DINOSAURS

Question 1

Marine Reptiles (Plesiosaurs, Ichthyosaurs) first appear in Triassic Period

Answer 1

• Marine Reptiles (Plesiosaurs, Ichthyosaurs) first appear in Triassic Period
○ Reptiles also took to the sea during the Mesozoic Era

Question 2

What does an Ichthyosaur look like?

Answer 2

• What does an Ichthyosaur look like?
○ Gave birth to live young due to their aquatic lifestyle
○ They looked like dolphins with vertical tail flukes (this demonstrates evolutionary convergence)

Question 3

Dinosaurs of the Jurassic Period:

Answer 3

• Dinosaurs of the Jurassic Period: giant sauropods

○ And some large carnivores

Question 4

What do fossil trackways tell us about dinosaur social structure?

Answer 4

○ It suggests herd-like behavior among sauropods

Question 5

Dinosaurs of the Jurassic Period: What is Allosaurus?

Answer 5

○ A big carnivorous dinosaur. The main predator during the Jurassic

Question 6

Two major divisions of dinosaurs based on pubis bone: ornithischia (“bird hipped”) vs. saurischia (“lizard hipped”)

Answer 6

• Two major divisions of dinosaurs based on pubis bone: ornithischia (“bird hipped”) vs. saurischia (“lizard hipped”)
○ Saurischia: pointing forward
○ Ornithischia: pubic bone rotated backwards
○ Ironically, birds evolved from saurischia, despite the fact that birds have pubis bones that point backwards

Question 7

Solnhofen Limestone (Jurassic): Archaeopteryx - half bird, half dinosaur What morphological features of Archaeopteryx are more bird-like? What is significance of furcula (wishbone)?

Answer 7

• Solnhofen Limestone (Jurassic): Archaeopteryx - half bird, half dinosaur What morphological features of Archaeopteryx are more bird-like? What is significance of furcula (wishbone)?
○ Bird-like features: feathers, long forelimbs, crescent-shaped wrists. The wishbone is the same structure that birds have
○ Dinosaur features: still had teeth and a long tail
○ Intermediate pubis bone

Question 8

Cretaceous: Quetzalcoatlus =>

Answer 8

Largest animal to take flight (giant pterosaur)

Question 9

Cretaceous: Mosasaurs

Answer 9

• Cretaceous: Mosasaurs (large, carnivorous marine reptiles)

○ Main predator of the Cretaceous seas

Question 10

Coevolution of herbivorous dinosaurs (teeth) and land plants with 】 particular emphasis on the rise of angiosperms

Answer 10

• Coevolution of herbivorous dinosaurs (teeth) and land plants with 】 particular emphasis on the rise of angiosperms
○ Hadrosaurs built upon the strong dental batteries from iguanodontids
○ Ceratopsians also had complex dental batteries