we don't know if large dinosaurs have it because its a homeotherm or endotherm
Term
What is the bone structure argument for endothermy?
Definition
There are two type of bone, cancellous and compact. All modern ectotherms should abundant annuli and few osteons, while endotherms show few annuli (typical of no seasonal growth) and many osteons. T.REx has both, while small therapods had many osteons and prosauropods had many annuli. Conclusion that dinosaurs were diverse group that spanned range from fully ecothermic to fully endothermic
Term
What is the nasal turbinate argument for dinosaur ecto/endothermy?
Definition
Mammals have large nasal turbinates to heat air, need it for endotherms because they have quick metabolism. However, ecotherms don't need turbinates because of their slow metabolism. Dinosaurs had narrow nasal cavities, without turbinates, but it doesn't prove ecothermy because we have already proposed different metabolism types
Term
What is the skin and feather arguments for dinosaur thermal regulation?
Definition
Downy feathers are endothermic, and some therapod had them, but other ornithopods lack feathers and may have been ectothermic
Term
Why did all dinosaurs exist all around the world? (2)
Definition
Pangea existed and there was a global greenhouse
Term
What important in terms of plate tectonics happened in late cretaceous? How did it affect carnosaurs? What were the carnosaurs of laurasia and gondwana called?
Definition
At the end of cretaceous, gondwana itself began to break up. Carnosaurs began to dominate - gondwana they were allosaurs, and lauraisa they were t.rex
Term
Describe the phylogeny of tyrannosaurs?
Definition
The basal tyranosauroidea appear in middle jurassic, while the tyrannisauridea appaer in late cretaceous and become the largest land predators ever, include albertasaurus and t. rex
Term
What did T. rex eat? what was it's vision like? Bite strength? athleticism?
Definition
Ate large herbivores, had excellent stereoscopic vision, had a very strong bite (ate both by puncturing and by nipping). Very unathletic, could not be great hunters because they were similar to elephants
Term
How did t. rex attack? Where was it's tail.?
Definition
Attacked with head down, tail up, run at high speeds, but were incredibly inefficient. couldn't run for long. Ran like a kangaroo kind of
Term
What was the brain of t. rex mostly made out of? what does that tell us?
Definition
95% olfactory, unlike super carnivores, more like vulchers and hyenas= scavenger.
Term
What were t. rex's teeth like? Could it eat a lot before getting clogged teeth?
Definition
Betweeen smooth sharp blade and smooth dull blade (more like dull blade). Functions like butter knife, not a steak knife. More similar to modern varanid lizards like kimodo dragons. The Holes in it's teeth lead to getting clogged because meat fibres got stuck within them. It had to patiently wati to kill things
Term
Describe the T.rex's feathers and style? How do we know it mustve had feathers? Did both adult and child have featherS?
Definition
It's plotted past the apomorhy for feathers, meanst that the ancestor had feathers and t. rex had genes to grow them. But it was a gigantosaur, so it shouldn't have had feathers. Possibly only children with feathers, lost them as it got older
Term
What are two trees dinosaurs would have eaten?
Definition
Ginkgos and Cycads, gingkos are living fossils
Term
What two plants were planted at queens in 1998? Why?
Definition
Magnolia and Gingko, because mangolia are oldest flowering plants and gingko are essentially the same as they were in the mesozoic
Term
What were the most common plants in the cretaceous? Today? What did the growth of modern plants lead to ?
Definition
Cretaceous - gymnosperms, modern - angiosperms. Growth of modern plants lead to hadrosaurs becoming dominant herbivore dinosaurs
Term
Where and what are the first angiosperms? What do angiosperms represent?
Definition
First found in Jehol China, first flowering plants, closely related to magnolia. Flowers are modified leaves
Term
What did wind pollination allow for plants? who started pollination by vectors? What is the effect of vector pollination
Definition
Not needed to be associated with water. Vector pollination started by angiosperms, lead to tremendous growth in pollinating beetles and flies
Term
What is an example of co-evolution in plant evolution?
Definition
Nuts evolved in N. hemisphere to be crackable, specifically designed to be eaten by vectors, but sometimes squirrels forget them and they are spread. Bears eat berries etc...
Term
In the cretaceous, what animals migrate into oceans?
Definition
The diapsid reptiles, turtles.
Term
What are the three group of triassic experimentation of marine life?
Definition
Ichteosauraus, pleiosaurs, and mososaurs
Term
What were the three big marine triassic experimentations?
Definition
Ichteosauraus, pleiosaurs, and mososaurs
Term
What did Ichteosauraus, pleiosaurs, and mososaurs all accomplish on land?
Definition
They all solved carrier's constraint on land and then entered the water
Term
What differed ichteosaurs from dolphins?
Definition
Had vertically orientated tail, not horizontally. They gave birth to live young, couldn't swim as well.
Term
When did ictheosaurs exist? pleiosaurs? Mososaurs?
Definition
Ichtheosaurs -Mid triassic to mid cretaceous, Pleiosaurus - jurassic to cretaceous and mososarusus was cretaceous only
Term
What was the top carniovre in jurassic and cretaceous sea?
Definition
Jurassic - pliosaur (short neck pleiososaurs) and cretaceous - mososaurs
Term
Who did the mososaurs resemble on the land in terms of teeth and carnivorous type?
Definition
Kimodo dragons
Term
How did ammonite avoid mososaurs?
Definition
They were water breathing, they could dive deep and avoid them. Mososaurs were only partial water dwellers (breathed oxygen)
Term
What are modern synapsids marine animals?
Definition
Dolphins and whales
Term
What type of thermal regulation did basal icthyosaurs, pleiosaurs and mososaurs have/
Definition
Probably ectothermy for icthyosaurs, endothermy for pleiosaurs and definitely gigantial endothermy for mososaurs
Term
How did pterosaurs fly? Acetabulum, connection to dinosaurs?
Definition
Elongated fourth finger, diapsid. Closed acetabulum, therefore were not dinosaurs
Term
What were the pterosaurs covered with?
Definition
Protfeathers - filamentous material, hair like.
Term
Where did pterosaurs eat, what kind of eggs did they lay? Were they good fliers?
Definition
They were largely cliff dwellers, laid soft shelled eggs. Fantastic fliers, better than mesozoic birds, ruled the skies
Term
What is the chronological pathway from allosaurs to birds?
Definition
Allosaurs - Maniraptors - sinosauropteryx - proavis - archaeopteryx -confusciformis (water bird)
Term
What preadaptations did allosaurus had that showed it was an ancestor to birds? (4)
Definition
Feathers, hollow bones, similar pubic bones and closed clavicle (furcula)
Term
How did maniraptors attack? What avian adaptations did they have (2)?
Definition
Elongated second toe for airborn attacks, Had ptygostyle at end of tail (to anchor feathers), covered up its eggs with body (endothermic)
Term
What was sinosauropteryx?
Definition
A feathered maniraptor, covered with fine filamentous feathers, endothermic but not capable of flight
Term
What was the first sign of flight?
Definition
Assymetric short barded feathers in archaeopteryx. Halfway between dinosaur and bird in structure
Term
What is the importance of the colours of a bird?
Definition
There are two types of colours (dynamic and structural), structural is controlled by melanosomes(can tell colour by examining SEM).
Term
How do modern birds fly?
Definition
Elongated second finger
Term
How do we know that archaeopteryx could not have flown very far?
Definition
It's furcula is primitive, half moon shaped wrist bone
Term
How do we know origin of flight is cresariol not arborial?
Definition
Archaeopteryx never had a reversed 1st toe to climb trees, only had extended slashing claw on 1st toe that emphasized it's link with maniraptors
Term
What two birds species made it past the end cretaceous extinction?
Definition
Paleognathe and Neognathe
Term
What type of bird dominated cenozoic?
Definition
Terror birds (paleogene)
Term
What two main groups of terror birds existed?
Definition
Diatryma (went extinct at end of eocene)and phosphurhacid (existed until pleistocene)
Term
What are the three living of mammals?
Definition
Monotremes, marsupials and placentals
Term
What was the main ancestor to all mammals? Earliest mammal?
Definition
Cynodonts, triconodont
Term
What differed from ancestrial cynodonts to modern mammals?
Definition
increased brain size, complex teeth, simple jaw, complex inner ear, fully upright stance, forwardly extended ileum and open acetabulum
Term
How did the modern synapsid jaw form?
Definition
Pelycosaurs had several bone in low jaw, but cynodonts had one large jaw bone and two small supporting bones, modern mammals have only one jaw bone and the other two are the inner ear bone
Term
What type of teeth define mammals?
Definition
Mammals all go through primary and permanent teeth structure. Have multiple molar teeth
Term
What is the boundary between therapsids and mammals?
Definition
Between early jurassic triconodont and late triassic cynodont
Term
What define placental, maruspials and monotremes?
Definition
Placentals come from uterus, marsupials develop via placenta (growth in pouch - marsupium), and mnotremes, the most primite, are effectively reptilian still have yolky egg but is endothermic
Term
What are the two earliest jurassic mammals?
Definition
Triconodonts, and symmetrodonts
Term
When do monotremes, placentals and marsupials first appear?
Definition
Monotremes in early jurassic, placentals and maruspials in early cretaceous
Term
When is the oldest placental dates? Where?
Definition
160, Juramaia sinesis, found in Liaoning China
Term
What is considered the burgess shale of cretaceous animals? What is found there?
Definition
Lianing province (jehol beds), sinosaurpteryx, early angiosperms, insect, marsupials and placentals
Term
Where are the oldest placentals from, oldest marsupials?
Definition
Asia, North america
Term
What was the role of mammals in mesozoic?
Definition
Small and unspecialized insectivores
Term
What was the repenomamus?
Definition
Largest ever mammal,shown to ate dinosaurs (could have been hunter or scavenger)
Term
Why is there a huge expansion in mammal brain from cynodonts to modern cats and dogs?
Definition
Because of their lifestyle, they couldn't hope to compete with large dinosaurs. They lived mostly underground and needed high level of tactile sensation.
Term
What marine life went extinct at the cretaceous extinction? What specific thing survived?
Definition
All ammonites, coccoliths survived well - make up chalk found all over clifs of dover
Term
What two reasons explain the end cretaceous extinction?
Definition
Volcanism, Bolide Impact
Term
What volcano exploded at end cretaceous? Why do you see them today?
Definition
Deccan Flood basalts, half of india is layers of volcanic ash.
Term
Describe the bolide that hit the earth at the end cretaceous extinciton? Diameter of crater, energy?
Definition
10km wide, 80km impact, impart 10,000 times more energy than all nuclear arsenals on earth today.
Term
What were the two direct climate results of the end creataceous bolide impact?
Definition
Stratospheric dust cloud that blocked out 99% of sun, lead to longest and coldest winter ever. The bolide would instantly go into aerosol form leading to huge amounts of poison being available
Term
What was the alvarez paper? What evidence was used (2)?
Definition
Suggested along with scientific evidence, that the 10km bolide struck earth at same as extinction of dinosaurs. Found 4 ppbillion of iridium at level of extinction (only present from bolides) and found shocked quartz that was pleiochroic (due to instantaneous increase in pressure)
Term
Bolide leads to instantaneous ________ in pressure, while volcanoes lead to instantaneous ______ in pressure/
Definition
Increase, decrease
Term
Where did the end cretaceous specifically impact?
Definition
Chicxulub in the yucatan peninsula.
Term
What vegetation existed after cretaceous extinction?
Definition
Ferns spikes, angiosperms or gymnosperms could not have existed. They thrive in dark conditions
Term
What was the cause of each of the large extinction (major and intermediate)?
Definition
Permian - Siberian Traps, Ordovician -Icehouse, Devonian - Anoxia and glaciation, End triassic - Pangea volcanism, Cretaceous - Bolide and volcanism
Term
What three factors affect mass extinctions? What type of biotas are especially vulnerable?
Definition
Size, climate and evolutionary niche. Tropical and reef biotas are highly vulnerable
Term
Why are unspecialized animals favored post extinction?
Definition
They can feed on whatever is available, they can exist in multiple climates, adaptability is the only important thing post extinction
Term
What are the two most significant factors controlling history of life?
Definition
Natural Selection and Mass extinctions
Term
Why are crocodiles and sharks, species that have survived through multiple mass extinctions, not subject to the 35Kg rule?
Definition
Because the species themselves are not contiuous, but rather separate genera survive (small ones) that then evolve and radiate to become bigger until the next extinction
Term
What are the four carnivore guilds in the cenozoic that try to take over from the dinosaurs?
Definition
Crocodiles, terror birds, mesonychids and creodonts
Term
Who was the top carniovre in the early cenozoic? Why do they never end up as the top carnivore in era outside of immmediate post extinction?
Definition
Crocodiles, have sprawling gait, haven't solved carrier's constraint and thererfore can't compete (don't have speed)
Term
What are mesonychids? Give an examples?
Definition
Large mammalian predators, 2 tons top carnivores that are wolf or deer like
Term
What period was the warmest of the last 100m? What caused the rapid drop in T afterwards?
Definition
The eocene, drop in climate because of india crashing into asia and australia pulling off antartica creating circumantartic current
Term
What was the minor extinction at end eocene called? Why did it happen?
Definition
La Grande Coupur, caused by ice sheets (india running into asia and also antartica separating from australia)
Term
Who became the top carnivore guild after La grande coupur? Who went extinct?
Definition
The modern carnivora, the mesonychids and terror birds go extinct, and the creodonts barely survived
Term
Give two examples of modern carnivora? What defines them?
Definition
Feliformia and caniformia, defined as large canines. Sabre toothed cat, dire wolf
Term
What tooth structures separate cats and dogs?
Definition
Cats carnassles are their back teeth, but dog carnasssles have teeth behind them
Term
Describe the organization of grass eating in the savanna ecosystem?
Definition
Zebras only eat tops of grass, wildebeasts only eat middle of grass, springbok eat bottom of grass
Term
What is a grazer vs. a browser? Give an example of both
Definition
Grazers eat grass, browsers eat trees and small shrubs. Grazers are like zebras or horses ,browsers are like giraffes, considered high browsers
Term
What is the role of the megaherbivores? Give an example?
Definition
They keep trees down, trees would grow up and limit the availability of food. Elephants
Term
What are the similarities between a miocene savannah and a modern savannah?
Definition
None of the animals or species are the same, but all of the guilds are the same, same parts different players. Elephants, rhinos, hippos. Miocene zygolophodon, ambeledon and aphelops were rhinos, teloceras were hippos
Term
What animal dominated the grazer guild in the miocene?
Definition
Horses
Term
Who filled the carnivore guild in the miocene?
Definition
Similar to hyanea things
Term
What is the proper term for odd toed ungulates? even toe ungulates?
Definition
Odd toed are perissodactly, even are artiodactyls
Term
What are examples of perissodactyls (odd toed ungulates)
Definition
Horses or rhinos
Term
What are examples of artiodactlys?
Definition
antelopes, cows and giraffes (even toes)
Term
What were more common in eocone, perissodactlys or artiodactlys? Modern?
Definition
Eocene - perissodactyls (odd toed ungulates) were 60%, but modern artiodactlys take up more than 95% of all ungulates
Term
What are chalicotheres? When did they exist?
Definition
They look like a cross between camel and gorilla, but actually are carnivora (early dogs). Existed in eocene and pleistocene
Term
What was the largest land mammal ever? when did it exist?
Definition
Indricotherium, in oligocene and eocene rhino
Term
What was the dawn horse? Perissodactly or artiodactyl?
Definition
Hyracotherium, was a horse therefore perissodactyl
Term
What happened to horse toes from miocene to oligocene? What did this do for their activity? What was their role in the savannah?
Definition
They lost toes, went from 5 to 3. This lead to a height increase, an increase in speed. they were browsers
Term
When was the age of horses? What were their roles?
Definition
Miocene, grazers and browsers
Term
What is equus? Does it still exist?
Definition
Modern horses, important under beginning of pleistocene. Extinct in N.A but still present in africa as zebras, and wild horses in asia called furrel
Term
What are furrel?
Definition
Wild horses in Asia
Term
What are the trends of horse evolution from eocene to miocene of horse body size, foot structure and teeth?
Definition
Size increase was exponential from 20kg to 500kg modern horses, foot structure went from 3 to 5 toes to 1 hoof (allowed them to run faster, less ability in forest system). Teeth got higher and more complex, more blunt, diet significantly changed
Term
Describe the movement of horses between asia and N.A? Where did horses first evolve?
Definition
Horses first evolvedin N.A, under four separate events tried to migrate to europe but went extinct every time until equus. However, equus then went extinct in N.A, so only modern forms of equus are in europe
Term
What is the chronological scale of horse evolution (different species)?
Definition
Hyracotherium - merychippus- hipparion - equus
Term
What are the four reasons or horse evolution?
Definition
Climate change (cooling and drying), co-evolution with plants, migrations, local extinctions
Term
What was the transition in climate from eocene to modern day? how did this affect horse role?
Definition
Cooler and drier, went from forest to savannah to prairies, changed from browsers to grazers
Term
Describe the co-evolution between horses and grasses?
Definition
Before the miocene, C3 grasses were dominant. However c4 grasses became dominant and contain phytoliths shards of silica makes them difficult to eat, harder than modern teeth (7 vs 5). Horse teeth has evolved to be longer flat and fuller to function for grazing on c4 plants. After coupe de gras (end eocene extinction) there are no more low tooth browsers (can't compete because they are ground off by C4 plants) and all you are left with is high tooth browsers
Term
What are the major mammalian group in australia? Major trees? Why is so specific?
Definition
Marsupials, only non marsupials are bats. Trees are all eucalyptus. This is because of physical separation of australia from antartica and therfore the rest of the wold during mammal migration
Term
When marsupials spread to australia, where did placentals get to?
Definition
they got to NA and SA, but they couldn't make it australia because by the oligocene it was separated.
Term
What is riversliegh? What is found here (5)?
Definition
Shallow pits geologic and historic site in Australia. Tells the story on the australian arc. Find giant platapus skull with closed fork (therapsid origin, monotreme), giant wombats (diprotodon), tasmanian wolf (thylacine), marsupial lion (thylacoleo), carnivorous kangaroo)
Term
What was the climate like in the oligocene? Miocene? Pliocene?
Definition
It was wetter and warmer than it is now (process of getting cooler and drier from end eocene). Micoene was still wet and warm, but things were dry? In the pliocene you see an ecosystem that is really drying out
Term
What is the top carnivore in australia in the miocene?
Definition
The thylacoleo (marsupial lion)
Term
What is the top carnivore in the australial pleistocene? What are the animals like ?
Definition
The monitor lizards, age of giant everything, giant wombats, kangaroos, emu.
Term
Why would we assume marsupial couldn't be top carnivore in SA? Was our assumption right?
Definition
In australia, they barely were able to fill that role when there was no competition, couldn't compete with lizards and crocodiles. No, all of top carnivore filled by marsupials
Term
What was the top sabre tooth carnivore in SA named? what is remarkable about it's structure?
Definition
Thylacosmilus, had giant sabre teeth (longest ever), had pouches on its lower jaw to house its teeth
Term
What was another top carnivore in SA, other than thylacosmilus (related to hyena) in the miocene and pliocene?
Definition
Boryhaena, an active scavenger and hunter
Term
Who filled the top role of herbivores in south america? two examples
Definition
Placentals- glyptodon (armoured mega turtle) and megatherium (giant ground sloth)
Term
What is diprotodon? Megatherium?
Definition
Diprotodon is giant wombat from australia, megatherium is giant sloth from SA
Term
What was the major event before SA and NA connection in pleistocene? Describe what happened?
Definition
Plate tectonics, andes started to rise, caused giant rain shadow, savannahs disappeared.
Term
When did SA and NA reconnect? What was it called? When did it start, finish?
Definition
7m years ago, called the great american interchange, finished connecting isthmus of panama by 3m yr
Term
What is the net effect of the great american interchange? WHy?
Definition
SA biota went extinct, dominated by NA biota. SA biota didn't fare that well in NA, but NA biota dominated in Sa NA was always connected, bigger land mass, more specialized animals. Big beats little, everytime
Term
What took over as top carnivores in SA post G.A.I? Omnivore and small omnivores?
Definition
Carnivora, actually sabretooth cats (not thylacosmilus), omnivores were bears (not borhyenadis) and small omnivores taken by weasels and dogs (not opposums and marsupials)
Term
What are plesiadapsids? What is their relation to primates?
Definition
Totally extinct group, sister group to primates
Term
When did primates come off cladistically? What is included in their clade?
Definition
Came off at early cenozoic, group includes lemurs and bats
Term
When did the plesiadapsids exist? What features about their snout, brain, teeth separated them from simpe primates (lemurs)?
Definition
Long narrow snout (more flat), no postorbital bar, larger brain, gap teeth call diastema, no opposble toe
Term
What was said to be the link between primates and plesiadapsids?
Definition
Capolestes, had a long snout, small brain, opposble big toe, last branch off group before we get to general primates
Term
What are the two main groups of primates? What species are in each of them?
Definition
Prosimians and anthropoids
Prosimians - Lemurs, adapids, afradapis
Anthropoids - new and old monkeys, Apes and humans
Term
how did la grande coupor affect prosimians?
Definition
Wiped out all prosimians outside of asia and africa, not to mention took out terror birds, mesonychids and almost all primates.
Term
What is aegyptopithicus?
Definition
Ancestor to monkey and ape found 35MA in western egypt
Term
What is proconsul?When was it found?
Definition
Simian that is a mix of primitve and advanced features, advanced facial features, rest of body is primitve. Direct line towards hominoids. Found in miocene (half as old as aegyptopithicus)
Term
What is the modern form of primate classification?
Definition
Gorillas, chimps and humans fall into the same group, organutangs are different.
Term
Why is the great rift valley the site of most of african simian evolution?
Definition
Plate tectonics created high mountain range and changed rain patterns. Created two distinct habitats, of wetlands and dry land. Humans had to adapt to dry lands, chimps in wetlands
Term
Why is there such good evidence of human existence near the great rift valley?
Definition
Rapid sedimentation of fossils in rift valley was caused by abundant volcanism.
Term
What does oxygen isotope data tell us about the great rift valley in the pliocene?
Definition
It is gradually getting cooler, moving from woodland to grassland.
Term
What is the oldest probably hominid? When did it exist, what features did it have for us to assume it was a hominid? (name 2)
Definition
Sahelantropus, 6Ma ago. Had flattened face, oval foramen magnum (typical of bipeds)
Term
What was ardipithecus? When was it found?
Definition
Found 4.4 Ma, Hominid fossil
Term
What do ardi's face, teeth and hands tell us about it's lifestyle?
Definition
Face was flatter (more human than chimp, teeth had no wear (generalized omnivore, fruit eater), partial feminization of teeth (no need for teeth to fight, changed social structure), and hands were ideal for climbing (but not knuckle walking)
Term
What was ardi's acetabulum like? What does that tell us?
Definition
Open acetabulu, definitely coul have walked, but probably was a facultative biped, adept on ground or in trees.
Term
What can we say about the last common ancestor of chimps and ardipithecus?
Definition
Fruit eating, palmigrade arborealist (moving on hands, living in tree)
Term
Why did the climate change enhance the split between chimps and ardipithecus or homo ancestors?
Definition
Gorillas and chimps adapted well to rain forest life (wetter) and ardipithecus adapted to the drier climate by walking on its feet to find water
Term
What were darwin's two predictions about human evolution
Definition
Evolved in africa, and that human brain size separated us from hominids
Term
What is the taung child? Why was it problematic for scientists of the day?
Definition
An australopithecus afaranesis found in south africa, 2.5Ma, had ape like upper skull by human like lower jaw. Contradicted darwins predictions on human evolution, that they devloped human traits from brain down, not from body up
Term
What are the two divisions of australopithecus? What are traits that separate them? Which is the homo ancestor?
Definition
Gracile and Robust
Gracile was taller, narrower, couldn't speak (hyoid bone), human like femur and tibia and fully biped. Robust was hort and stocky. Gracile was ancestral to homo
Term
What is the only bone in your body not connected to other bone? What is it's anthropological significance?
Definition
Hyoid - shape , allows us to find out about the speaking abilities of the animal
Term
Could australopithecus make tools? climb trees? What do we know about it's ribcage, what did they tell us about it's diet and lifestyle?
Definition
Didn't have proper hands, couldn't make tools. Had good feet for climbing, and had funnel shaped ribcage, which meant it had low athleticism and couldn't run for long times. It ate rather lots of coarse vegetable matter and had high roughage in it's diet
Term
What did the ratio of male/female size tell us about robust australopithecines social structure/
Definition
Had a ratio between monogamous (1.2) and harem based(2.0 or greater) in primates. Along with feminzation of teeth, showed more egalitarian social structure
Term
What was the saggital crest in australopithecines for?
Definition
To anchor jaw muscles becuase it needed lots of tooth movement to eat coarse vegetables
Term
What is found at Laeotli?When was it dated at? What do the discoveries tell us about homonid toes and social structure?
Definition
Oldest human footprints ever, 3.6Ma years old. Tell us that it had no opposable big toe and because there are two sets of prints means that female and males walked together (large and small footprints that are even). Also because her left outside feet are deeper, shows she was carrying a child on her hip
Term
What is the association between australopithecine and sabre tooth cats?
Definition
They were eaten by them, who were the top carnivore in africa at the time (pliocene)
Term
What was the first homo described? by whom? what do we know about its brain, hands, feet? What tradition is it associated with?
Definition
Homo Habilis, by the Leakey's. Descendant of australopithecines. Brain was 450-600 cc, 50% bigger than australopithecines, hands were suitable for tools, not for climbing. Associated with the olduwan tool tradition.
Term
What was the olduwan tool tradition? When did they first appear, who used them? What advantage did they give?
Definition
First appeared 2.6Ma, hammestone and chopper tools. USed by homo habilis, and opportunistic materials made them. They were made by things around them, used for a short period and then thrown away. Allowed homo habilis to eat bone marrow because of tool use, feed it's large brain requirements.
Term
What differed between homo habilus and homo erectus? Size, brain, hands, rib cage, tooth structure?
Definition
Homo erectus was taller and leaner, large brain, short hands good for tools, poor for climbing. Ribs were barrel shaped with narrow hips. Teeth were structure for omnivoric lifestyle
Term
What did homo erectus's rib cage tell us about it's life style?
Definition
HAd a barrel shaped rib cage, that allowed it to have a big cage ang lung to maintain high athleticism. Beginning of long distance running
Term
What tool tradition did homo erectus have? When first reported? What do we know about these tools?
Definition
Acheulian tool tradition, from 1.8Ma. They were passed on from generation to the next, not just tools they made from materials they found around them.
Term
When are neanderthals first described? Where did they live? What type of tools did they use?
Definition
150,000 B.P, lived in cave, organized lifestyle, used mousterian tools which required fine manufacturing
Term
What do we know about neandethal hyoid? Neanderthal teeth in women?
Definition
IT was fundamentally the same as humans, could speak and therefore did speak. Females had strongly protruding teeth, seen now in inuits, come from strethcing hyde to made clothes
Term
What is the first proof that neanderthals wore clothes?
Definition
From the protruding jaw of female neanderthals, that they needed to stretch hyde to make clothes. They needed clothes during glacial periods and that is why they thrived
Term
What colour hair could neanderthals have had?
Definition
Technicaly anything, but would have had wider normal array of skin colour than in normal population. Small population had same range as homo sapiens do over entire species.
Term
When did homo sapiens first develop? How did they make it past arid arabian desert? What tool tradition did they have?
Definition
160,000 B.P. , made it past arabian because it was during a warm wet period. they used the aurignacian tools?
Term
Who used the aurignacian tool traditions? What did it look like? What were they used for?
Definition
The homo sapiens, were wood and ivory tools. Used to kill, but also to paints. They were both realistic and stylistic.
Term
What is the proof that homo sapiens didn't live in caves like neanderthals? What did this allow them to do/
Definition
Found cast of tent peg, shows they constructed shelter outside of cave margins. this alleviated living constructionism, could live anywhere.
Term
Where do we see the first deliberate burial with gifts? what was left?
Definition
In homo sapiens caves, we see flint knife and jewelry left.
Term
When do we see first music, deep sea fishings, cave paintings?
Definition
All with homo sapiens, cave paintigs at Lascaux, both realistic and symbolistic
Term
What three modern human anatomical features were important to human evolution?
Definition
Post orbital closures, high forehead and loss of tail
Term
What two models try to explain the two distinct euopean hominid species? What do each say?
Definition
The multi regional model and out of africa model. Multi regional model says that homo erectus evolved and went around the world, the european homo erectus wen trhough neanderthals to become europeans, african homo erectus because africans etc.. The out of africa model says that different homo species that populated out of africa went extinct and homo sapiens from africa populated the world. European homos are more closely related to african homos than neanderthals
Term
What does genetic work point to in terms of the dichotomy of european habitation by different homo species?
Definition
Points to little amount of neanderthal genome is non african, that minor interbreeding occured in the middle east. Supports the out of africa method, there is some interbreedings but genetically everyone is mostly similar
Term
When did homo sapiens first leave africa? Reach australia, americas, new zealand?
Definition
50,000 , 50,000, 20,000 and only a thousand years ago
Term
What are the main creatures that associated with homo sapiens in europe? what was the climate like in the paleocene?
Definition
Irish Elk, we cold, most of world covered in ice sheets, sea level is low.
Term
What is milankovitch cyclicity theory? Does the climate theory really make sense?
Definition
Climate theory that has a 1:1 correlation with extinction. The theory that a taxon could go extinct in ukraine, die of cold snap. But it would die in another area because of warm periods. Doesn't make sense, no congruance
Term
Pleistocene mammals could survive many climate changes, but what changed during the holocene (2)?
Definition
Human predators - caused mass extinctions in large mammals but no extinction of marine mammals. Least severe in africa.
Change of climate - allowed humans to move between places
Term
Why were the least widespread extinction of mammals in holecene in africa than in NA?
Definition
Because humans evolved with mammals in africa, but by the time they got to NA they were over developed and killed everything
Term
Why do small mammals survive human intervention everywhere except australia?
Definition
Because in australia, they hunted by burning down forests.
Term
What were the three species of mammoths, where did they live?
Definition
Prairies - southern mammoth, north steppe - wooly mammoths, and easter forests was for mastodons.
Term
When did the mastodons go extinct? why? and how do we know?
Definition
Around 13,000, because of human poaching. Know because we find iowa mastodons killed with spears.
Term
Why are australians forests so fire resistant?
Definition
They have burned for years and years as hunting techniques, only eucalyptids survive because those are the most fire resistant.
Term
In Hawaii, what happened to the Moa in the holocene?
Definition
Humans came, created traditions of killing them, and within 500 years went extinct in new zealand. Group of flightless birds, ratites
Term
What is a faulty point in the predator argument for modern extinctions of mammals?
Definition
They argue that there is no replacement, therefore mostly climate based. However, there is replacement, humans. Barnowsky argues that although megafauna biomass dropped, human biomass increased crazily.
Term
What technological advancement or period around 500 years ago lead to changes in carrying capacity?
Definition
Extraction of mineral and energy from earth, lead to human doubling of carrying capactiy in the industrial revolution
Term
What is the current carrying capacity in reference to wher eit was 2000 yr ago? Global diversity?
Definition
It is 7x what it normally is, global diversity is terribel, 90% of mammalian things are humans and their livestock
Term
Why is modern farming land highly degraded?
Definition
Climate change and poor farming lead to decrease in productivity of farmland and cities destroy green areas
Term
What is the chenjiang lagesttaten? What do we learn from this?
Definition
In china, where we find early cambrian craniates, where we imply that bonelesss fish arose in early cambrian explosion
Term
What were the first jawed bony fish/
Definition
OSteichthyes
Term
What is the old red sandstone? what does it tell us?
Definition
Collision of NA and europe in devonian produce complex of mountain, lowlands and shallow seas. The sandstone preserved the life in the shallow seas
Term
Where do find the best example of rhyniophytes?
Definition
From the rhynie chert of scotland
Term
What three genera are grouped together as amniotes?
Definition
Reptiles, mammals and birds
Term
Who is lizzie?
Definition
Earliest stem group reptile from scotland
Term
What was included in early triassic disaster biotas?
Definition
Stromatolites, terrestrial weeds
Term
What are the lazarus taxa and elvis taxa?
Definition
During the mid triassic rebound phase, the taxa were either the same as pre-extinction forms - Lazarus, or convergent with preextinction forms (elvis)
Term
What are thecodonts?
Definition
Stem group of archosaurs that utilized all types of postures. Include crocodiles and Parasuchids, pterosaurs, dinosaurs
Term
What is considered the oldest dinosaur?
Definition
Eoraptor
Term
What is dimensionless speed and ambling speeds?
Definition
dimensionless speed is v^2/gl (gravity * leg length) where ambling speeds are typical movement speeds for dinosaurs, that were close to 2-5km/hour
Term
What is shown at Winton, in queensland?
Definition
Faster speeds of dinosaurs shown by dinosaur stampede
Term
What is the difference between ammonites and belemnites?
Definition
AMmonites are coiled cephalopds, while belmnites are cigar shaped squidlike cephalopds
Term
What fall into the class of sauropterigians?
Definition
ICtheosaurs, mososaurs and pleiosaur
Term
who was thomax huxley?
Definition
Darwin associate that proposed birds evolved from dinosaurs
Term
What permitted the maniratproid dinosaurs to slash attack?
Definition
the half moon shaped wristbone
Term
Where do we find the archaeopteryx feathers?
Definition
From the solehofen limestone of germany
Term
What were terror birds in N. hemisphere called?
Definition
Diatryma
Term
What are cynodonts?
Definition
Most advanced therapsids, before mammals
Term
What were multituberculates and why were they named as such?
Definition
Most common mesozoic mammals, called so for rows of cuspate teeth
Term
Another name for maruspials? Placentals?
Definition
Metatherians, eutherians
Term
What were the Pakicetus? Ambulocetus and Baleen whales?
Definition
Pakicetus was a whale ancestor and coastal terrestrial dwell, ambulocetus was shoreline carnivore capable of land and sea funtion. Baleen whales had evolved from toothed ancestors
Term
What is andrewsarchus?
Definition
A mesonychid
Term
What were two examples of large herbivore perissodactyl?
Definition
Titanotheres (form on axel heiberg) and Chalicotheres, also indricotherium
Term
Who found the taung child?
Definition
Raymond dart, in south africa
Term
What genus was robust australopithecine commonly placed in?
Definition
Paranthropus
Term
What does the term leaky replacement mean?
Definition
Some minor genetic transference between neanderthals and homo sapiens outside africa, most separate
Term
What is the overkill hypothesis?
Definition
Theory that humans have killed all large and some small mammal species
Term
What is the significance of the desert elephant?
Definition
elephants destroy everything, like we do. However, the desert elephants are serene and possibly the more evolved form. Maybe humans can become like that
Supporting users have an ad free experience!