Dinosaurs

Question 1

Who is the founding father of paleontology?

Answer 1

George Cuvier.

Question 2

Who did dinosaurs evolve from?

Answer 2

Archosaurs.

Question 3

What are pelycosaurs?

Answer 3

Basin lizards.

Question 4

What are the two groups of euryapsids?

Answer 4

Ichthyosaurs (fish lizards) or plesiosaurs (near lizards).

Question 5

Give characteristics of the pteradactyl?

Answer 5

From few inches to >40ft.
Hollow bones.
Large brains.
Leathery wings.

Question 6

How do dinosaurs get classified?

Answer 6

Expanded distal end of tibia.
Crest on humerus.
Perforated acetabulum.
Pelvic girdle:
 - Saurischia (lizard hipped).
 - Ornithischia (bird hipped).

Question 7

Give characteristics of the Stegasauria.

Answer 7

Ornithischia.
Plates for defence.
Very big head, very small brain.
Glycogen store in tail.

Question 8

Give characteristics of the Ankylosaurus.

Answer 8

Ornithischia.
Tank-like.
Heavily armoured.
One of the last to be alive.
Tail club = decoy head.

Question 9

Give characteristics of Marginocephalia.

Answer 9

Ornithischia.
Large quadrupeds.
Large crest.
Large beak.

Question 10

Give characteristics of Ornithopoda.

Answer 10

Ornithischia.
Bipedal, fast runners.
3 toes.
Duck beaks.
Pleurokinesis.

Question 11

Give characteristics of Sauropoda.

Answer 11

Ornithischia. 
Largest land animals.
Geographically widespread.
Big gut for digestion of lots of plant materia.
Four columnar legs.
Long neck for grazing.
Tail for counterbalancing long neck.

Question 12

Give characteristics of Theropoda.

Answer 12

Saurischia.
Big sharp teeth in scissor-like jaws.
Hollow bones.
Tail for counterbalancing.
Carnivorous.
Long back legs for speed.
Obligate bipeds.
All predators are theropods.

Question 13

Give characteristics of Herrerasauria.

Answer 13

Small.

Extinct by the end of Triassic.

Question 14

Give characteristics of Ceratosaurus.

Answer 14

Oversized head.
Horned on snout.
Hornlets over eyes.
Osteoderms on back.
Long-flat teeth.

Question 15

Give characteristics of Tetanurans.

Answer 15

Carnivorous.
Enlarged hand.
Long thighs.
3 digits.
Narrow face.

Question 16

Give characteristics of Tyrannosaurids.

Answer 16

Very long.
3 ft long arms.
5 ft skull.
4 ft jaws.
Overbite.

Question 17

Give characteristics of Velociraptors.

Answer 17

Fast.
Intelligent.
Rows of bumps on arm bones.

Question 18

Give dinosaur-like characteristics of the Archaeopteryx.

Answer 18

Half-moon shaped wrist bone.
3 fingers.
Serrated teeth in beak.
Long, bony tail for balance.

Question 19

Give bird-like characteristics of Archaeopteryx.

Answer 19

Wishbone.
Bird-like brain.
Feather impressions.
Reversed foot for perching.
Evidence of ability to fly.

Question 20

What was the climate in the late Triassic/Jurassic like?

Answer 20

Hot and arid.
Vast deserts.
No ice or glaciers.
Warm seas.
High sea levels.
High CO2.

Question 21

What are the differences between carnivore and herbivore dinosaurs?

Answer 21

Carnivores have large jaws with sharp teeth, herbivores have blunt, flat teeth.
Herbivores have larger digestive systems.
Carnivores have good eyesight, smell and legs.

Question 22

Why did no dinosaurs survive the K/T mass extinction?

Answer 22

Size.
Eggs take too long to hatch.
Food webs require plants.
Couldn’t adapt their diets, hide in holes or sink to bottom of lakes.

Question 23

What were short-term effects of the K/T extinction?

Answer 23

Burst of light, blast and shock waves.

Question 24

What were the long-term effects of the K/T extinction?

Answer 24

Reduced sunlight.
Reduced photosynthesis.
Collapsed food chains.
Temperature drop.