Chapter 22 Flashcards
1. The Mesozoic Era is known as the age of what? A. reptiles B. dinosaurs C. Pangaea D. angiosperms E. flowering plants
A. reptiles
2. The Gulf of Mexico began to form during the \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ as North America separated from \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_. A. Early Triassic, Africa B. Late Triassic, Africa C. Early Triassic, South America D. Late Triassic, South America E. Middle Triassic, Africa
D. Late Triassic, South America
3. The Permian/Triassic orogenic event that occurred with the collision of an island arc with the western margin of North America is called the \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ orogeny. A. Antler B. Cordilleran C. Sonoma D. Franciscan E. Western
C. Sonoma
4. Triassic sedimentation in western North America consisted of what? A. marine and nonmarine sediments B. only marine sedimentation C. only nonmarine sedimentation D. evaporites E. limestone and shale
A. marine and nonmarine sediments
- The Franciscan Group rocks are a chaotic assemblage because they ______.
A. represent ocean rift zone sediments
B. represent deposition in an active deep ocean trench
C. represent complex intrusion along a fault zone
D. are high grade metamorphic rocks
E. were deposited in a fault zone
B. represent deposition in an active deep ocean trench
6. The mountain building event that began in the Jurassic and continued into the Cenozoic is called the \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ orogeny. A. Sonoma B. Antler C. Cordilleran D. Rocky Mountain E. Alleghenian
C. Cordilleran
7. The giant batholiths of the Sierra, Idaho, and Coast Range were emplaced during which orogeny? A. Sevier orogeny B. Nevadan orogeny C. Sonoma orogeny D. Laramide orogeny E. Allegheny orogeny
B. Nevadan orogeny
8. The Sevier orogeny was characterized by what? A. extensive volcanism B. batholith intrusion C. low angle thrust faulting D. fault-block mountain ranges E. rifting
C. low angle thrust faulting
- Early Jurassic sedimentation in the western region was _______.
A. desert dune deposition on the eastern margin of the uplifted Cordillera
B. deep marine sedimentation on the eastern margin of the Cordillera
C. shallow shelf marine sedimentation along the western margin of North America
D. non-existent
E. B and C
A. desert dune deposition on the eastern margin of the uplifted Cordillera
10. The interior of the North American continent was flooded during the Middle Jurassic by which Sea? A. Navajo Sea B. Moenkopi Sea C. Morrison Sea D. Sundance Sea E. Sevier Sea
D. Sundance Sea
11. In addition to expansion of reptile species during the Mesozoic, other life groups that showed an increase in diversity include which of the following? A. marine invertebrates B. plants C. mammals D. birds E. all of the above
E. all of the above
12. Among the most abundant and diverse marine fauna in the Mesozoic was \_\_\_\_\_\_\_. A. brachiopods B. mollusks C. trilobites D. mammals E. seaweed
B. mollusks
- What are the major classes of Mesozoic mollusks?
A. ammonites, brachiopods, and cephalopods
B. gastropods, ammonites, and brachiopods
C. bivalves, cephalopods, and ammonites
D. trilobites, brachiopods, and ammonites
E. gastropods, bivalves, and cephalopods
E. gastropods, bivalves, and cephalopods
14. Ammonites of the Mesozoic were characterized by a very \_\_\_\_\_\_\_. A. restricted duration in time B. complex indenture pattern C. complex feeding mechanism D. complex growth suture pattern E. complex locomotor mechanism
D. complex growth suture pattern
15. A significant change in land-plant communities occurred in the Cretaceous with the evolution of what? A. gymnosperms B. sperms C. ferns D. angiosperms E. mosses and liverworts
D. angiosperms
16. What is the major distinction between the ornithischian and saurischian dinosaurs based on? A. being warm blooded or cold blooded B. their pelvic structure C. their size D. their temperament E. their leg and arm structure
B. their pelvic structure
17. All modern reptiles are \_\_\_\_\_\_\_. A. ectotherms B. endotherms C. echinotherms D. unitherms E. antitherms
A. ectotherms
- What was the pterosaur adapted to flight with?
A. a membrane-covered hand-like structure with an elongated fourth finger
B. bird-like wings covered with hollow feathers
C. bird-like wings with no covering
D. bat-like wings covered with thick fur
E. bat-like wings with no covering
A. a membrane-covered hand-like structure with an elongated fourth finger
- What was the probable method of flight for the pterosaurs?
A. similar to modern hummingbirds
B. similar to modern birds with exceptional take-off ability
C. a form of gliding
D. A and C
E. similar to modern penguins
C. a form of gliding
20. What were the two groups of marine reptiles? A. plesiosaurs and pterosaurs B. pterosaurs and ichthyosaurs C. captorhinomorphs and plesiosaurs D. plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs E. plesiosaurs and crocodiles
D. plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs
- How did ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs differ?
A. Ichthyosaurs were able to travel onto the land.
B. Ichthyosaur females probably gave birth to live young.
C. Plesiosaur females probably gave birth to live young.
D. Plesiosaurs were adapted only to the aquatic environment.
E. Ichthyosaurs ate fish and plesiosaurs did not.
B. Ichthyosaur females probably gave birth to live young.
22. What were the mammal-like reptiles at the end of the Paleozoic? A. thecodonts B. therapsids C. protoavis D. hesperomis E. dinosaurs
B. therapsids
- What is the difference between a reptile’s lower jaw and a mammal’s lower jaw?
A. Mammals have 16 teeth in the lower jaw.
B. The lower jaw of a reptile is a single bone.
C. The lower jaw of a reptile contains no teeth.
D. The lower jaw of a mammal is a single bone.
E. The lower jaw of a reptile contains 12 teeth.
D. The lower jaw of a mammal is a single bone.
24. During the Mesozoic, climatic variation on Earth could be described as \_\_\_\_\_\_. A. extreme in terms of precipitation B. extreme in terms of temperature C. lacking great north-south variation D. having great north-south variation E. similar to present day
C. lacking great north-south variation
- Because of the nature of the world-wide climatic conditions in the Mesozoic, organisms ______.
A. had few habitats to occupy
B. could occupy extensive geographic regions
C. could only occupy restricted geographic regions
D. were not affected
E. stayed where they were
B. could occupy extensive geographic regions
26. What are greatly accelerated rates of extinction called? A. disasters B. punctuated equilibrium C. mass extinctions D. gradualisms E. normal
C. mass extinctions
- The meteorite impact theory for the Cretaceous mass extinction is based on what?
A. the immediate demise of the dinosaur
B. the upsurge in insect populations in the Cenozoic
C. the presence of an iridium-bearing clay layer at the K-T boundary
D. the presence of meteorite fragments in all Late Cretaceous rocks
E. celestial calculations by astronomers
C. the presence of an iridium-bearing clay layer at the K-T boundary
- The effect of the meteorite impact at the end of the Cretaceous is thought to have been ______.
A. great input of particulate matter into the atmosphere
B. blocking of the incoming solar radiation
C. cessation of photosynthesis
D. collapse of the food chains
E. all of the above
E. all of the above
- Mountain building in western North America did not begin until the Late Cretaceous Period.
False
Most of the North American continent was submerged during the Zuni transgression.
False
The marine fauna that repopulated the oceans after the Permian extinction was more diverse than the Paleozoic marine fauna.
False
The corals that proliferated in the Mesozoic oceans were scleractinians.
True
Scleracintians were very different from the corals of the Paleozoic seas.
True
. Most of the burrowing organisms of the Mesozoic marine community were soft-bodied animals.
True
One of the most productive dinosaur fossil stratigraphic horizons is the Triassic Newark Group.
False
. The Palisades sill is a Cretaceous age basalt intrusion associated with compressional mountain building.
False
During the breakup of Pangaea, the eastern margin of North America went first through a passive margin stage and then through a rift margin stage.
False
During the Jurassic and Cretaceous, the Appalachian range was eroded into a low-lying erosional surface.
False
As the Gulf of Mexico began to form, the shallow restricted basin was conducive for red bed formation.
False
Evaporite deposition continued in the Gulf of Mexico region throughout the entire Mesozoic.
False
Mesozoic age coal deposits in the United States are the primary source of coal in this country.
False
Major copper deposits are associated with oolitic limonite and hematite in Jurassic rocks of Western Europe.
False
More species went extinct at the end of the Permian than at the end of the Mesozoic.
True
Unlike the Paleozoic burrowing animals which were soft-bodied, burrowing animals of the Mesozoic were hard-shelled.
True
Ammonites were one of three major groups of Mesozoic marine fauna to go extinct at the end of the Cretaceous.
True
Of the three major classes of mollusks, gastropods were the only significant group in the Mesozoic oceans.
False
Rudists bivalves were an important component of the Mesozoic reef community.
True
Triassic land-plant communities were significantly different than Permian due to the introduction of angiosperms.
False
Cycads evolved during the Triassic.
True
The ancestry of the earliest angiosperm is hard to determine.
True
Mesozoic birds are similar to Cenozoic birds in that both have teeth.
Flase
The discovery of protoavis provides unequivocal evidence that birds evolved in the Triassic.
True
Mammals attained a high degree of diversity and abundance during the Mesozoic.
True
The first Mesozoic mammals were very distinctive from their ancestral reptiles.
False
The earliest mammals had a single line of descent into the monotremes, which are the ancestors for all modern mammals.
False
All modern mammals except the monotremes can trace their ancestry through the eupantotheres.
True
Based on fossil evidence, the distinct fauna of South America began evolving in isolation by the Late Cretaceous.
True
The Cretaceous extinction event was uniformly disastrous to all marine and nonmarine organisms.
True
There is evidence that some of the organisms that went extinct at the end of the Cretaceous were already beginning to decline in population strength
True
