Origins_of_life Flashcards
Q: Metamorphosis
a major change in the form or structure of some animals or insects that happens as the animal or insect becomes an adult.
Q: Tetrapod
a four-legged vertebrate; this group includes amphibians, reptiles and mammals.
Q: Where did life originate on Earth?
In the oceans as simple cells; all life evolved from a common ancestor.
Q: Approximately when did photosynthesis evolve?
About 3.0 billion years ago
Q: Approximately when did Multicellular organisms appear?
About 580 million years ago.
Q: Approximately when did the first vertebrates come onto land?
About 360 MYA. (Amphibians.)
Q: First land animal?
Arthropods were probably the first land animal; they diversified by radiated onto land following open niches that plants provided for them.
Q: First land vertebrates? What did they evolve from?
Tetrapods evolved from fish into the first land vertebrates, the amphibians.
Q: What key adaptation helped reptiles to radiate into unfilled land niches?
Amniotic egg.
Q: Name a major evolutionary step in vertebrates that helped them fill many more niches
Endothermy, the metabolic production of heat and high, stable body temperatures characteristic of birds and mammals.
Q: What key event allowed for a significant diversification of mammals?
The extinction of the dinosaurs opened up new niches for mammals to diversity into.
