Evolution

Question 1

Charles Darwin

Answer 1

British naturalist that came up with the theory of evolution.

Question 2

What does the theory of evolution explain?

Answer 2

How new species come into existance, how organisms become adapted to their enviroments, and why specific groups of organisms share specific traits

Question 3

What 4 basic principles of life is the theory of evolution based on?

Answer 3

• heritable traits (traits that can be passed from parent to offspring
• variation of traits (there must be trait variation in the population)
• Advantage (the trait must provide an advantage over other traits)
• Competition (naturaenviroments have limited resourses that can limit an organisms ability to reproduce)

Question 4

Evolution (definision including 4 principles)

Answer 4

The differencial success of certain variations of a heritable trait, because of competition for limited resources, leads to the change over time (evolution) of that trait in a population. This new trait improves the organisms ability to successfully survive and reproduce.

Question 5

Clade

Answer 5

A group of species that shares a common ancestor (or a group of species that share a common node on a phylogentic tree)

Question 6

Does evolution of a new species require the extinction of its new ancestor?

Answer 6

No.

Question 7

Is evolution random?

Answer 7

No

Question 8

Natural Selection

Answer 8

The competitive selective process by which detrimental traits are compeditively discarded and advantageous traits are retained

Question 9

How are organisms grouped together?

Answer 9

By their most recent common ancestor

Question 10

Ornithischia

Answer 10

“bird hipped”; pubis extends downwards and backwards
includes hadrosaurs, pachycephalosaurs, certatopsians, ankylosaurs, and stegosaurs

Question 11

Saurischians

Answer 11

“lizard hipped”; pubis extends downward and forward twoard the ribcage
includes theropods and sauropods

Question 12

What is the common ancestor of all of the dinosaurs?

Answer 12

Dinosauria

Question 13

Character

Answer 13

Any heritable trait that can be described and labeled

Question 14

Synapomorphy

Answer 14

aka… shared derived character

A character that is prescent in 2+ groups and their common ancestor but is not present in any more distantly related groups

Question 15

What is an example of synapomorphy from the notes?

Answer 15

The predentary bone (beak) of the lower jaw in ornithischians.

Question 16

Convergent evolution (plus example from notes)

Answer 16

The evolution of similar traits in 2 different lineages (unrelated)

The long vertebrate process of Spinosaurus and Ouranosauras (iguanodont dino)

Question 17

What is a good example of convergant evolution?

Answer 17

Development of wings in different animal groups (birds, bats, etc)

Question 18

When does convergant evolution normally occur?

Answer 18

When 2 lineages must adapt to similar enviroments and to similar modes of life

Question 19

Parsimony

Answer 19

Occam’s razor; the idea that “all other things being equal, the simplist answer is usually the right one”

Question 20

What does parsimony say when making phylogentic trees?

Answer 20

The phylogenetic tree with the fewest evolutionary changes is probably the right one

Question 21

Node

Answer 21

Where 2 branches diverge on a phylogentic tree and shows the point at which 2 linages shared a common ancestor

Question 22

What must a clade contain?

Answer 22

The ancestor of a group and all of its decendents

Question 23

Thomas Henry Huxley

Answer 23

Colleague of Charles Darwin that recodnized birds evolved from dinos

Question 24

Archaeopteryx

Answer 24

“missing-link” between dinos and birds
This specimen shows that Archaeopteryx has long wing-feathers and tail feathers just like a bird, they had teeth, clawed fingers, and a ong series of tail vertebrate just like a dino.
Huxley used this dino as evidence for his theory

Question 25

Sinosauropteryx

Answer 25

A littlenon-avian dino that was discovered with feathers that had a simple structure compared to the feathers of modern birds and were used for insulation

Question 26

Yutyrannus

Answer 26

Large tyrannosauroid that also had feathers

Question 27

Are feathers a synapomorphy of birds?

Answer 27

No