Final Flashcards
What are the core ideas that creationists hold to
real, recent creation separately created kinds literal Adam literal Fall and Curse Global Flood
naturalistic evolution
A view of the origins of the universe that states:
All things came about by natural processes over a long period of time
All organisms can be traced back to a single common ancestor
what is a fossil
evidence of a once living organism
typically found in sedimentary rocks
body fossil
the actual organism itself or parts of it
trace fossil
indirect evidence of a fossil
ichnofossil
taphonomy
the study of everything that happens to an organism from the moment it dies until it is discovered as a fossil
plate tectonics
The theory that the earth’s crust is made of different plates that move
Universal Common Descent
The theory that all organisms are descended from a single common ancestor
viviparous
bringing forth live young that have developed inside the body of the parent
oviparous
producing young by means of eggs that are hatched after they have been laid by the parent
ovoviviparous
producing young by means of eggs which are hatched within the body of the parent, as in some snakes
sexual dimorphism
Variation in morphology and/or behavior associated with gender
microevolution
Changes in allele frequencies in a population over time
speciation
The evolutionary process by which new species arise
macroevolution
Evolutionary change above the level of species
megaevolution
Very large changes over time necessary for the creation of higher-level groups
convergance
Two unrelated species acquire the same feature independently
homology
Resemblance in biological structure or function that is the result of shared common ancestry
analogy
Comparable biological structures or functions that arose independently
radiometric dating
a method of dating geological or archeological specimens by determining the relative proportions of particular radioactive isotopes present in a sample
4 types of radiometric decay
alpha decay
beta decay
nuclear fission
electron capture
3 main assumptions with radiometric dating
The number of parent and daughter isotopes has only changed by radioactive decay (no contamination)
The amount of daughter isotopes at the beginning is either zero or an amount that can be accurately determined (we know the initial conditions)
The rate of decay has been constant over time
bioturbation
the record of animals burrowing in the sediments
Cambrian explosion
almost every known phylum is present
almost every known class is present
all appear suddenly without ancestry
explanations for the Cambrian explosion
lack of fossils
poor soft-bodied preservation material
real, rapid, evolutionary event
Permian-Triassic extinction
most severe mass extinction
taxonomy
the study of the classification of organisms
traditional taxonomy
domain kingdom phylum class order family genus species
phylogeny
An evolutionary tree that indicates closeness of relationships
cladistics
Phylogenetic analysis involving the search for monophyletic groups by means of character analysis
clade
A group of taxa all united by common descent (i.e., monophyletic)
character
an observable trait
apomorphy
A character distinct to a particular taxon
synapomorphy
An apomorphy uniting two or more taxa that is particular to those taxa (“derived character”)
plesiomorphy
A character uniting two more taxa that is retained from more basal taxa (“basal character”)
4 types of common design
common blueprint
common descent
common need
common function
holobaramin
A group containing all organisms that share continuity and are discontinuous from all other organisms
monobaramin
A group of organisms sharing continuity
apobaramin
A group of organisms that are discontinuous from all other organisms
polybaramin
An artificial grouping of organisms, not considering continuity or discontinuity
What are dinosaurs
vertebrates
reptiles
diapsids
archosaurs (Ruling Reptiles)
dinosaur synapomorphies
erect posture
perforated acetabulum
Ascending astragalar process on front surface of tibia
pterosaurs
same range as dinosaurs
found on every continent and on Greenland and New Zealand
all laid eggs
flying reptiles
covered in pycnofibres
Pterodactyloidea
Middle Jurassic to Upper Cretaceous
short tails
long necks
biggest pterosaurs
Azhdarchidae
Herrerasauridae
Triassic dinosaurs
Theropod-like
Weird semi-retroverted pubis
metacarpals on hand
Dinosauromorpha synapomorphies
Ascending astragalar process on front surface of tibia
Lagerpetidae
Generally small, gracile creatures
Had a closed acetabulum
Hook-shaped femur
part of Dinosauromorpha
Silesauridae
Long-legged, mostly herbivorous dinosauriforms
Middle – Upper Triassic
Lowest ones in the Triassic have nearly conical teeth and beaks, Upper Triassic forms have folidont teeth.
Ornithiscia
Bird-hipped
Predentary bone
Thyreophora
Heterodontosauridae
Upper Triassic to Lower Cretaceous
Small, bipedal ornithischians
Found on all continents except Australia and Antarctica
Scutellosaurus
Lower Jurassic of Arizona
Basalmost thyreophoran
Probably bipedal
Up to 4 ft. long
Scelidosauridae
Middle Jurassic
The “earliest complete dinosaur”
The most completely known British dinosaur
13 ft. long and quadrupedal
Lightly armored
Stegosauria
Middle Jurassic – Lower Cretaceous(?)
Dorsal row of plates/spikes
Thagomizer
thyreophora synapomorphy
Body armor lined up in longitudinal rows along the body
Ankylosauria
Heavily armored
Middle Jurassic – Upper Cretaceous
Nodosauridae (No tail clubs, Narrow skulls)
Ankylosauridae (Tail clubs, Wide skulls)
Ornithopoda
Generic bipedal/quadrupedal herbivores
Jaw articulation ventral to maxillary tooth row
Lower Jurassic – Upper Cretaceous
only known burrowing dinosaur
Oryctodromeus
Hypsilophodonts
“basal” ornithopods
Middle Jurassic – Cretaceous
Small, bipedal, seemingly unspecialized herbivores
Possessed cheek teeth for grinding plant material
Iguanodontia
Iguanodon
Hadrosauridae
Hadrosauridae
DUCK-BILLED DINOS
Lambeosaurinae (Bony crests)
Hadrosaurinae (No bony crests)
Most efficient chewers of all dinosaurs
Upper Cretaceous
Marginocephalia
marginal shelf at the back of skull
Pachycephalosauria
ceratopsia
Pachycephalosauria
Bone heads
Bipedal
Upper Cretaceous
North America and Asia
Skulls changed through ontogeny
Ceratopsia
Parrot beak-like rostrum
Upper Jurassic – Upper Cretaceous
Yinlong
Earliest and “most primitive” ceratopsian known
Upper Jurassic of China
Possesses premaxillary teeth
Not a very pronounced rostrum
Neoceratopsia
Obvious frill
Protoceratopsidae
Leptoceratopsidae
Ceratopsidae
Ceratopsidae
Obvious horns
Upper Cretaceous
Huge nasal cavities
North America (and 1 in Asia)
Centrosaurinae (Short frills, Minimal brow horns (usually), Large nose horn (usually)
Chasmosaurinae (Long frills, Large brow horns (usually), Small nose horn)
Saurischia
“Lizard-hipped”
Upper Triassic – Upper Cretaceous (to present if you include birds)
Sauropodomorpha
Long-necked and long-tailed
Herbivores
Upper Triassic – Upper Cretaceous
Prosauropods
“Basal” sauropodomorphs
Some were bipedal
Upper Triassic – Lower Jurassic
Sauropoda
Obligate quadrupeds
Contains biggest dinosaurs
Walked on all 5 toes
Pillar-like legs
Very long necks and tails
Upper Triassic – Upper Cretaceous
Pneumaticity in skeleton
Pneumaticity in skeleton
Lightened skeleton
Evidence for unidirectional breathing like birds
Helps with problem of breathing through long necks
Diplodicomorpha
Incredibly long necks and tails
Forelimbs shorter than hindlimbs
Pencil-like teeth
Sauropoda
Macronaria
Sauropoda
“Big noses”
Brachiosauridae (Forelimbs much longer than hindlimbs, Big bump on head contains nares)
Camarasauridae
Titanosauria (The biggest sauropods are in this group, Mainly a Cretaceous group, No phalanges on manus)
Theropoda
The only group of dinosaurs that contains strictly carnivorous forms
Upper Triassic to Upper Cretaceous
All bipedal
Grasping hands with
fingers or less
All walk on three toes (except therizinosaurs)
Hollow bones
Coelophysoidea
Theropoda
Upper Triassic – Lower Jurassic
Four fingers
Kink in snout
Ceratosauria
Four fingers
Abelisauroidea (Bizarre, large theropods, Tiny arms, Pug-like snouts)
Tetanurae
“Stiff tails”
3 fingers or less on hand
Theropoda
Coelurosauria
Definitely feathered groups
Large orbits
Tibia longer than femur
Tyrannosauroidea
Maniraptoriformes
Maniraptoriformes
Some groups have true pennaceous feathers
Ornithomimosauria (Ostrich-mimic dinosaurs)
Maniraptora (Bird-like features: Semi-lunate carpal)
Paraves
Maniraptora
Dromaeosauridae
Troodontidae
Avialae
first person to suggest dino to bird evolution
Thomas Henry Huxley
Archaeopteryx
“Ancient wing”
“Basal” avialan
Solnhofen Limestone, Upper Jurassic, Germany
First skeleton in 1863
Main line of evidence used by Huxley to argue for dinosaur/bird evolution
Archaeopteryx bird characteristics vs. dino characteristics
Bird characteristics: Feathers, Furcula
Dinosaur characteristics: Long bony tail, Teeth, Clawed digits
other evidence for dino bird evolution
Bird-like respiratory system in theropods
Bird-like behavior in maniraptoran theropods: Sleeping posture (Mei long), Nest brooding (Citipati)
Enantiornithes
Most common Cretaceous group of birds
Clawed digits
Toothed
Worldwide fossil record
