final Flashcards
What type of animals were in parts of Gondwana?
small predators and herbivores that were often crocodyliformes
What were the two major landmasses during the Late Jurassic?
Laurasia and Gondwana
What are the two types of causes of events?
Ultimate and direct
When was the major mass extinction at the end of the Mesozoic?
65 million years ago
What percentage of the existing species disappeared in the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction?
30%-70% over span of thousands to millions of years
What was the ultimate and direct cause of the mass extinction?
Ultimate: maybe earthquake, rising sea level, or meteor
Direct: Habitat loss
What were the massive eruptions in India at the end of the Cretaceous period called?
Deccan Traps
Where is the massive crater at?
Yucatan Peninsula
When did many mammal clades arise?
During the Cretaceous
What was the most important event of the Cenozoic?
The Grand Coupure, the change from hothouse to icehouse
Cenozoic saw the emergence of what?
Grasslands
What was the “Ice Age”?
series of glacial periods over the past 2 to 2.5 million years
What were some important changes by the middle of the Cretaceous?
The appearance of angiosperms (flowering plants), the breakup of Laurasia and Gondwana
In the Late Permian, where were all continents conjoined as pangea?
Mostly in the southern hemisphere
What caused the mass extinction at the end of the Permian?
it is unclear, but perhaps changes in seawater climate and chemistry
In the early part of the Late Triassic, what type of animals were no longer present?
large cynodonts
By the end of the Triassic, what animals were no longer present?
dicynodonts and large pseudosuchians
What were the results of Pangea’s northward shift?
the expansion of tropical zones and the expansion of arid zones
How was wide dispersal allowed in the Late Triassic?
the continents were still connected
Sauropods, stegosaurs, ankylosaurs, ornithopods, and marginocephalians were what type of eaters?
herbivores
allosauroids, megalosauroids, ceratosaurs, and coelurosaurs were what type of eaters?
predators
What continents made up Laurasia?
N. America, most of Eurasia
What places were part of Gondwana?
S. America, Africa, South Asia, Madagascar, Australia, and Antartica
What is the general rule for Cretaceous land vertebrates?
Laurasia was dominated by dispersal, Gondwana was dominated by vicariance
Aves had a pneumatic hole where?
on the humerus
Why do Aves seem to appear at different times based on fossils and the DNA record?
The fossil record is incomplete and biased, and molecular dates are imprecise
On pterosaurs, what digit(s) supported the wings?
Only the 4th digit, which was elongated
What is the notarium?
fused dorsal neural spines
What are the synapomorphies for crocodyliformes?
skull table (skull flat behind orbits) and secondary palate
How can you tell the difference between a croc and an alligator?
Alligators have overbites, crocs have interweaving teeth
What are the general modes of locomotion in secondarily aquatic amniotes?
tail-driven (long tail, short humerus/femur) or flipper-driven (short tail, long humerus/femur)
How did secondarily aquatic amniotes modify their sensory system?
they had large eyes and well-developed ears
Where was the nares shifted in secondarily aquatic amniotes?
toward the top of the head
What are the two birth strategies in secondarily aquatic amniotes?
live birth or laying eggs on land
What causes a downwardly bent tail?
the shape of the caudal vertebrae
How were synapsids able to process microbes?
They had broad, barrel shaped torsos that allowed a big gut size
Why did therapsids have more of an upright posture?
the femoral head was inturned
What is important about cynodontian vertebrae?
The dorsal vertebrae were separated into lumbar and thoracic regions (thoracic have ribs), and therefore they had diaphragms
What is important about mammalia teeth?
They have true molars and premolars and only two sets of teeth
In humans, what does the postdentary bone move from the jaw to?
the ear
What are monotremes?
egg-laying mammals
What 3 structures never appeared in marsupials?
wings, hooves, and flippers (they need grasping hands)
Who realized the connection between dinosaurs and birds?
John Ostrom
What are some traits that arose independently in mammals and birds?
upright posture, the ability to breathe and walk at the same time, external body coverings, warm-blooded
When do crocodylians reach sexual maturity?
Before terminal size
When do most mammals and birds reach sexual maturity?
at or after terminal size
When do animals with seasonal growth tend to grow fastest?
during the warm season
If the source of body heat is external, animals are:
ectothermic
If the source of body heat is internal, animals are
endothermic
If body temperature is constant, animals are:
homeothermic
If body temperature is variable, animals are:
poikilothermic
If an animal has a high metabolic rate, it is:
tachymetabolic
If an animal has a low metabolic rate, it is:
bradymetabolic
How can an animal be ectothermic and a homeotherm?
By having a large body size and behavioral control
How can some animals be endotherms without mitochondria?
by having lots of muscular activity
What are some pros of being an endotherm?
having greater endurance and greater cold tolerance
What is biogeography?
the study of geographic distribution of organisms
What is vicariance?
the division of a population by a geographical barrier
What is dispersal?
the extension of a population across a geographic barrier
What are the 3 basic types of plate boundaries?
divergent, convergent, and translational
When is dispersal preferred over vicariance?
When geographic and organismal phylogenies don’t match
Who was Trofim Lysenko?
a soviet era scientist who brought about famine
Who was Thabo Mbeki?
a former South African president who refused to believe in the connection between HIV and AIDS
Who was Gotabaya Rajapaksa?
former Sri Lankan president who went against using non-organic ways of agriculture–this lead to economic crises and debt
How were aves able to breathe and walk at the same time?
the hindlimb muscles shift to the hip, decoupling locomotion from the axial skeleton
What is an indeterminate growth pattern?
a gradual slowdown to maximum size
What is a determinate growth pattern?
an abrupt slowdown to maximum size
What were the crests of pterosaurs for?
possibly for aerodynamic function (steering)
What bone did pterosauria exclusively have?
pteroid bone that connected wing membrane to neck
What characteristic was present in pterodactyloids, but not all pterosaurs?
longer cervical vertebrae
True or false: birds are dinosaurs.
true
True or false: bats are dinosaurs.
false, they are mammalia
What is a monophyletic group?
an ancestor and all of its descendants
Did hair cover the bodies of pterosaurs?
yes, and we have direct preservation
During the end of the Cretaceous, were remaining pterosaurs large or small?
large
What type of joints did crocdylia have between vertebrae?
ball and socket joints
What special characteristic did crocodylomorpha have?
elongated carpals
small predators and herbivores that were often crocodyliformes
What type of animals were in parts of Gondwana?
Laurasia and Gondwana
What were the two major landmasses during the Late Jurassic?
Ultimate and direct
What are the two types of causes of events?
65 million years ago
When was the major mass extinction at the end of the Mesozoic?
30%-70% over span of thousands to millions of years
What percentage of the existing species disappeared in the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction?
Ultimate: maybe earthquake, rising sea level, or meteor
Direct: Habitat loss
What was the ultimate and direct cause of the mass extinction?
Deccan Traps
What were the massive eruptions in India at the end of the Cretaceous period called?
Yucatan Peninsula
Where is the massive crater at?
During the Cretaceous
When did many mammal clades arise?
The Grand Coupure, the change from hothouse to icehouse
What was the most important event of the Cenozoic?
Grasslands
Cenozoic saw the emergence of what?
series of glacial periods over the past 2 to 2.5 million years
What was the “Ice Age”?
The appearance of angiosperms (flowering plants), the breakup of Laurasia and Gondwana
What were some important changes by the middle of the Cretaceous?
Mostly in the southern hemisphere
In the Late Permian, where were all continents conjoined as pangea?
it is unclear, but perhaps changes in seawater climate and chemistry
What caused the mass extinction at the end of the Permian?
large cynodonts
In the early part of the Late Triassic, what type of animals were no longer present?
dicynodonts and large pseudosuchians
By the end of the Triassic, what animals were no longer present?
the expansion of tropical zones and the expansion of arid zones
What were the results of Pangea’s northward shift?
the continents were still connected
How was wide dispersal allowed in the Late Triassic?
herbivores
Sauropods, stegosaurs, ankylosaurs, ornithopods, and marginocephalians were what type of eaters?
predators
allosauroids, megalosauroids, ceratosaurs, and coelurosaurs were what type of eaters?
N. America, most of Eurasia
What continents made up Laurasia?
S. America, Africa, South Asia, Madagascar, Australia, and Antartica
What places were part of Gondwana?
Laurasia was dominated by dispersal, Gondwana was dominated by vicariance
What is the general rule for Cretaceous land vertebrates?
on the humerus
Aves had a pneumatic hole where?
The fossil record is incomplete and biased, and molecular dates are imprecise
Why do Aves seem to appear at different times based on fossils and the DNA record?
Only the 4th digit, which was elongated
On pterosaurs, what digit(s) supported the wings?
fused dorsal neural spines
What is the notarium?
Alligators have overbites, crocs have interweaving teeth
How can you tell the difference between a croc and an alligator?
tail-driven (long tail, short humerus/femur) or flipper-driven (short tail, long humerus/femur)
What are the general modes of locomotion in secondarily aquatic amniotes?
they had large eyes and well-developed ears
How did secondarily aquatic amniotes modify their sensory system?
toward the top of the head
Where was the nares shifted in secondarily aquatic amniotes?
live birth or laying eggs on land
What are the two birth strategies in secondarily aquatic amniotes?
the shape of the caudal vertebrae
What causes a downwardly bent tail?
They had broad, barrel shaped torsos that allowed a big gut size
How were synapsids able to process microbes?
the femoral head was inturned
Why did therapsids have more of an upright posture?
The dorsal vertebrae were separated into lumbar and thoracic regions (thoracic have ribs), and therefore they had diaphragms
What is important about cynodontian vertebrae?
They have true molars and premolars and only two sets of teeth
What is important about mammalia teeth?
the ear
In humans, what does the postdentary bone move from the jaw to?
egg-laying mammals
What are monotremes?
wings, hooves, and flippers (they need grasping hands)
What 3 structures never appeared in marsupials?
John Ostrom
Who realized the connection between dinosaurs and birds?
upright posture, the ability to breathe and walk at the same time, external body coverings, warm-blooded
What are some traits that arose independently in mammals and birds?
Before terminal size
When do crocodylians reach sexual maturity?
at or after terminal size
When do most mammals and birds reach sexual maturity?
during the warm season
When do animals with seasonal growth tend to grow fastest?
ectothermic
If the source of body heat is external, animals are:
endothermic
If the source of body heat is internal, animals are
homeothermic
If body temperature is constant, animals are:
poikilothermic
If body temperature is variable, animals are:
tachymetabolic
If an animal has a high metabolic rate, it is:
bradymetabolic
If an animal has a low metabolic rate, it is:
By having a large body size and behavioral control
How can an animal be ectothermic and a homeotherm?
by having lots of muscular activity
How can some animals be endotherms without mitochondria?
having greater endurance and greater cold tolerance
What are some pros of being an endotherm?
the study of geographic distribution of organisms
What is biogeography?
the division of a population by a geographical barrier
What is vicariance?
the extension of a population across a geographic barrier
What is dispersal?
divergent, convergent, and translational
What are the 3 basic types of plate boundaries?
When geographic and organismal phylogenies don’t match
When is dispersal preferred over vicariance?
a soviet era scientist who brought about famine
Who was Trofim Lysenko?
a former South African president who refused to believe in the connection between HIV and AIDS
Who was Thabo Mbeki?
former Sri Lankan president who went against using non-organic ways of agriculture–this lead to economic crises and debt
Who was Gotabaya Rajapaksa?
the hindlimb muscles shift to the hip, decoupling locomotion from the axial skeleton
How were aves able to breathe and walk at the same time?
a gradual slowdown to maximum size
What is an indeterminate growth pattern?
an abrupt slowdown to maximum size
What is a determinate growth pattern?
possibly for aerodynamic function (steering)
What were the crests of pterosaurs for?
pteroid bone that connected wing membrane to neck
What bone did pterosauria exclusively have?
longer cervical vertebrae
What characteristic was present in pterodactyloids, but not all pterosaurs?
true
True or false: birds are dinosaurs.
false, they are mammalia
True or false: bats are dinosaurs.
an ancestor and all of its descendants
What is a monophyletic group?
yes, and we have direct preservation
Did hair cover the bodies of pterosaurs?
large
During the end of the Cretaceous, were remaining pterosaurs large or small?
ball and socket joints
What type of joints did crocdylia have between vertebrae?
elongated carpals
What special characteristic did crocodylomorpha have?
