Colonization of Land by Plants and Fungi Flashcards
When is the earliest fossil evidence of animals?
Sponge around 710 million years ago
When and what were the first large fossil evidence of animals?
Around 560 million years ago, sponges and animals that resemble cnidaria and mollusca
Sponges are basal and lack true tissues, unlike Cnidaria which are the oldest lineage of ______
Eumetazoa
When was the Cambrian explosion?
535-525 million years ago
What were the animals like before the Cambrian explosion?
Soft-bodied and poorly defended.
What features arose during the Cambrian explosion?
Predatory and defense mechanisms
When did bilaterians emerge?
635 million years ago
The diverse animals that arose from the Cambrian explosion can be sorted according to _____ and ______
Body plan and developmental traits
What are the characteristics of bilaterians?
They are bilaterally symmetrical and have three tissue layers, and a complete digestive tract. Most animals are bilaterians.
When did bilateria radiate into a diverse set of invertebrate and vertebrate clades?
Around 420 million years ago.
T or F, many animal groups made the transition to terrestrial life
True
What features indicate that animals were ‘pre-adapted’ to terrestrial life?
Complete digestive tract, well-developed skeletal, muscle and nervous systems.
What were the first animals to colonize land and when?
Arthropods, ~450 mya.
Why did the insects explode rapidly compared to other groups?
They were the first to colonize land.
When did vertebrates colonize land and what were they?
Around 365 mya. Tetrapods arose from lobe-finned fishes.
