Midterm 2 Part 2

Question 1

What is the primary evidence of herding in some dinosaurs?

Answer 1

Large bonebeds of a single species

Question 2

What is the difference between continental drift and plate tectonics?

Answer 2

Continental drift is when the continents are all on separate plates, plate tectonics define plate boundaries a little differently (include parts of the ocean and sometimes splits continents)

Question 3

What drives plate tectonics?

Answer 3

Convection and gravity
Cold, dense things go down and gravity pulls them under

Question 4

What is evidence of plate tectonics?

Answer 4

Seafloor spreading

Question 5

Is the mantle liquid or solid?

Answer 5

Solid, but brittle

Question 6

The large feathery wings found on many theropod arms primarily functioned…

Answer 6

as display

Question 7

In most vertebrates, skulls are the primary part of the skeleton used in classification. Why then are the vertebrae used for this purpose in sauropods?

Answer 7

Sauropod skulls are fragile and rarely preserved

Question 8

What evidence in the leg bone structure of a dinosaur would suggest that it is a fast runner?

Answer 8

Long metatarsals, long tibia, short femur

Question 9

What is/are the primary diagnostic character(s) of Thyreophora?

Answer 9

Large number of dermal ossicles

Question 10

In addition to the pelvis, another diagnostic character of ornithischian dinosaurs is/are?

Answer 10

Ossified tendons along the back

Question 11

The club at the end of the ankylosaurid tail consists of enlarged…

Answer 11

Dermal ossicles

Question 12

What is the evidence of cheeks in ornithischians?

Answer 12

Ridges along the maxilla and dentary

Question 13

WHy is it important to understand the geology/rocks of a dig site?

Answer 13

They provide information about the environment in which the animal lived and died

Question 14

To collect vertebrate fossils on state and federal lands, paleontologists must secure a permit. The purpose of the permit is to…

Answer 14

Protect fossils from poaching

Question 15

Digital “preparation” of fossils while they are still in the rock has the advantage of

Answer 15

Minimizing damage to the fossils while still providing a 3D image (not necessarily cheaper or faster)

Question 16

A lumper is a paleontologist (biologist) that

Answer 16

Places two or more species into a single species

Question 17

Pachycephalosaurs and Ceratopsians are grouped in a clade diagnosed by which of the following characters?

Answer 17

A ridge or crest at the back of the skull

Question 18

Evidence that pachycephalosaurs butted heads is given by…

Answer 18

Pathological pits on the skull tops (having thick skulls alone doesn’t prove that they butted heads).

Question 19

Why are ceratopsians found only in North America and Asia?

Answer 19

The clade existed when there were no links between North and South America

Question 20

In addition to serving as jaw muscle attachments, the frills of ceratopsians likely served for…

Answer 20

Display and defense

Question 21

Do ornithischians have cheeks?

Answer 21

Yes

Question 22

Do saurischians have teeth?

Answer 22

No

Question 23

In which group of dinosaurs is it common to find the skull because it’s so big and massive?

Answer 23

Marginocephalians

Question 24

What causes ceratopsians to be quadrupedal?

Answer 24

The weight of their skull

Question 25

True or False: Ceratopsians first evolved to be bipedal?

Answer 25

True

Question 26

When we see evidence of bone damage that has not healed, what does that tell us?

Answer 26

That the dinosaur died shortly after receiving the damage or THAT is what killed the dinosaur. It could also tell us what kind of dinosaurs were chewing on bones after the dinosaur died.

Question 27

What are the evolutionary novelties of neornithischians?

Answer 27

Don't have an anteorbital fenestra, huge numbers of stacked teeth called dental batteries, hair-like feathers, little bone in the eye called palpebral

Question 28

Which group of dinosaurs had fancy thumbs and grasped things with their pinky finger?

Answer 28

Styracosterna

Question 29

A new find in Russia provides evidence that even ornithischians had feathers. To which clade of ornithiscian dinosaurs does this new find belong?

Answer 29

Ornithopoda

Question 30

Self-sharpening teeth are found in which clade of dinosaurs?

Answer 30

Ornithopoda

Question 31

Which group of ornithopods is characterized by crests developed from nasal chambers?

Answer 31

Lambiosaurinae

Question 32

What is dental battery?

Answer 32

Stacks of teeth to grind vegetation

Question 33

What does ossify mean?

Answer 33

To become bone

Question 34

Evolutionary novelties of ornithischian dinosaurs

Answer 34

Palpebral bone, Predentary bone, tendons along the vertebrae ossify, pelvis has a posterior rod and anterior expansion

Question 35

What does the predentary bone do?

Answer 35

Joins the left and right mandibles together

Question 36

What groups of dinosaurs have rocks in their stomachs to help grind vegetation?

Answer 36

Basal ornithischians and thyreophorans (mainly herbivores)

Question 37

What do ossifed tendons do for the dinosaur?

Answer 37

They provide stability, don't limit mobility

Question 38

Almost all ornithischians lose their anteorbital fenestra, what happens to it?

Answer 38

It fills in with bone

Question 39

In Thyreophoran dinosaurs, what is the purpose of the gap between the front and back teeth?

Answer 39

Allows their tongue to snake out and grab food to bring to the back (where it's grinded)

Question 40

What would happen if the back teeth of a Thyreophoran wore down?

Answer 40

It would die

Question 41

What does heterodontisauridae mean?

Answer 41

Different teeth

Question 42

What are the bumps in an osteoderm?

Answer 42

Bone, covered in a fingernail-like material

Question 43

What is the purpose of chevrons?

Answer 43

They protect the aorta

Question 44

In Stegosauridae: Which came first, the spikes or the plates? Which was more primitive?

Answer 44

Spikes are primitive

Question 45

True or false: The plates of Stegosauridae are connected to the bone

Answer 45

False, they're just sitting on the skin

Question 46

What is a browser?

Answer 46

They're picky eaters, pick/look for individual things

Question 47

What is a grazer?

Answer 47

Eat just about anything

Question 48

What happened to the anteorbital fenestra of a stegosaurus?

Answer 48

Turned into a fossa

Question 49

What is the purpose of Stegosaurus plates according to Brooks?

Answer 49

Protection, possibly display. Doubts they're for regulation (but it's possible they do both)

Question 50

Which dinosaur group has jaws that shut like scisssors? Which go up and down normally?

Answer 50

Theropod like scissors Sauropod go straight up and down

Question 51

Ontogeny

Answer 51

The study of the development of an organism (from embryo/birth to adulthood)

Question 52

Why do skulls fall off sauropod skeletons after death?

Answer 52

Because the vertebrae are weak and they're not fused on very well.

Question 53

Which type of dinosaur moves like a vacuum (moves forward a little, sweeps head in an arc, then moves forward again)

Answer 53

Sauropods

Question 54

How many vertebrae do sauropods have?

Answer 54

Up to like 25, or maybe more

Question 55

Did prosauropods walk on 2 legs or 4?

Answer 55

2

Question 56

Did sauropods walk on 2 legs or 4?

Answer 56

4

Question 57

What does ornithomimus mean?

Answer 57

Bird mimic

Question 58

What changes happened to T-Rex as it got older that required it to change its hunting habits?

Answer 58

Started quick and agile as juvenile, but got huge head and little arms

Question 59

Death pose

Answer 59

Head thrown back towards the neck

Question 60

What were the wings of ornithomimus for?

Answer 60

To attract mates, display

Question 61

What are the fenestra in jaws for?

Answer 61

Muscle attachments. The bigger the fenestra, the stronger the jaw

Question 62

Pneumatic

Answer 62

Bones filled with air

Question 63

Pneumatic bones occur in which clade of dinosaurs?

Answer 63

Saurischia

Question 64

What is the original function of feathers?

Answer 64

Insulation

Question 65

The diet of non-bird theropods is...

Answer 65

Primarily carnivory along with herbivory and omnivory

Question 66

What is green bone?

Answer 66

Flexible bone

Question 67

What is the furcula?

Answer 67

Two fused clavicles

Question 68

What dinosaur clade gives a little hop to get off the ground?

Answer 68

Theropods

Question 69

True or False: Ornithischians have air-filled vertebrae?

Answer 69

False

Question 70

Tetrapod

Answer 70

terrestrial vertebrate

Question 71

Theropod

Answer 71

Beast footed

Question 72

Digitigrade

Answer 72

Dinosaurs walked on toes

Question 73

Who came up with continental drift?

Answer 73

Alfred Wegner - German

Question 74

What time period of geology is left in ocean floors?

Answer 74

Cretaceous, veryl ittle left of Jurassic

Question 75

Basalt rocks

Answer 75

Dark brown or black like in idaho

Question 76

Why does continental crust rarely sink down, when oceanic crust sinks all the time?

Answer 76

Because continental crust is much lighter than oceanic crust

Question 77

What may cause a tectonic plate to be pulled down faster?

Answer 77

The size. The larger the plate, the more gravity can influence it

Question 78

Which clade of dinosaurs do theropods belong to?

Answer 78

Saurischia