BLANCHARD Flashcards
1
Q
What are the 3 main types of fossils
A
Trace fossils
Imprints
Petrified bones
2
Q
What is taphonomy
A
the how and what of fossilisation
Why are some bones more common than others? teeth survive for a long time and less likely to be crushed
Most animals don’t get fossilised - deep sea, volcanoes
Water –> sediment when animals die
3
Q
What is stratigraphy
A
Geology and biology meet
Layers of soils pile up and get compacted -> rocks in layers
something lower down is older than something near top
Doesn’t always work - humans dig themselves, caves cause confusion
4
Q
What is the difference between a splitter and lumper
A
Splitters: different species unless there is a convincing reason to unite them. Variation = new species
Lumpers: same species unless there is a convincing reason to divide them. Intra-species variation normal: age, sex, disease, genetic variation
5
Q
Homo habilis
A
2.5-1.6Mya Brain ~ 600cm cubed Made tools and was biped Reduced premolars and molars Eastern and Southern Africa Could probably speak Approx 1.27m, 45Kg
OH8 - Olduvai George
- 1.8Mya
- Modern arched foot
- Bipedal
- Bite marks on heel of fossil - likely died from crocodile
6
Q
Homo rudolfensis
A
1.9-1.8Mya
Can be viewed with H. habilis
Eastern Africa
First paper 1986
KNM-ER 1470
- only specimen confirmed from this species
- large cranium
- long, wide, flat face
- tooth roots indicate large teeth but no indication of large jaw muscles
7
Q
Homo ergaster
A
1.9-1.4Mya Brain ~ 900cc Males: 1.8m, 66kg Females: 1.6m, 56kg Discovered 1971 Tall, sexually dimorphic, energetically efficient biped Habitat: grass and woodland
Turkana Boy (KNM-WT 15000)
- discovered 1984
- spine disease
- ~8 years old
- 1.6m, 48kg, 880cc
- grew up quicker than we did
8
Q
Homo erectus
A
1.8Mya- 143,000 Discovered 1891, Indonesia Found all over Asia 1.45-1.85m 40-68kg
9
Q
Homo gerogicus
A
1.8Mya
Found in 1991, Georgia
Brain ~ 660 cc
10
Q
Homo naledi
A
335,000 - 236,000
One cave in SA found in 2015
>1500 human fossils
At least 15 individuals
11
Q
Homo antecessor
A
1.2Mya- 800,000
Atapeurca, Spain
Described in 1997
Mostly children
12
Q
Homo heidelbergensis
A
700,000-200,000Ya Europe, possible Asia & Africa First paper 1908 Males: 175cm, 62kg Females: 157cm, 51kg
13
Q
Homo neanderthalensis
A
400,000 - 40,000 ya
Males: 1.64m, 65kg
Females: 1.55m, 54kg
Brain ~ 1600cc
La Chapelle
- discovered 1908
- ~60,000ya
- old, was kept alive by other neanderthals
14
Q
Homo floresienses
A
100,000 - 50,000 ya
Cave on island of Flores, Indonesia
Discovered 2003
Female: 1.06m, 30kg
15
Q
Denisovans
A
41,000 ya
Cave in Russia
Juvenile female finger bone found in 2010, more recently teeth
Cave also inhabited by neanderthals and modern humans
DNA
- common origin with neanderthals
- 17% Denisovan DNA found in neanderthals in same area
- 3-5% of Melanesian and Aboriginal Australians inherited from Denisovans
16
Q
What are the 2 theories of how we went out of Africa and evolved
A
Multiregional: Homo erectus going across Europe into Asia, everywhere homo erectus evolved into homo sapiens separately, interbreeding back and forth keeps homo sapiens as one species
Out of Africa: Homo erectus going around the world and homo sapiens evolved in Africa and then travelled as a species, left Africa as a fully formed species and then travelled around the world
17
Q
Why did Homo habilis not leave Africa
A
Small brain size Energetically small in stature Walking not energetically efficient Habitat - cannot get across desert Constraints of habitat and species that stopped them leaving
18
Q
Ubeidiya, Israel
A
1.5Mya
Homo erectus
Discovered 1959
Lake site
19
Q
Dmanisi, Georgia
A
1.8Mya
Homo erectus/ gerogicus
Skull variation
Mosaic habitat
20
Q
Mojokerto, Indonesia
A
1.8-1.6Mya Homo erectus Discovered 1936 Braincase of a 2-4yo child Lived beside the sea
21
Q
Ileret, Kenya
A
1.51-1.53Mya
Homo erectus/ ergaster
22
Q
Daka, Ethiopia
A
1Mya
Homo erecuts/ ergaster
BOU-VP-2/66
23
Q
Ternifine, Algeria
A
700Kya
Homo erectus
24
Q
Mauer, Germany
A
609Kya
Homo erectus/ heidelbergensis
Discovered 1907
Forest along rivers
25
Happisburgh, UK
1-0.78Mya
Homo antecessor
At least 5 adults and juveniles walking along mudflats of a large river
26
Peking Man
680-780Kya
Homo erecuts
Discovered 1929-1937
All specimens lost in WW2
27
Java, Indonesia
500Kya
Earliest art? - marking art for art's sake shows a lot about intelligence
Homo erectus
28
Ceprano, Italy
700Kya-1Mya or younger
Homo heidelbergensis/ cepranensis
Only 1 specimen
Discovered 1994
29
Swanscombe, UK
```
400Kya
Homo heidelbergensis/ neanderthalensis?
Female skull
Discovered 1935
Nearby site of same age indicated swamps
```
30
Kabwe/ Broken Hill, Zambia
```
300-125Kya
Discovered 1921
Homo heidelbergensis (rhodesiensis)
Brain 1300cc
Archaic and modern features
10 tooth cavities
```
31
Florisbad, SA
259Kya
Discovered 1932
Homo heidelbergensis / archaic H. sapiens
Brain 1400cc
Found near open grassland with water
Osteoporosis and healed lesions - lived as part of group that helped survival
32
Krapina, Croatia
125Kya
Homo neanderthalensis
Discovered 1899
Largest number of neanderthal fossil bones (almost 900)
Cut marks found - cannibalism or rituals?
33
Tabun, Israel
Homo neanderthalensis
Occupied 500-40Kya
Older habitation was warm: savannah
Recent colder: dense forest and swamps
34
Petralona, Greece
350-150Kya
Homo heidelbergensis
Discovered 1959
Ancestor of neanderthals?
35
Klaises river caves, SA
```
Homo sapiens
Excavated in 1960s
Inhabited since 125000 ya
Hunting, shellfish collection
Cannibalism
```
36
Blombos
70-100Kya
Earliest art?
Ochre workshop
37
Skhul, Israel
```
Homo sapiens
120,000 and 80,000 years old
Discovered 1932
Skull has neanderthal features: brow ridges/ bun
Modern features too: high forehead
Lived alongside neanderthals - Taban
```
38
Flores, Indonesia
Homo floresiensis
39
Teshik-Tash, Uzbek
```
70Kya
Homo neanderthalensis DNA
8-11yo
Burial with ibex horns?
Quick growth
```
40
Shanidar, Iraq
```
40-35Kya
Homo neanderthalensis
All male
- highly disabled, dies ~ 40
- died from rock fall, ritual?
- stab wound - violence?
- burial with flowers or gerbils
```
41
Denisovan Cave, Russia
```
40-180Kya
3 different species of human found
1. Denisovans
2. Neanderthals
3. Modern human
```
42
European Art
<40Kya
| Homo sapiens
43
Red Deer cave, China
```
14-11Kya
Unknown species
Archaic anatomy
-short
-smaller brain
-large molars
```
44
Wolves
Předmostí, Czech Republic
25Kya
Mammoth hunting
wolf skulls
45
Why were neanderthals adapted to European conditions but died after humans migrated to Europe
Violence - interspecies aggression/ did modern humans murder?
Interbreeding: evidence present but not enough to amalgamate Neanderthals into modern humans
Climate change: during ice ages Europe became vegetated steppe, neanderthals not adapted enough
Pathogens: infectious disease passed from modern human to neanderthals, MH received benefits from interbreeding
Competitive advantage: humans were better in anatomy, behaviour, fitness intelligence, ability to adapt
Division of labour:
N: males and females did everything together
MH: males hunted and females gathered
Anatomy (running):
N: stocky and running energetically inefficient
MH: better runners
46
How many terrestrial vertebrate species are there
Birds: 9.1K
Amphibians: 4.8K
Reptiles: 6.5K (3K lizards, 2,5K snakes)
Mammals: 4.5K (1.8K rodents)
47
Monotremes
```
2 groups - Echidnas, Platypuses
Lay eggs (reptilian)
Hair (mammalian)
Endothermic (mammalian)
Milk (mammalian)
```
48
Marsupials
```
Opossums, bandicoots, possum
Young born premature and crawl to mothers pouch to complete development
Clear parallelism to placental mammals
Kangaroos, koalas, marsupial moles
Originally common in S.America
```
49
What are the 4 main clades of Eutherian mammals
Afrotheria, Xenarthra, Rodents and lagomorphs and Primates and tree shrews
50
Afrotheria
Proboscidea
- one living family
- trunk; loose skin
- tusks
Sirenia
- manatees, dugongs, closely related to elephants
- secondarily aquatic
- forelimbs-fins; hindlimbs absent
- herbivorous
Tubulidents
- no enamel, teeth have prism structure
- aardvarks
- tube like teeth
- insectivorous
Hyracoidea
- short legs and tails
- herbivorous
- complex stomach
- sub-saharan Africa/ Middle East
51
Xenarthra
```
North/ South America
specialised lumber spine
teeth reduced or absent
sloth: herbivorous
anteaters: insectivorous
armadillos: plants/ small animals
```
52
Rodents and lagomorphs
Rodents
rats, mice, squirrels, beavers, porcupine
herbivores
chisel-like, continuously growing incisors
```
Lagomorphs
rabbits, hares, pikas
Chisel-like incisors
elongated back legs for jumping/ running
herbivores
```
53
Primates and tree shrews
```
Primates
lemurs, monkeys, apes
opposable thumbs
forward facing eyes
enlarges cerebral cortex
omnivorous, frugivorous, insectivorous
```
54
Everything else
Carnivores
- dogs, cats, bears, seals, weasels
- 25g-1000kg
- pointed canines
- shearing molars (carnassial)
- carnivorous
```
Even and odd ungulates
Artiodactyls
- sheep, pigs, cattle, deer, giraffes
- even toed hooves
- herbivorous
Perissodactlys
- horses, zebras, tapirs, rhinos
- odd toed hooves
- herbivorous
```
Cetaceans
- whales, dolphins, porpoises
- secondary aquatic
- paddle-like forelimbs, hindlimbs absent, blubber
- carnivores
Chrioptera
- bats
- wings made of skin-fold supported by elongated fingers
- carnivores and herbivores
Eulipotyphla
- hedgehogs, moles, shrews
- insectivores
55
Early synapsids
reptile like
long tail
sprawling gait with no legs to the side
full set of ribs
56
Mandible and dentition of synapsids
Temporomandibular joint (TMJ)
- flexible
- simplified compared to reptiles
- significant lateral movement and hinge
- chewing
Dogs able to snap open and close but not horizontally; horse able to move in horizontal plane; humans in middle
Heterodont teeth
- specialisation according to function
- incisors
- canines
- premolars
- molars
57
Teeth
Carnivores
canines -> killing
carnassials -> slicing
Herbivores
grinding
diastema (gap)
protruding incisors or none
58
Stance adaptations
Stance
- legs held under body
- swing in vertical plane
- better for weight bearing
Limb joint rotation
- socket rotates downwards
- upper limb head, ball, rotated medially (inwards)
Dorsi-ventral flexure of the spine
- spine flexes vertically
- seen in carnivores
- increased stride length
- maintains legs under Boyd
- e.g. cheetahs
Ribs in thorax only
- reptiles: complete set of ribs --> dorsiventral flexion impossible
- mammals: thoracic ribs, heart and lungs protected; abdomen not; lumbar spine bends, thoracic spine stiff
59
Limb adaptations
Pentadactyly limb
Flight
- Pterosaurs: Elongated metacarpal and phalange V (little finger)
- Bats: Elongated metacarpals and phalanges
- Birds: Feathers are stiff so do not need to extend limb
Swimming
- greatly reduced upper limb
- flattened to form flipper
- simplified wrist
- extended phalanges
- digit reduction
Arboreal locomotion: primates
- thumb rotated so can touch tips of other digits
- results in power grip
- eventually allowed tool use
Terrestrial locomotion
-Plantigrade: Power/ digging e.g. hedgehog
-Digitigrade: Speed (hunting) e.g. dog/cat
-Unguligrade: Speed (escape) e.g. deer
Femur length doesn’t really change between these three
speed: tibia and fibula > femur
power: tibia and fibula < femur
60
What are the 2 types of thermal regulation
Poikilothermy: body temperature varies e.g. in response to environmental changes
Homeothermy: maintain a constant body temperature
61
What are the 2 thermoregulatory mechanisms
Ectothermy: uses environmental heat sources e.g. solar radiation, hot and cold surfaces to regulate body temperature
Endothermy: generates heat internally through high metabolic rate to maintain high body temperature
62
Mammal thermoregulation
endothermic homeotherms
generate large amounts of internal heat
fur/hair provides insulation
controlled by system of temperature sensors and thermostat
body temperature (Tb) typically maintained at 37 degrees
63
Metabolism and temperature
maintaining constant Tb costs energy
'cheapest' when environment temp is close to body temp
Thermal Neutral Zone (TNZ) - range of environmental temps over which a species can maintain Tb at low cost
animals must balance heat generation and loss to environment
64
How can heat loss to environment be tackled
- insulation
- avoidance: migrate, seek shelter
- heterothermy: relax control of Tb to reduce difference (hibernation)
- generate internal heat (however this is expensive)
65
Reducing conductance
Size
- when large, SA:V ratio falls
- mass-specific conductance (C/Kg) reduced
- in extreme cold, large animals do better
- in cold areas average size is greater
- Bergmann's Rule
Insulation
- mammal hair excellent insulation
- size advantageous because increased carrying capacity
Polar bears experience almost no heat loss: blubber, hair, guard hair
66
Reducing temperature gradient
Hibernation
- body temp relaxed
- reduced heat loss, reduced energy demand
- some level of control retained (brainstem) and many hibernators periodically 'emerge'
Regional heterothermy
- extremities (limbs, feet, skin) cannot be maintained at core temperature
- therefore, relax body temp in extremities by using counter-current
- done by sled dogs and reindeer
67
Increasing heat generation
Shivering and exercise
- extra heat generated - direct muscular heat production
- exercise suppresses shivering so cannot do both
in small animals exercise inefficient because
- shivering stops
- insulative capacity of pelt disturbed
- peripheral circulation increased (blood to muscles) leading to increased heat loss
Non-shivering thermogenesis
- make use of brown fat
- concentrated in strategic areas: neck, thorax and major blood vessels
- Well vascularised to distribute heated blood
