module 10 Flashcards
what was the cretaceous period of the Mesozoic Era
- age of dinosaurs
- ends with extinction of the dinosaurs
what is the paleocene epoch?
-first epoch of cenozoic era
- evidence of PRIMATE-LIKE animals, but lack ALL primate traits
- prehensile hands/feet, but NO binocular/stereoscopic vision
What is the Eocene Epoch?
- first primates (full set of primate traits)
- prosimian grade
What is the oligocene epoch?
- first anthropoids
- Catarrhines & Platyrrhines
- Aegyptopithecus (an early fossil catarrhine)
What is the Miocene Epoch? (Hot chicks need water)
- Hominoids & Cercopithecoids
- No tail
- wide diversity of apes
What is the Late Miocene & Pliocene Epoch?
- bipedalism
- Hominins (Sahelanthropus, Ardipithecus, Australopithecus & early homo)
what is the Pleistocene Epoch
Homo & Australopithecus
What is the Holocene Epoch
homo (currently)
what are the 3 early primates
- Aegyptopithecus
- Proconsul (under Miocene; genus name of a hominid)
- Sivapithecus (under Miocene; ancestor of orangutan)
What were the footprints at Leotoli in East Africa?
- found over 3.7 million years ago
- evidence of bipedalism
what are the 4 early pliocene hominins? where were they found?
- Sahelanthropus tchadensis
- Ardipithecus Kadabba
- Ardipithecus ramidus
- Australopithecus anamensis
- East & Central Africa
Australopithecus afrensis:
name:
- temporal span
- location
- phylogenetic status (related to whom)
- traits
- 3.7 to 3 mya
- East Africa
- direct ancestor of humans
- ape-like & human-like characteristics
what is the anatomy of bipedalism
foramen magnum (big hole in base of cranium) so that the spinal cord can run through
where is the foramen magnum located in quadrupeds vs bipeds
- quadrupeds: in the back of the cranium
- bipeds: underneath cranium for upright posture
what are 5 reasons/theories of the evolution of bipedalism
- broader/better vision
- keeping cool
- efficiency of travel (more stamina)
- tool use (hands are more free)
- provisioning