Evolution Quiz

Question 1

What animals comprise the group of cetaceans?

Answer 1

Whales, dolphins, porpoises

Question 2

When and where did cetaceans originate?

Answer 2

~50 mya, near Tethys Sea

Question 3

What are 3 important ancestors of cetaceans?

Answer 3

Pakicetus, Ambulocetus, Dorudon

Question 4

How did they know a Pakicetus was related to cetaceans?

Answer 4

Common ankle and ear bones

Question 5

What were some features of an Ambulocetus compared to Pakicetus?

Answer 5

shortened front limbs, shortened femur, semi-aquatic

Question 6

What were some features of a Dorudon compared to Ambulocetus and when did it originate?

Answer 6

~40-38 mya, pelvic girdle changed, hind limbs shrunk, nasal opening migrated to top of skull, fully aquatic

Question 7

When did modern whales originate and what made them different from a Dorudon?

Answer 7

~37 mya, legs fully lost, split between odontocetes and mysticetis, nasal opening on top skull

Question 8

What is the name for baleen whales?

Answer 8

Mysticeti

Question 9

When did mysticeti lose their teeth and what replaced them?

Answer 9

~33 mya, a suction feeding transitional phase and baleen, or long strips of keratin

Question 10

When did modern baleen whales originate?

Answer 10

~23 mya (approximate, hard for baleen to fossilize)

Question 11

What is the name for toothed whales?

Answer 11

Odontoceti

Question 12

What is the name for dolphins?

Answer 12

Delphinidae

Question 13

What species are included in Pinnipedia?

Answer 13

walruses, eared seals, true seals, sea lions

Question 14

What is the name of the group that consists of true seals (harbor seals, elephant seals, and hooded seals)?

Answer 14

Phocidae

Question 15

What is the name of the group that consists of sea lions and fur seals?

Answer 15

Otariidae

Question 16

What is the name of the group that consists of walruses?

Answer 16

Odobenidae

Question 17

What is an important ancestor of Pinnipeds and when and where did it originate?

Answer 17

Enaliarctos, ~27mya, North Pacific

Question 18

When and where did Phocids orginate?

Answer 18

~19-14mya, North Atlantic

Question 19

When and where did Otariids and Odobenids orginate?

Answer 19

~19-17mya, North Pacific

Question 20

What is the name for the group that consists of dugongs and manatees?

Answer 20

Sirenia

Question 21

What is the name for the dugong family?

Answer 21

Dugongidae

Question 22

What are some features of dugongs?

Answer 22

Indopacific distribution, downward snout, fluked whale-like tail

Question 23

What is the name for the manatee family?

Answer 23

Trichechidae

Question 24

What are some features of manatees?

Answer 24

Atlantic ocean, Amazon River, round tail

Question 25

What did Sirenia originate from?

Answer 25

Jamaican Prorastomus, semi-aquatic, ~50mya

Question 26

When did manatees and dugongs split?

Answer 26

~37-27mya

Question 27

When did modern manatees emerge?

Answer 27

~16mya

Question 28

What are some important relatives of Sirenia?

Answer 28

elephants and hyraxes

Question 29

What type of Sirenian went extinct and how?

Answer 29

Steller's sea cow, killed by Europeans in 1700s in North Pacific

Question 30

What is the name for the group consisting of sea otters?

Answer 30

Mustelids

Question 31

What order are mustelids in?

Answer 31

Carnivora

Question 32

When did the ancestors of Mustelids originate?

Answer 32

~45mya

Question 33

What is the species name of sea otters?

Answer 33

Enhydra lutris

Question 34

When did sea otters split from other terrestrial Mustelids?

Answer 34

~6mya

Question 35

What is the name of the group consisting of polar bears?

Answer 35

Ursidae

Question 36

What order is Ursidae in?

Answer 36

Carnivora

Question 37

When did polar bears emerge and who did they split from?

Answer 37

Brown bears, 500,000 years ago

Question 38

What is convergent evolution and what is an example of it?

Answer 38

Independent origin of similar traits, not through shared ancestry Fusiform shape, effective at minimizing drag and maximizing lift underwater

Question 39

What are some major properties of water and how do they present challenges to marine mammals?

Answer 39

Density & viscosity: locomotion Pressure: diving physiology Temperature & thermal conductivity: body temp and enzyme function Oxygen concentration: diving physiology

Question 40

What is physiological ecology?

Answer 40

Features of physiology that when modified in relation to physical or biological characteristics of the environment, contribute to increased fitness

Question 41

Who is in charge of marine mammals?

Answer 41

National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) US Fish & Wildlife Service

Question 42

What species is each organization responsible for?

Answer 42

NOAA + NMFS: cetaceans + seals/sea lions US Fish & Wildlife Service: manatees, sea otters, polar bears & walruses

Question 43

What are the responsibilities of these organizations?

Answer 43

permitting for research, investigation and prosecutions of violations, managing collaboration with fisheries and Indigenous people, respond to strandings, investigate unusual mortality events

Question 44

What is the government legislation that protects marine mammals and what does it do specifically?

Answer 44

Marine Mammal Protection Act (1972) Sets up protections and oversight, requirements for obtaining permits, you can't sell or have 'products', you can't harass, feed, capture, or kill marine mammals