Lesson 14 (Decoding Dinosaurs)

Question 1

who was the first person to describe and illustrate a dinosaur femur?

Answer 1

Robert Plot in 1677

Question 2

Who first identified the teeth, jaws and limbs of the megalosaurus

Answer 2

William Buckland, 1824

Question 3

What did dinosaurs evolve from

Answer 3

archosaurs

Question 4

Who named the group of fossils dinosaurs?

Answer 4

Sir Richard Owen, 1842

Question 5

When did dinosaurs evolve from archosaurs

Answer 5

Late triassic, 230MA

Question 6

what are the two groups of dinosaurs? how are they defined?

Answer 6

Saurischia and Ornithischia
- defined based on structure of pelvis

Question 7

Qualities of saurischia

Answer 7

• ‘lizard hipped’ dinosaurs
• included trex and diplodocus
• pubis bone points forward

Question 8

qualities of ornithischia

Answer 8

• ‘bird hipped’ dinosaurs
• backward pointing pubis bone
• included hadrosaurus and triceratops

Question 9

What is an example of a Archosaurus

Answer 9

Euparkeria

Question 10

What does th new theory published in March 2017 regarding dinosaur evolution suggest

Answer 10

Includes Traditional ornithischians and theropods with Saurischia and Ornithoscelida groups

Question 11

Example and traits of eary theropod

Answer 11

• Eoraptor
• bipedal carnivore
• insectivore

Question 12

With respect to morphology, what are the three main ways in which Coelophysis differ from their reptile ancestors?

Question 13

List 3 characteristics that contributed to Coelophysis being an excellent predator.

Question 14

Using a chronological list of 3 steps, explain what is believed to have happened during the rapid burial of Coelophysis at Ghost Ranch.

Question 15

What approximate speed is thought to be a normal walking pace for an adult Coelophysis? (in km/hr)

Question 16

What approximate speed is thought to the fastest that an adult Coelophysis could have run? (in km/hr)

Question 17

What size were fully grown Coelophysis relative to most adult dinosaurs?

Question 18

What size were fully grown Coelophysis relative to most adult dinosaurs?

Question 19

What specific evidence suggests that Coelophysis may have been a cannibal? Why does further study bring this hypothesis in to question? (Hint: be specific)

Question 20

What are some possible explanations for the ‘Predator Gap’, where there are virtually no medium sized predators in the fossil record?

Question 21

How much did “small” predatory dinosaurs weigh?

Question 22

How long did T. rex potentially live for?

Question 23

If the two medium predator skeletons identified by some as Nanotyrannus, do end up belonging to a juvenile T. rex, what new information does this give us about T. rex?

What does this info suggest about the prey each of these different aged T. rex groups have hunted?

How might this answer help explain the gap in medium sized predators?

Question 24

how can you get a better idea of the overall appearance of a dinosaur?

Answer 24

reconstructing skeleton and adding muscles to model

Question 25

how do you find the texture of a dinosaurs skin? what do they suggest?

Answer 25

skin impressions have been found on dinosaur species - indicate scale like pattern

Question 26

what was the original purpose of feathers?

Answer 26

display not flight

Question 27

which dinosaur originally had feathers for display?

Answer 27

Caudipteryx

Question 28

What produces colour?

Answer 28

Melanosomes

Question 29

What colour does a round shaped melanosome produce?

Answer 29

russet

Question 30

what colour do elongated melanosomes produce

Answer 30

black/grey

Question 31

qualities of sinosaurpteryx? how did this help it

Answer 31

which dinosaur had a dashing ginger pattern and a striped tail? - used potentially for mating or fighting display

Question 32

qualities of anchiornis?

Answer 32

black white and red coloured

Question 33

qualities of psittacosaur?

Answer 33

-small bipedal dinosaur (size of gazelle) - common in asia in the early cretaceous - greenish

Question 34

what is the order jurassic, cretaceous, triassic

Answer 34

triassic, jurassic, cretaceous

Question 35

Describe the color pattern called ‘countershading’.

Answer 35

light on underside, darker top

Question 36

What does the shading on the animal’s body suggest about where it lived? Why?

Answer 36

environment with less light, such as a forest (better for camouflage)

Question 37

Why was this type of shading likely to protect against predators?

Answer 37

counter illuminates shadows on the body, allowing an animal to appear optically flat - protected psittacosaurus against predators who use shadow patterns to determine shape, like humans do

Question 38

How could further research in to color patterns help us better understand predators?

Answer 38

examining different colour patterns in different environmentsWhen did 'protofeathers' likely first arise? to see which best suits the colour pattern

Question 39

what does psittacosaurus mean

Answer 39

parrot lizard

Question 40

When did 'protofeathers' likely first arise?

Question 41

Did some genera of the therapods include members with feathers?

Question 42

Did some genera of the ornithischians include members with feathers?

Question 43

What is Phylogenetic Bracketing?

Question 44

Why did dinosaurs potentially develop feathers? (What are some of the potential functions of feathers?)

Question 45

which dinosaur developed the ability to fly independent of birds?

Answer 45

microraptor

Question 46

which dinosaurs burrowed underground

Answer 46

Oryctodromeus cubicularis

Question 47

why did some dinosaurs burrow?

Answer 47

cold environments - highlights that dinosaurs were not all restricted to warm environments

Question 48

which marine reptiles are commonly labeled as dinosaurs? (but are not)

Answer 48

ichthyosaurs, mosasaurs and plesiosaurs

Question 49

are there any aquatic dinosaurs?

Answer 49

spinosaurus is suggested to be semi aquatic

Question 50

Could the sail of Spinosaurus have been used as a heat regulator or as storage for fat? Why, or why not? What else could the sail of Spinoceras have been used for other than the functions suggested in Question 1?

Question 51

What kind of environment did Spinosaurus live in, and what did the animal eat? List THREE pieces of evidence from its skeleton that the researchers used to determine the answer to Question 3.

Question 52

How do the researchers explain the presence of so many large predators in the Kem Kem beds when there are so few large terrestrial plant eaters?

Question 53

How is it possible to find Spinosaurus fossils in the Sahara Dessert today?

Question 54

what is one way to determine if a dinosaur is a carnivore or herbivore?

Answer 54

teeth (piercing flesh vs grinding plants)

Question 55

what is a unique feature about apatosaurus

Answer 55

large - had to feed all the time peg/spoon like teeth which would strip vegetation off plants (did not chew or swallow, instead gulped down vegetation)

Question 56

what are gastroliths

Answer 56

polished stones found in the stomach of dinosaurs to help break down tough vegetable material

Question 57

did smaller dinosaurs hunt in packs?

Answer 57

trackways suggest smaller dinosaurs travelled together although it is difficult to tell if they hunted in a coordinated way

Question 58

difference between allosaurus and trex

Answer 58

allosaurus had longer arms

Question 59

what was unique about allosaurus brain? what does this mean?

Answer 59

- similar to crocodillian brain - large olfactory bulbs (keen sense of smell) - small cerebrum allosaurus probably smelled something and made a grab for it, similar to a crocodile. Not a lot of brain processing happening

Question 60

how can you examine brains to discover traits

Answer 60

- compare and contrast to modern animals - determine the size of certain brain sections

Question 61

what is the olfactory bulbs

Answer 61

smell centers

Question 62

how does allosaurus qualities explain the Cleveland Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry where a majority of the 79 dinosaurs found were allosaurs?

Answer 62

- Area was a muddy watering hole and it would attract and trap dinosaurs. - Allosaurs would be attracted by the smell of rotting flesh and then become trapped themselves

Question 63

Who is "Big Al" and in what geological period did he live?

Question 64

In what type of sedimentary environment was he preserved?

Question 65

Who are Big Al's closest living relatives?

Question 66

How long did it take for an allosaur to grow to full size?

Question 67

Were allosaur brains more like birds or alligators?

Question 68

Other than brain shape, what also suggests that allosaur feeding behavior may have been similar to that of alligators?

Question 69

What do paleontologists think caused Big Al's death?

Question 70

what is egg mountain?

Answer 70

eggs and eggshells found in western montana

Question 71

what does maiasaura mean

Answer 71

caring mother lizard

Question 72

what evidence is there to suggest that dinosaurs cared for their young?

Answer 72

- egg mountain (dinosaur shells + juveniles found in nest created by Maiasaura) - fossils (family fossil, daycare dinosaur with 40 juveniles)

Question 73

what is an ectotherm

Answer 73

- cold blooded, requires sun to warm up

Question 74

what is an endotherm

Answer 74

- warm blooded, generates own body heat

Question 75

what factors can you use to determine an endotherm vs an ectotherm

Answer 75

- posture and gate - bone structure - oxygen isotopes - predator prey relationships

Question 76

how does posture and gate determine an endothermic vs an ectothermic creature? Is this reliable?

Answer 76

ectotherms have sprawling gate endotherms have limbs tucked inside - not necessarily, no direct link between posture and metabolism

Question 77

how does bone structure determine an endothermic vs an ectothermic creature? Is this reliable?

Answer 77

endotherms have more channels for blood vessels than ectotherms - not necessarily, crocodiles have endothermic bone structure but are ectothermic

Question 78

how does O16:O18 isotope ratios determine an endothermic vs an ectothermic creature? Is this reliable?

Answer 78

it does not - it would be assumed that they would be stable and even in a warm blooded creature but this is not the case

Question 79

do endotherms of ectotherms have to eat more food

Answer 79

endotherms to maintain high body temp

Question 80

how does the predator to prey ratio determine endotherms vs ectotherms?

Answer 80

- ecosystem cannot sustain as much endothermic top predators as ectothermic as endothermic eat more - predator/prey ratio can give answers to predator but not to prey