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APS 269 Palaeobiology > L1: Introduction to palaeobiology > Flashcards

L1: Introduction to palaeobiology Flashcards

1
Q

What is palaeontology?

A

The study of fossils and the evolution of life on earth

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2
Q

In what type of rock do fossils occur?

A

Sedimentary rock

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3
Q

What percentage of rock on earth is sedimentary?

A

75%

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4
Q

In what ways are fossil specimens analysed?

A

Synchtron and CAT scanning, finite state analysis, geochemical analysis

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5
Q

What was believed about fossils pre 1750s?

A

Thought that fossils were inorganic, rather than the remains of living things

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6
Q

How old is the earth?

A

4.6 billion years old

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7
Q

Who discovered the masterdom dinosaur?

A

Thomas Jefferson

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8
Q

Who proposed the theory of speciation in 1859 and what is it?

A

Darwin and Wallace, the evolutionary process by which populations evolve to become distinct species

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9
Q

What did Darwin beleive about the course of evolution after studying the stratigraphy of a cliff?

A

Saw a new species appearing in each layer and proposed that speciation occurred by gradualism

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10
Q

What is gradualism?

A

the hypothesis that evolution proceeds chiefly by the accumulation of gradual changes and that speciation is slow and gradual and uniform

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11
Q

What is Neo-darwinian evolution?

A

Theory of evolution that represents a synthesis of Charles Darwin’s theory in terms of natural selection and modern population genetics.

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12
Q

When were the mechanisms of plate tectonics realised?

A

In the 1960s

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13
Q

What is the punctuated equilibrium model?

A

Theory proposing that once a species appears in the fossil record, the population becomes stable, showing little evolutionary change for most of its geological history, occurs at the population level, not species level

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14
Q

How do the ideas of gradualism and punctuated equilibrium (PEM) differ?

A

Theories go against each other, the PEM means that a species will speciate rapidly then undergo a period of stasis, and works on a small isolated population, rather than a slow change throughout the species over time.

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15
Q

What is the cladistics revolution?

A

Occurred in the 1970s, organisms now categorised into clades based on their most recent common ancestor

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16
Q

What did the presence of Iridium in the rock layer indicate?

A

The element is not naturally found on earth so must have been a meteorite strike. Dates of the rock coincided with a loss of many species in the cretaceous, so was determined that this was a mass extinction

17
Q

When did the major mass extinctions occur?

A 
End Ordovician
Late Devonian 
End Permian
End Triassic
End Cretaceous
18
Q

What is an icehouse earth?

A

Occurs when there are ice sheets permanently at both poles, like in an ice age, global temperatures on average cooler

19
Q

What is a greenhouse earth?

A

A period when there are no continental glaciers whatsoever, temperatures are generally much warmer

20
Q

What is palaeobiology?

A

The biology of fossil animals and plants

21
Q

What are the different types of fossils found?

A 
Trace
Soft tissue
Gastroliths 
Coprolites 
Eggs 
Feathers 
Bones 
Teeth
22
Q

What are trace fossils?

A

A geological record of ancient biological activity, such as footprint tracks or burrows

23
Q

What can we work out about a dinosaur by looking at its tracks?

A

The speed it travelled at, how they walked, whether they lived in herds or are solitary

24
Q

What are soft tissue fossils?

A

When the parts that normally decay are preserved, by exceptional preservation, such as skin. This is very rare

25
Q

What are Gastroliths?

A

Stones swallowed to help break up food, identified because they are highly policed and acid etched

26
Q

What are coprolites?

A

Preserved faeces, are very rare as the bacteria in them means they decompose quickly

27
Q

What functions did feathers have in dinosaurs?

A

May have been for temperature control, colour display and flight

28
Q

Why are feathers rarely preserved?

A

Made of keratin so decompose easily

29
Q

What are coprolites?

A

Preserved faeces, are very rare as the bacteria in them means they decompose quickly

30
Q

What functions did feathers have in dinosaurs?

A

May have been for temperature control, colour display and flight

31
Q

Why are feathers rarely preserved?

A

Made of keratin so decompose easily

APS 269 Palaeobiology (8 decks)

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