Tetrapods and Plants Flashcards
What are tetrapods?
Tetrapods are the first vertebrate to move on land during the Devonian.
Describe the key characteristics of the Cambrian-Silurian period
1) High Sea Level 2) Hot and dry climates 3) High level of CO2 4) Continent coalescing to form the supercontinent Pangea 5) First vascular plants evolved in the SIlurian
Describe the key characteristics of the Devonian- Carboniferous period:
1) Pangea is completely assembled 2) Terrestrial communities change dramatically due to the appearence of nonvascular large plants 3) Ancestors of gymnosperms appear 4) Large glaciers formed on the Southern Land masses. 5) The terrestrial lineage splits into two.
What are the two terrestrial vertebrate lineage formed in the carboniferous?
1) Amphibians 2) Amniotes
What are amniotes?
Vertebrates with well protected eggs that can be laid on dry environments (or are internal sometimes)
What does quasiterrestrial means?
An organism that lives in both aquatic and terrestrial environments.
What are the six main adaptations of tetrapods?
1) Support 2) Movement and locomotio 3) Feeding 4) Breathing and circulation 5) Senses and water balance 6) Reproduction
In which way support has adapted to terrestrial condition?
There has been a transition from sagittal support to axial support and the skeleton developed into a suspension bridge.
In which way movement and locomotion adapted to terrestrial condition?
-The pectoral girdle became separated in early tetrapods -Homerus and Ulna extended in lenght -Digits numbers is reduced and digits get shorter.
In which way feeding adapted to terrestrial condition?
There has been a transition from a kinetic skull too jaws and teeth
In which way breathing and circulation adapted to terrestrial condition?
By developing of lungs and two new ways of breathing: Coastal Ventilation and Bucal Pumping.
Describe coastal ventilation:
Ribs and coastal muscles expand and contracts the lungs.
Describe buccal pumping:
Air is sucked into the mouth and troath and then rammed into the lungs by raising the floor of the mouth.
Why did early tetrapods have a poor sense of hearing in the air?
Becuase even if they had stapes, they were too massive to hear high frequency sounds.
In which way reproductive methods adapted to life on land?
Early tetrapods layed eggs in water and thei first larval stage was aquatic. After some times the tadpoles metamorphose into the adult form.
What are the 6 characteristics of tetrapods?
1) Stronger backbone 2) Muscles to support the body in air. 3) Muscles to elevate the head. 4) Stronger shoulders and hip girdles. 5) Modified ear structure to detect airbone sounds. 6) More protective rib cage.
What are the six synapomorphies of land plants (also shared with green algae)?
1) Chlorophyll a and b 2) Starch as storage product 3) Cellulose in their cell walls 4) Retain their eggs in the parental organism 5) Plasmodesmata join two adjacent cells. 6) Growth is branching and apical.
What are the sevenevolutionary innovation of land plants?
1) The cuticle 2) Stomata 3) Gametangia 4) Embryo enclosed in a protective structure 5) Pigments that protects against UV radiation. 6) Spore walls containing sporopollenin. 7) Mutualistic relationship with fungi that promote the absorption of minerals and water from the soil.
