Midterm 2 Part 1 Flashcards
One of the primary hypotheses of seafloor spreading is that new oceanic crust is constantly being created along oceanic ridges. If the seafloor is growing, why is Earth not expanding?
old oceanic crust descends into the mantle where it is recycled
Detailed studies and maps of the ______ was a key factor leading to the theory of Plate Tectonics?
Sea floor
The North American tectonic plate consists of the continent of North America plus what other part of the crust?
Western Atlantic Ocean crust
Today, the strongest of the principle driving forces is considered to be …..
Slab pull
Magnetic strips of alternating polarity on the ocean floor was critical evidence of what?
That new oceanic crust was being created along mid ocean ridges and the seafloors were expanding
What did the paradigm shift to plate tectnoics result in?
Simple explanations for most geological features
Which group of ornithischian dinosaurs is characterized by crested skulls?
Hadrosaurines
Which of the following is found earliest in the fossil record?
Iguanodonts
Which clade of ornithopods had large, highly efficient tooth batteries for grinding plants?
Hadrosaurs
Which type of Iguanodontid is famed for complete skeletons found in clay deposits within coal mines?
Iguanodon
Which dinosaur had a structure thought to be for display or fat storage and what continent is it from?
Ouranosaurus, Africa
The two most important functions of the hollow crests on a group of ornithopods are thought to be:
Sound and display
You have been hired by the BYU Earth Science Museum to lead an expedition with the sole goal of collecting several large, spectacular skulls of ceratopsids for a new exhibit. Which continent will you go to?
North America
Which group is characterized by a large nasal horn and short orbital horns?
Pachyrhinosaurines
What is the most likely reason that pachycephalosaurs are not found on southern continents?
There was no connection with the southern continents
Which is not one of the proposed functions of the frill in ceratopsians
Shoulder Muscle Attachment
The earliest of the marginocephalian dinosaurs originated where?
Asia
The enlarged heads of pachycepalosaurids were probably used primarily
For butting
Evidence that some theropods were anteaters is based on…
structures of the skull and arms
The pits filled with skeletons of small dinosaurs and crocs in northeastern China likely represent…
Sauropod tracks
There are several ways to estimate the mass of a dinosaur. The most recent innovation involves:
Scanning a complete skeleton and creating an envelope to determine the volume.
The colors of fossil dinosaur feathers can be determined by:
The shape of melanosomes
Aside from being one of the youngest hatchling dinosaurs, Scipionyx is best known for what?
Preservation of soft tissues, including intestine, muscles, blood vessels, and more
What feature of Anciomis provided new insight into the development of flight and the evolution of birds?
The presence of 4 wings
What features of Albertonykus led paleontologists to conclude it was an ant/termite eater?
The arms are short with a large claw and the snout of the skull is very narrow.
Jurassic rocks in northwestern China recently yielded numerous, small dinosaurs preserved one on top of another in what were once three to six feet deep pits. What is thought to have been the origin of these deep holes?
Dinosaur tracks
In July of 2013 a new dinosaur discovered in Utah was announced. This dinosaur belongs to which clade?
Ceratopsia
Yutyrannus, found in northeastern China is the largest dinosaur known to have been covered with feathers. What is the nature of the feathers on this theropod?
Hair-like or filamentous
What structure in the eye leads us to believe some dinosaurs were nocturnal?
Sclerotic ring
What is the significance of finding fleas on dinosaurs?
Modern day fleas only suck the blood of warm-blooded animals. This supports the theory that dinosaurs were warm blooded.
The great disparity of skull/tooth shape in pterosaurs, excluding the crests, is primarily a function of…
Feeding habits
The best evidence that pterosaurs were quadrupedal is…
Tracks and trackways
The primary diagnostic character (evolutionary novelty) of pterosaurs is/are the…
Long 4th finger
Formal surveys conducted several decades ago showed that Utah, with most of its citizens being LDS, had ______________ number of scientists per capita than any other state in the union.
Long led the nation
Official declarations made by the First Presidency of the LDS church
State that man is the literal offspring of God
Astronomer Carl Sagan thought that religion
Generally took a restricted, small view of the universe
BYU geologist Bart Kowallis
Was raised thinking the Earth was only a few thousand years old and that evolution was a great evil
Apostle James Talmage was what type of scientist?
Geologist
Paleontologists use the genus Apatosaurus, not Brontosaurus because of the rule or principle of _____________.
Priority
Which of the following is an example of evolutionary convergence?
Wings of a dragonfly and wings of a bird
The primary driving force behind evolution is
Environment
In the online reading for Cladistics, what is the evolutionary novelty that shows whales are closely related to pigs and camels?
A double-pulley ankle bone
In the online reading, cob and orb spiderwebs were used as an example of using phylogeny to determine
Which type of web maker was more primitive (or advanced)
The advantages of cladistics over the Linnaean system is that
It groups organisms by evolutionary relationships, not overall similarity
On which continents have dinosaurs been found?
All of them (even Antarctica)
What would be the result if the scientific rule of uniformitarianism was eliminated?
Science could make no predictions
Scientists would have to shut their doors and go home
We would have no way to explain what happened in Earth’s deep past
Which is viewed by scientists as being the most important: descriptions or explanations?
Explanations
What are the primary purposes of Science?
To generate useful explanations for how nature operates and make predictions
The “Naturalism” rule
Means that supernatural explanations cannot be utilized
Which of the following is not one of the “rules” of science?
If some observations cannot be explained, then some higher power, such as God, intervened.
Which paleontologist discovered Tyrannosaurus and in what year was it found?`
1902 Barnum Brown
Which of the following was NOT one of the significant discoveries made by the American Museum of Natural History Central Asiatic Expeditions?
Brachiosaurus
About when did the idea that dinosaurs were active and closely related to birds really catch on?
1970’s
Which geologic principle tells you that the dirty shirt highest on the pile of clothes on your roommate’s carpet is youngest?
Superposition
The study of what happens to an organism from the time of death to the time it recovered is called
Taphonomy
Which of the following is not a trace fossil?
Coprolite
Nest
Gastrolith
Bone
Footprint
Bone
The original geologic time scale was based on
Superposition and fossils (biostratigraphic correlation)
The Jurassic Period, a time when Allosaurus, Apatosaurus, and Stegosaurus thrived, is named after
Mountains in Switzerland
Which non-dinosaurian “thecodont” genus is thought to be most closely related to dinosaurs?
Lagosuchus
Paraphyletic is a cladistic term that indicates that the group (clade) being discussed _______________.
Does not include all of its descendant clades
The two openings (temporal fenestrae) on each side near the back of the skull of dinosaurs serve a function related to
Jaw muscles
Which group of dinosaurs is characterized by a pubis that extends both forward and backward from the hip socket (acetabulum)?
Ornithischians
Which of the following characters (evolutionary novelties) originated long before dinosaurs?
Upright posture
Advanced metatarsal ankle
Backwards facing shoulder joint
amniotic egg
Amniotic egg
The oldest dinosaurs are know from rocks of what age?
Late Triassic
One of the primary hypotheses of seafloor spreading is that new oceanic crust is constantly being created along oceanic ridges. If the seafloor is growing, why is Earth not expanding?
Old oceanic crusts descend into the mantle where they are recycled
Detailed studies and maps of the ___________________ was a key factor leading to the theory of Plate Tectonics.
Sea floor
Tectonic plates consist of either continental, oceanic, or continental + oceanic crust. The North American tectonic plate consists of the continent of North America plus what other part of the crust? Hint: Use the “tectonic plates of the world” illustration in the Wikipedia “Plate Tectonics” to find the answer.
Western Atlantic Ocean crust
There have been many theories as to what drives the motion of plates. Be careful here, what you may have been taught in other classes may be wrong - make sure you carefully read the “Driving Forces of Plate Motion” section carefully. (I’m pulling for you here.) Today, the strongest of the principle driving forces is considered to be…
Slab pull
Magnetic strips of alternating polarity on the ocean floor was critical evidence
That new oceanic crust was being created along mid ocean ridges and the seafloors were expanding
The paradigm shift to plate tectonics resulted in
Simple explanations for most geological features
The skeleton found in the gut region of Compsognathus pertains to a
Lizard
Using your new found knowledge, which of the following is NOT a tetanuran theropod?
Compsognathus
Szechuanosaurus
Dilophosaurus
Allosaurus
Megalosaurus
Dilophosaurus
Which theropod group is generally considered to consists entirely of herbivores?
Segnosaurs
Which of the following is not a derived character (apomorphy) diagnostic of Theropoda?
lachrymal well exposed on skull roof
three functional toes on hindfoot
arctometatarsal metatarsus
five sacral (pelvic) vertebrae
bowed femur
arctometatarsal metatarsus
Theropod relationships have proven difficult to resolve for most genera because
Most specimens are incomplete
A coelurosaurian clade characterized by long, slender necks and generally toothless skulls is
Ornithomimids
Sauropods were at their peak of diversity in the
Jurassic-Cretacous transition
Which two clades constitute the Sauropodomorpha?
Sauropoda and Prosauropoda
What tooth shape was characteristic of early sauropodomorphs?
Spatulate with serrations
The sauropod hiatus refers to an absence of sauropods in
North America
Sauropodomorphs originated in the
Late Triassic
Vertebrae with a ball on the front and a cup on the back of the centrum are referred to as
Opisthocoeleous
The enlarged heads of pachycepalosaurids were probably used primarily
For butting
The earliest of the marginocephalian dinosaurs originated where?
Asia
Which is not one of the proposed functions of the frill in ceratopsians?
Shoulder muscle attachment
What is the most likely reason that pachycephalosaurs are not found on southern continents?
There was no connection with southern continents
Which group is characterized by a large nasal horn and short orbital horns?
Pachyrhinosaurines
You have been hired by the BYU Earth Science Museum to lead an expedition with the sole goal of collecting several large, spectacular skulls of ceratopsids for a new exhibit. Which continent will you go to?
North America
Which group of ornithischian dinosaurs is charcterized by crested skulls?
Lambiosaurines
Which of the following is found earliest in the fossil record and is characterized by different types of teeth?
hadrosaurinae
lambeosaurinae
hysilophodonts
iguanodonts
heterodontosaurs
Heterodontosaurs
Which type of iguanodontid is famed for complete skeletons found in clay deposits within coal mines?
Iguanodon
Which clade of ornithopods had large, highly efficient tooth batteries for grinding plants?
Hadrosaurs
The two most important functions of the hollow crests on a group of ornithopods are thought be
Sound and display
Which dinosaur (1) had a structure thought to be for display or fat storage and (2) what continent is it from?
Ouranosaurus, Africa
