Lecture 1: Intro to Dinosaurs

Question 1

What are the two groups animals can be divided into on a basic level? and what are brief traits of each?

Answer 1

Vertebrates and Invertebrates

Vertebrates
-Backbone
-ex. Fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals and birds

Invertebrates
-No backbone
-ex. Mollusks, worms, Sponges, arthropod (spiders)

Question 2

What are theropods?

Answer 2

Meat eating dinosaurs

Question 3

What are Coelurosaurs?

Answer 3

Theropods that are feathered, or descendants of feathered ancestors

Question 4

What are Aves?

Answer 4

Modern birds

Question 5

What are Avialae?

Answer 5

Group name for modern and ancient birds
-Avialae are the only descendants of dinosaurs that aren’t extinct, others are called non-avian dinosaurs

Question 6

What are Tetrapods?

Answer 6

Vertebrates with 4 limbs and their descendents

-further divide into amniotes and amphibians (frog)

Question 7

What are Amniotes?

Answer 7

Reproduce via an enclosed amniotic egg, subgroup of tetrapods

Question 8

What are temporal fenestras? and types?

Answer 8

Holes within the skull that reside behind each eye orbit

-descendents of Amniotes

Diapsid: 2 temporal fenestras (leading to archosaurs and lepidosaurs)

Synapsid: 1 temporal fenestra (leading to mammals and mammal-like reptiles)

Question 9

What are Archosaurs?

Answer 9

-Descendants of diapsids

-Dinosaurs with semi-fully upright posture + Antorbital fenestra (above head)

-Leading to Crocodiles or dinosaurs

Question 10

What are Lepidosaurs?

Answer 10

-Descendants of diapsids

-Dinosaurs with sprawling posture

-Leading to tuatara or Squamates (snakes or lizards)

Question 11

What’s a dimetrodon?

Answer 11

Permian synapsid reptile, that isn’t a dinosaur but looks like one but a mammal like-reptile

Question 12

What is the Mesozoic Era? and which periods reside within the era (in order of oldest to newest)?

Answer 12

‘Age of the Reptiles’

1. Triassic (Tr)
2. Jurassic (Jr)
3. Cretaceous (K)

Question 13

List the Epochs of the Triassic period and their respected age boundaries in Mega-annum? (Ma)

Answer 13

Early Triassic 252 Ma
Middle Triassic 247 Ma
Late Triassic 237 Ma

Question 14

List the Epochs of the Jurassic period and their respected age boundaries in Mega-annum? (Ma)

Answer 14

Early Jurassic 201 Ma
Middle Jurassic 174 Ma
Late Jurassic 164 Ma

Question 15

List the Epochs of the Cretaceous period and their respected age boundaries in Mega-annum? (Ma)

Answer 15

Early Cretaceous 100.5Ma
Late Cretaceous 66Ma

Question 16

Describe Pterosaurs?

Answer 16

‘winged lizards’

-Dinosaurs with fully upright posture, Archosaurs that are most related to dinosaurs (crocodiles)

Question 17

Which epoch did the stegosaurus live in?

Answer 17

Late Jurassic 150 Ma

Question 18

When are the oldest known dinosaur ‘Eoraptor’ fossils from?

Answer 18

Late Triassic 230 Ma