Vertebrate Fossil Record Flashcards

Question

Placoderms

Answer 1

- bone in closed heads and shoulders - paired pelvic fins and pectoral fins and long dorsal fin - armoured plated

Answer 2

- shark like scales recorded from late Ordovician and Silurian - endoskeleton of calcified cartilage which doesn’t preserve as well as bone - dermal scales of denting and enamel

Answer 3

- have swim bladders = gas filled , frees pectoral fins from lift, can hang in the water column - two major groups : ray fins(actinopterygii) , sarcopterygi (tetrapod ancestors) lungfish - ray fins or lobe fins

Answer 4

- oldest may be from Devonian - many subsequent diversifications - sturgeons - teleosts - 30,000 living, huge morphological variety

Answer 5

- late Silurian - lungfish and coelacanths - tetrapodomorpha

Answer 6

- have modified swim bladder which helps them breathe air - can live in stagnant water - gills and lungs - aestivation

Answer 7

- mid Devonian - last fossils in late Cretaceous - living in caves off coral reefs, rare and unchanged

Answer 8

- predatory fish in marine and fresh water - tetrapods evolved from this group - teeth on palate - tetrapod like pectoral fin bone arrangement - extinct by early Permian

Answer 9

390 ma - small terrestrial plants in late Silurian and early Devonian - terrestrial invertebrate communities by early Devonian - proper forests by late devonian

Answer 10

- spinal support for the body - a gravitational issue (get muscles and ligaments) - locomotion 1 : fins into legs - locomotion 2 : modification of limb girdles to support body, shoulder girdle separates from skull - pelvic girdle enlarges firm attachment of ilium to vertebral column via sacral rib

Answer 11

- reduction in hinge joints in the skull - lower jaw hinges at one point at the back of skull between articulated bone in jaw and quadrate in skull - lung rather than gills

Answer 12

- must return to water (amphibians) - or have desiccation resistant eggs (amniotes)

Answer 13

Need to drink a lot or reduce evaporation through skin Semi permeable membrane

Answer 14

- late Devonian - arctic Canada - robust shoulders and pectoral fins - pelvis is enlarged relative to other finned tetrapodomorphs - lacks ischium an attachment for sacral rib Link between fish and tetrapod

Answer 15

- coal swamps along the Pangaea equator - main plants : giant club mosses, lycopods trees (40m tall) , giant horse trails (15m tall), ferns, conifers, seed ferns -no broad leaved trees

Answer 16

- vertebrate fauna : rare sharks and bony fish; diverse array of early tetrapods (20 species) including embolomeres, temnospondyls, microsaurs , aistopods and nectrideans ; four species of amniote - palaeoenvironment - equatorial enclosed lake surrounded by coal swamps ed by large river systems draining the uplands to N

Answer 17

- aistopods - embolomeres - mecttrideans - temnospondyls - eryops

Answer 18

- anurans and urodelans - frog and toads (Anura) - earliest fossils are early Triassic, body modified for jumping - salamander and newts (urodela) - earliest fossils are mid Triassic

Answer 19

- protective shell (calcareous or leathery) with underlying semi permeable chorionic membrane - allows for gas exchange , stops water from leaving - amnion - gas transfer to embryo - yolk sac - provides food - allantois - stores waste products - amniotic cavity - fluid filled, for physically protection of the embryo

Answer 20

- four main patterns of temporal fenestrae in amniote skulls ( anapsid , synapsid , diapsids) arose in the Carboniferous - holes in the skull for reasons unknown, maybe to reduce the weight of the skull - no good fossil record

Answer 21

Coal swamps disappear from Pangaea , restricted to china Ice caps at the North Pole

Answer 22

- late Carboniferous to middle Permian group - dominant terrestrial tetrapods (70% of genera) - herbivores and carnivores - some with sail backs - unknown what the function was - some had peg like teeth to strip the vegetation

Answer 23

- middle to late Permian synapsids - dominant carnivores of late Permian - mouth with wide gape and enormous canine teeth

Answer 24

95% of al species - 75% of tetrapod families - causes - volcanism , ocean anoxia - surviving major amniotic groups : cynodontia and neodiapsida

Answer 25

Hottest world climate ; interior of Pangaea arid, warm temperate polar region

Answer 26

- herbivores with beak like jaws ,like a parrot , nipping of plants Batteries of small teeth on palate - large claw on hind feet

Answer 27

- early Triassic carnivores , some late Triassic herbivores - by mid Triassic major split into : crocodile ancestors, ancestors of pterosaurs , dinosaurs (and birds) - major change in posture from sprawling lizard type legs to erect quadrupedal gait - changes in shape and arrangement of pelvis and ankle bone - more energy efficient

Answer 28

- parareptila - synapsids except cynodontia - diapsids - most archosaurs except pterosaurs, crocodiles and dinosaurs - unaffected: testudines, lepidosauromorphs including modern lizards and snakes

Answer 29

- euryapsid skull pattern, evolved amongst the diapsids sometime before earliest Triassic - top marine predators during Mesozoic with sharks and in the late Cretaceous , mosasaurs - not dinosaurs , not closely related - newly formed flooded areas between areas between super continents - seas

Answer 30

- 155 ma history from early Triassic to late Cretaceous Features - dolphin or tuna like morphology (convergent evolution) - sped predators - reversed heterosexual tail - side to side swimming , end of vertical column goes into the bottom of the fluke - limbs modified into paddles - peg like teeth adapted for slippery foods - nostrils not at snout tip - long upper and lower jaws - huge eyes - largest proportion to body among the vertebrate - adapted to low levels of light - gave brith to live young as they couldn’t get onto land - born tail first

Answer 31

- increasing in size and generally fishy (fusiform) morphology - increase in number of bones in paddle, separation of hip from spine

Answer 32

- late Triassic to late Cretaceous - most have long necks and small skulls - pliosaurs = short necks and massive skulls, short teeth - all have limbs modified into flippers ; massive bone support for ventral surface - don’t think they had a tail fluke , not for movement - no type of animal today with this type of morphology - flattened hips - thought they could maybe pull themselves on land

Answer 33

- Chelonia/testudines - diapsid amniotes with anapsid skull pattern - evolved in late Triassic

Answer 34

- very solid skull with horny beak with no teeth - skull formed of dorsal domed carapace and ventral flat plastron; opening for head , legs and tail - both aquatic and terrestrial forms - multiple occurrence of tortoise gigantism on oceanic island

Answer 35

- first turtle ? - late Triassic of china - has fixed teeth instead of beak - fully developed plastron but only partial carapace = grew from expansion of ribs - helps explain carapace evolution , and how turtle shoulder girdle is inside ribcage rather than outside like other amniotes

Answer 36

- crocs - 3 modern groups : alligators, crocodiles , gharial

Answer 37

- dermal bone scutes on dorsal surface - aquatic = both fresh and salt water - sprawling giant (mostly)

Answer 38

- rhynchocephalians - fossils forms and living tuatara - squamates : lizards - lacertilians , snakes - Serpentes - lizards - generally very poor fossil record in Mesozoic , oldest fossils from late Triassic - mosasaurs - fully marine , late Cretaceous predators, can grow up to 10 metres long , large skulls, deep tails , limbs modified into paddles

Answer 39

- poor fossil record - evolved from lizards - huge increase in vertebrae - oldest fossils from mid Jurassic - feeding methods = constriction or venom

Answer 40

- saurishchians - lizard hips - ornithischians - both had upright , digitigrade walking stance - walking on the tips of their digits - associated with running fast

Answer 41

- interior of Pangaea remains arid - circum - Tethys tropical

Answer 42

‘Hot house’ world - warm temperate polar regions

Answer 43

- climate warmer than today - no polar ice

Answer 44

Late Triassic to latest Cretaceous carnivores - digitigrade - bipedal locomotion with toes 2-4 elongated - body balanced by long stiff tail but tail doesn’t drag on the ground - arm half length of leg ; 3 or less functional fingers in hand , 4 to 5 digits reduced - steak knife like teeth with serrated margins

Answer 45

- big range of body sizes and morphology -compsognaths = small dino: 70-140cm - ceratosaurs = skull horns and crests - tyrannosaurs = huge, up to 14 metres long, tiny arms , 2-3 fingers

Answer 46

- mid sized theropods with stiff tails - strong 3 fingered hands with mobile wrists - feet with backward pointing 1st toe and huge sickle claw on flexible 2nd toe - major predator at the time - large brains

Answer 47

- some exhibit very different morphology to typical theropods - not all theropods may have been carnivorous. - some exhibit very different morphology to typical theropods - long claws in therizinosaurus used like ground sloth - grasping for vegetation? - sauropods like teeth or beak in oviraptorids

Answer 48

- early Cretaceous - small theropod dinosaurs with feathers - caudipteryx - symmetrical feathers on tail and arms - sinornthiosaurus - Dromaeosaur with feathers and wishbone - feathers not used for flight , evolved for something else

Answer 49

- very elongated fingers - membranous flight membrane supported by styliform element

Answer 50

- walk on all 4 limbs if they wanted to - prosauropods - late Triassic to early Jurassic - bipedal and facultative quadrupedal Features: - small skulls about 5% of body length - lanceolate teeth with serrated edges - tough vegetation strippers - long neck with 10+ cervical vertebrae , balanced by a long tail - have a thumb claw

Answer 51

- more 12+ and elongated cervical vertebrae - quadrupedal , on pillar like legs - shortened fingers and toes - nostrils and nasal bones moved back on skull - teeth peg like and restricted to front of jaws

Answer 52

- huge size - pencil like teeth - cavernous vertebrae - hole in the neck vertebrae to reduce weight

Answer 53

- late Jurassic to early Cretaceous - herbivore - 23m long , head above 12m ground - estimated 80 tonnes - longer front legs than rear legs - large spines on dorsal vertebrae - large neck muscles

Answer 54

- locomotion - pilllar like legs ( graviportal) - very thick bones - galloping impossible for modern elephants - huge weight estimated 50-100 tonnes for the largest sauropods, near maximum theoretically possible for terrestrial animals without all legs meeting in middle (~ 150 tonnes) - small surface area to body mass - overheating problems - getting enough to eat - sauropods are all herbivores and need to spend most of their time eating - blood supply to their brain - long neck mean blood supply to head is difficult - might have huge heart or valves in their arteries

Answer 55

- swampy floodplain crossed by sediment rich rivers draining from ancestral Rocky Mountains to west - osteichthyans : 7 genera of actinopterygians - lissamphibia ( 7 frogs , 4 salamanders) - 3 turtles - Lepidosaurs ( 7 lizards, 1 snake , 3 sphenodonts) - 8 crocodiles - 4 pterosaurs - dinosaurs - saurichians ( 12 theropods , 14 sauropods); ornithischians ( 7 ornithopods, 1 stegosaur , 3 ankylosaurs) - mammals : 37, including7 multituberculates , all extinct groups

Answer 56

- bird hip pelvic hip bone - first fossils late Triassic - all herbivores - ornithopods and ceratopsians - stegosaurs and ankylosaurs

Answer 57

- Jurassic to late Cretaceous - bipedal locomotion = ran on hind limbs - fusion of. Pubis and ischium - smaller front limbs - efficient chawing mechanisms - flexiblity in their jaw - probable cheeks

Answer 58

- duck bill dinosaurs - “cows” of late Cretaceous — abundant and wide spread - modification of maxilla and premaxilla to form “bill” - tooth batteries for tough vegetation , eg conifer needles - thought to. Have moved on four limbs - hoof like features - communal nests with eggs, evidence of parental care - used ness for a long time - head crests containing hollow tubes - for signalling? - sexual dimorphism - reptile like skin

Answer 59

- “horned face” dinos - firstly bipedal , lattterly quadrupedal - hued modified skulls with pronounced beaks , and head frills and horns in late Cretaceous species - neural spines = large muscles attachments to keep huge head up - nests and eggs = parental care, elongated eggs - unknown what horns and crests were really for

Answer 60

- armoured ornithischians - mid Jurassic to late Cretaceous - quadrupedal - stegosaurs and ankylosaurs - stegosaurs = bony dermal plates , tiny tubular skulls and tiny brains - dermal plates were not fused into the spine -bone spines at the end of the tail - ankylosaurs - huge amounts of dermal bone, some with tail club

Answer 61

- diapsids with uncertain origins - sister group to the dinosaurs - first for powered flight - first fossils late Triassic - 2 groups : phamphorhynchoids = all had long tails and teeth , late Triassic , pterodactyloids = late Jurassic , short tails and some are toothless - short body - laid eggs - coating of hair = for heating? , could have been endothermic - large sternum - reduced and fused hipbones - hip solid with new bone - prepubescent -pneumatic bones - 5 long toes , 4 fingers - pteroid bones = hollow ish to reduce weight - fight membranes attached to elongated 4th finger - pterodactyl bone and legs - flight driven by very bird like muscle arrangements - antagonistic pectoral is and supracoracoideus muscles both attached to sternum - good fliers but probably low take off speeds and tricky landing

Answer 62

- long tails - most had long widely spaced teeth probably for catching fish - some had smaller peg like teeth

Answer 63

- may have been filter feeders - reduced tail vertebrae as with all later pterodactyloids - ctenochasma

Answer 64

- giant - largest flying creature too ever have existed - 11-12m wingspan - no teeth - elongated head crests in some species , function unknown

Answer 65

Wild fires and tsunamis , super heated material in the atmosphere caused n photosynthesis Extinct : - non avian dinosaurs - pterosaurs - some birds and marsupial mammal families - plesiosaurs - mosasaurs - some shark an teleost families - some invertebrates : ammonites, belemnites , some bivalve and plankton groups.

Answer 66

- global distribution at land and sea - 10,000 species - flying and secondary flightless forms - all lay eggs - all covered in feathers = display and insulation - endothermic - not a good fossil record, small and have more delicate bones

Answer 67

- considerable modification of skeleton for flight - pneumatic bones - Pygostyle = reduced tail - fusion and reduction of bones in arms and legs - 4 toes - 3 or 2 forwards , 1 or 2 back - large keeled sternum - furcula. = acts as spring between shoulders in flight - swivelling wrists enables wings to be folded against body

Answer 68

- ten specimens - late Jurassic age - long tail - identical to modern feathers - toothed jaws = o tooth serrations , interdental plates present - long bony tail - s shaped neck - short back - hand with 3 clawed fingers - separate tibia , fibula , metatarsals - 5 toes - downward pointing pubis - fucula - numeric vertebrae and pubis - feathers = asymmetrical - wings - solhofen lagoons = Germany , bottom of the lagoon is toxic , hyper saline, preserves fossils well

Answer 69

- mixture of terrestrial animals brought in by streams to N and marine brought in from oceans in S - 4 turtles - theropod dino - ichthyosaur - plesiosaur

Answer 70

- feathers = in modern birds used for flight , insulation and display - variety of morphologies present in saurischian and ornithischians dinos - 2 flight evolution hypotheses: from the ground up (cursorial) , from trees down (arboreal) - arboreal =. Flying squirrels , lizards, frogs and snakes , use of half wings - cursorial evidence = partridge experiments, flapping proceeds gliding , allows for more efficient climbing

Answer 71

- large. Clawed hands -beak with no teeth - Pygostyle = reduction in tail - sternum with small keel - sexual dimorphism

Answer 72

- 2 taxa from shallow marine sediments of western interior basin - hesperornis - long beak with lots of teeth , flightless, reduced sternum and vestigial wing bones - ichthyornis =. Flying toothed shorebird

Answer 73

- claws on wings lost - finger number reduction - teeth lost - reduction and fusion of tail bones into Pygostyle - fusion of leg bones into tibiotarus and a tarsometatarsus - evolution of alula or bastard wing for better flight control at low speeds - many became extinct

Answer 74

- 2 groups separated on jaw structure - neognaths - most modern birds - palaeognaths = Tinamous and ratites : have symmetrical feathers on wings lost, all found in southern hemisphere , may have originated in northern in paleocene or Eocene

Answer 75

- palaeoenvironment : stagnant lake deposits surrounded by tropical forest - bird fauna includes ratites and a variety of neognaths including phorusrhacids , Gaston is , owls , swifts , no passerines

Answer 76

- endothermic = high energy requirements allows for polar living , also in birds - hair = keratin derived from skin - mammary glands = secrete mil - large brains - extended care of young - dentary squamsoal jaw articulation - 3 small bones in the middle ear - 3 cussed molar teeth

Answer 77

Reduction in post dentary jaw bone size and change in position in Permian to Triassic synapsids - dentary bone increases in synapsids - simultaneous changed in bones forming jaw joint with post dentary bone size reduction: - early cynodonts - joint formed between quadrate in skull and articular in back of lower jaw - like modern reptiles and birds - later cynodonts have double jaw joints - mammals = joint between squamosal and dentary - jaw bones involved in old joint pushed behind new joint into the middle ear , malleus is articular , incus is quadrate , tympanic is angular - we can hear our jaw moving when we eat

Answer 78

- first appeared in the Permian - survived the p-tr extinction and radiated in Triassic - both carnivorous and herbivorous examples - in early Triassic : lower jaw formed mostly of dentary , semi erect gait Later cynodont changed: - fully erect gait achieved by articulating head of femur bent inwards - deeper acetabulum - reduction and loss of lumbar ribs , related to evolution of the diaphragm , improved breathing - expansion of occultation of cheek bones , chewing greater food processing abilities

Answer 79

jaw mechanics: - synapsid external adductor muscle gave rise to new temporal is and masseter muscles - increase in adductor muscle volume - increase bowing of zygomatic arch - all allow back to front and side to side chewing motion - reduction of tooth placement cycles : mammals once , reptiles continuous - more powerful bite

Answer 80

- first true mammals from late Triassic = very poorly known - several lineages by late Jurassic but almost all fossils are isolated jaws and teeth of tiny animals(20-30mm skulls) - most very small , carnivorous , shrew like

Answer 81

Big group of Mesozoic mammals ; common in early Jurassic in Europe , china, South Africa Last member mid Jurassic England Features: - expanded brain case enclosed entirely by bone - eye socket and temporal fenestra linked - no post orbital bar - cheek teeth divided into premolars and molars , increased specialisation - teeth replaced once = juvenile and adult set - loss of lumbar ribs - probably warm blooded insectivores with mammary glands - quite small mammals - still had ribs on neck bones - eye sucked and linked fenestra

Answer 82

Largest group of Mesozoic mammals, belong to crown group mammals , late Jurassic. To Eocene , global distribution Features: - small rodent like omnivores - large incisors; no canines ; long gap to cheek teeth (as modern rodents) - last premolars modified into shearing blade - one species has epipubic or ‘marsupial’ bones in front of pelvis (as have modern marsupials and monotremes) - diasteamer = used to mix saliva

Answer 83

- traditional view : mammals diversity suppressed in ‘dino-dominated’ Mesozoic - not entirely true - very poor fossil record - new Jehovah discoveries indicate Mesozoic mammas inhabited many ecological niches - from swimming , burrowing , to gliding

Answer 84

- similar to today’s flying squirrel - Jurassic to Cretaceous - had some with dexterous feet - all quite small mammals

Answer 85

- traditional view : mammals diversity suppressed in ‘dino-dominated’ Mesozoic - not entirely true = very poorly known fossil record - new Jehol discoveries indicate Mesozoic mammals inhaitated many ecological niches - from swimming, burrowing to gliding - volaticotherium = similar to today’s flying squirrel - had some with dexterous feet - all quite small mammals

Answer 86

Three groups form a sort of reproductive continuum: - monotremes = lay eggs - marsupials = give birth to tiny young; later development in external pouch - placentals = advanced development in uterus like in humans Latter two are sister groups - the therians

Answer 87

- egg laying mammals - 2 modern groups : duck billed platypus in Australia only , echidnas (spiny anteaters) in Australia and New Guinea Features: - lay eggs ; enchidnas brood these in pouches - lots of ‘primitive’ skeletal elements, including epipubic bones in pelvis and small ribs on neck(cervical) vertebrae - no teeth as adults , juvenile platypus has molars - platypus = eat little invertebrates, sensitive beak , lay eggs in burrow

Answer 88

- sparse record in southern hemisphere only - gondwanan distribution - opalized early Cretaceous jaws and teeth , Australia - platypus like teeth , paleocene , Argentina Obdurodon , Oligocene and Miocene , Australia - fossil platypus

Answer 89

- marsupials or metatherians - placentals or eutherians - teeth: marsupials and placentals have tribosphenic molars - marsupials have four molars and three premolars - crown group - placentals have three molars and four premolars

Answer 90

- give birth to tiny young ; later development in external pouch - pouch supported by epipubic bones in pelvis = also used to help posture? - dentition of up to 5 incisors ( more than placentals) 1 canine and 7 cheek teeth - some marsupial babies so tiny and underdeveloped at birth they breathe through their skin - no lungs - ‘Joey’ has developed forelimbs to enable it to climb into pouch - this form of reproduction significantly reduces dangers associated with long pregnancy

Answer 91

- South America = opossums , shrew opossums - North America = Virginia opossum only - numbat, possum , koala , wombat

Answer 92

- first fossils metatherians in china in early Cretaceous , then North America - mid Cretaceous teeth and jaw fragments - by latest Cretaceous marsupials also found in Peru ( an opossum and another species) - majority still in North America , many became extinct in the k-pg event

Answer 93

Marsupials worldwide in early cenozoic , endemic faunas develop in southern America (parallel with placentals) and Australia , where they have always been the main group

Answer 94

- 15 families of insectivores, carnivores and some herbivores including opossums , shrew opossums and 2 groups of extinct large carnivores - borhyaenids - thylacosmilids (late Miocene - Pliocene) - marsupials sabre tooth’s

Answer 95

- greater diversity of morphologies and sizes than living fauna - most modern groups present by Oligocene - extinct taxa include: ditrotodontoids ( wombat like herbivores up to the size of a hippo , extinct Holocene) Marsupial lions eg. Thlacoleo ( related to wombats , extinct late Pleistocene ) - major faunal change in Pleistocene associated with drying of continent and associated spread to grasslands - big kangaroos replace diprotodontoids

Answer 96

- marsupials match almost all placental feeding adaptions except flying insectivore and any aquatic lifestyles - marsupials are declining in numbers today in Australia under all sorts of pressures including imported placental competition and predation - however not being out competed in the americas

Answer 97

- juramaia , middle to late Jurassic , china - jaws with 3 molars and 5 premolars - not a member of the crown group placentals

Answer 98

- 10 or so families from Cretaceous in north and South America , Mongolia and china - eomaia , early Cretaceous , china , jaws with 3 molars and premolars , epipubic bones present , probable sister group to the placentals

Answer 99

- climate of paleocene and Eocene = very warm and no ice caps - lush forests covered most of lands surface from tropics to poles - in Oligocene Antarctica split from Australia ; drake passage formed and the cold circum - Antarctic current developed - Antarctica got much colder ; glaciers formed ; global climate cooled

Answer 100

- no larger than a sheep - of those groups present 75% are extinct today

Answer 101

Vertebrae fauna : - osteichthyans : actinopterygians ( 2 genera of Holsteins. , teleosts) - lissamphibia ( 3 frogs , 1 salamander) - reptiles : 3 turtles , Lepidosaurs ( 7 lizards , 4 snakes ) 6 crocodiles - 12 birds - 2 marsupials Placentals : - 4 insectivores , 3 bats , 1 primate - 1 pangolin - 1 anteater - 3 rodents - 2 carnivores - 1 creodont - perissodactyls ( 1 horse , 1 rhino) - 2 atriodactyls

Answer 102

- modification of teeth for carnivorous diet - carnassials - expanded , blade shaped upper premolar 4 and lower molar 1 , acts like shears for cutting meat - large canine teeth for puncturing prey - peg like incisors for gripping prey and grooming - some bone crushing forms have broad premolars and molars with thick enamel - short simple gut - result of eating high energy food - large brains ; complex hunting behaviour - forward facing eyes for binocular vision - good sense of smell

Answer 103

Bats - tetrapods take to the air - 1240 species , 25% of all mammals Carnivores - dominant predatory group of mammals today - 280 species

Answer 104

- late paleocene and early Eocene - small cat like arboreal and ground living carnivores - small powerful limbs and plants grade feet - by late Eocene and early Oligocene carnivores diverged into two groups separated by morphology of ossified auditory bulla , claw retract ability and muzzle length : the deli forms and the carnivores

Answer 105

Eocene = civets Civets diverged into cats in Oligocene Civets diverge into hyenas in Miocene Oligocene - mongooses

Answer 106

Early cat genera in Oligocene , gave rise to two groups in the early Miocene , cats with conical canines and sabre tooth cats Large cats have reduced range today Features : - molars reduced to two in each jaw , don’t have much chewing ability - digitigrade - on the tips of their toes - retractable claws - long tails , generally for balancing

Answer 107

- mega fauna - elongated blade shaped canines , flattened laterally - Large incisors - sabre teeth developed independently in three mammal groups in cenozoic : niimravids , felids. Marsupias - had a very wide gape , as the sabre teeth would get in their way so had to open wide to actually get anything in their mouth - lots of fossils have broken sabre teeth so means they could be damaged easily - uncertain to all knowledge as there is none today

Answer 108

Plantigrade locomotion evolved in Eocene , from that bears and pandas diverged in Eocene From plantigrade raccoons diverged in Oligocene From plantigrade mustelids diverged in Miocene Miocene = dogs from digitigrade Pinnipeds in Oligocene

Answer 109

- long legged digitigrade carnivores and omnivores - pack behaviour common - two post carnassial grinding molars - better sense of smell than cats - more molars teeth ,better ability to crush food up

Answer 110

- return to the sea - seals , sea lions , walrus - carnivores adapted for aquatic life - sea and fresh water - blubber under skin for insulation - well developed for diving reflex - limbs modified into paddles - reduction in size of the proximal bones , expansion of distal bones - long fingers and webbing between toes - flexible spine - large canines ; other teeth alike - walrus uses long canines for digging - earliest pinnipeds from early Miocene of North America

Answer 111

- widespread and abundant flying mammals - two groups : microchiropterans ( echolocating ) and megachiropterans - fruit bats. - ear region modified for echolocation - flight membrane of ski spread between elongated fingers 2-5 ; claw on thumb (micros) and finger 2 (mega) for climbing - nocturnal - powerful anticoagulant in saliva of vampire bats - long humerus and radius ; ulna reduced and fused to radius - shorter girdle modified for attachment of large flight muscle - expanded scapula - broad ribs and sternum with small keel - feet turned backwards for hanging upside down - fist bat fossils from late paleocene - whole specimen rare for fossils - fragmented teeth and sometimes abundant in cave deposits

Answer 112

Baleen whales - mysticetes - toothed whales - odontocetes

Answer 113

- nostrils are on the top of the skull - blowholes , air breathing mammals , more efficient at the top of the head - teeth simplified or lost completely - modification of the ear bones for hearing underwater - no hind limbs or pelvis (vestigial in right whales) - front limbs modified into steering paddle - horizontal tail fluke - cervical vertebrae partly or completely fused - no neck - hairless streamline body - thick insulating fat layer ( blubber) under skin - terrestrial ancestry : breathe air; give birth in water and suckle young with milk - beluga whales have a neck

Answer 114

- orca, sperm whales, hubby beaked whale , dolphin - echolocation : high frequency sound focussed by (melon) on top of their skull , goes a long distance , sound comes from throat , used to locate and stun prey - one nasal opening , resulting in asymmetrical skull - numerous conical teeth in dolphins , spade shaped in peorpoises , can help catch slippery fish - tooth loss in sperm whales in their upper jaw - beaked whales have no teeth , some have a few - all swallow whole as they cannot chew

Answer 115

- no teeth , filter feeder using keratin baleen plates hanging from upper jaw - use large tongue or expandable throat used to push water through baleen plates - prey range from krill to schooling fish - hugely elongated skull bones and lower jaw , both nostrils present - large to giant size - blue whale up to 33m long and 136 tonnes - biggest animal ever

Answer 116

- share ancestry with artiodactyls - first cetaceans from early Eocene - archaeocetes gave rise to early mysticetes and odontocetes in late Oligocene - modern cetaceans groups radiated in late Miocene

Answer 117

- first fossils found only in Pakistan and north west India - after protocetids found worldwide - from fully terrestrial pakicetids to fully marine , protocetids in around 4 million years in Eocene - incredibly rapid evolutionary transformation - protocetids gave rise to basilosaurs in late mid Eocene

Answer 118

Fossils found in early Eocene in river deposits - terrestrial animals with 4 fully functioning limbs , maybe to wade in streams - share details of ear structure with later whales - pointed incisors - cheek teeth occlude - able to chew food - cetacean evolution

Answer 119

- cetaceans evolution - fossils found in early to mid Eocene estuarine deposits - fully functioning in legs but reduced in size compared to pakicetids - large jaw and teeth

Answer 120

- cetaceans evolution - fossils found in earliest to middle Eocene in coastal deposits - very large skull - small eyes - body like those of the Abulocetids

Answer 121

- fossils found in early to late Eocene in coastal and fully marine deposits in Pakistan , India , Egypt , Nigeria , south east us - first whales with wide geographical distribution - probably ancestral to all the later whales Features: - hind eggs with 4 long toes , probably webbed - front legs with 5. Fingers , middle 3 weight bearing with small hoofs - locomotion may be like modern sea lions - reduced number of teeth , occlusion of cheek teeth , chewing ability - dorsal - ventral flattened caudal vertebrae in some later species : tail fluke

Answer 122

- cetaceans evolution - first fossils found in marine sediment in late Eocene , world wide distribution by late Eocene Features : - very small hind limbs and pelvic bones not connected to vertebrae - functioning knee and several toes - front limbs modified to flippers , limited mobility of wrist and elbow - large number of elongated lumbar vertebrae - dorsal ventrally flattened tail vertebrae = tail fluke - large size , up to 20 m

Answer 123

- major change in position from mid Eocene to Miocene - elongation of snout or shortening of snout which moved the nostrils to the top - squashing bones helped this move

Answer 124

- ungulates - larger hoofed herbivores - distantly related laurasiatherians groups : Perissodactyla = odd number of toes Artiodactyla = even number of toes - not that closely related - both evolved in early Eocene from unknown ancestors, replaced earlier mammal groups as main herbivores - share many features of diet and locomotion - 6 genera of perissodactyls vs 79 of artiodactyls - caecal fermentation vs rumination

Answer 125

- similar climate belt to today but warmer - palm trees and crocodiles in the uk - Australia was wetter - grasses radiated in Miocene = productive for food for herbivores , biomass is more then if they were in a forest - savanna replaced paleogene broadleaf forest

Answer 126

- horses, rhinos , tapirs - two extinct groups : brontotheres and chalicotheres - brontotheres - browsers that appeared in early Eocene , extinct by the early Oligocene , cow sized , strange bone on the snout - chalicotheres - bizarre beast with back legs shorter than front , fed on the leaves ; small hooves on fingers , claws on toes , probably walked in knuckles . Extinct by the end of Pleistocene

Answer 127

- unguligrade locomotion for fast running : reduction in bone in the distal part of bones - short proximal leg bones - elongation of those remaining - single hoofed toes in both front and back legs - cheek teeth adaption for brazing grass : continuously growing , deep rooted , high crowned - complex folding of enamel and denting on surface - diastema present = mixing food with saliva

Answer 128

- small mammals ( terrier sized) with hoofed toes - three hind , 3 front - just like early tapirs - complete tooth rows , molars small and low crowned - had canine teeth

Answer 129

Happened mostly in North America Main features - size increases - lengthening of distal leg bones - reduction in digits - increase in relative proportion of front of skull - increase in tooth length and size of grinding surface

Answer 130

- probably evolved from early tapirs in Eocene - early rhinos small and hornless - similar in shape to early horses and tapirs - radiation into a number of groups in Oligocene and miocene including indricotheres - largest land mammal of all time , up to 7 m tall and possibly 15 tonnes in weight

Answer 131

- rhinos with horns made from keratin radiated in Miocene Include - Pleistocene woolly rhino from Europe and Russia - modern rhino - found in Africa ( black and white rhinos) and Asia ( Indian , Sumatran and Javanese ) are all highly endangered

Answer 132

Even number of toes ungulates Groups: - basal artiodactyls - bundonts = pigs and hippos - selenodonts - camels, giraffes , cattle , deer, antelope

Answer 133

Even number of toes ungulates Groups Groups : - basal artiodactyls - bunodonts - pigs and hippos - selenodonts - camels , giraffes , cattle , deer, antelope

Answer 134

- early Eocene to Oligocene - five fingers - 4 toes - weight on hoofed toes , 3,4 - fibula , ulna and clavicles present ( later lost)

Answer 135

Radiated in late Eocene but only 8 genera today Characters - bunodont molars = square in sections with bulbous cusps ; reflection of omnivorous diet - large canines ( tusks) with triangular cross section used for digging , display, fighting and defence - 4 toes, only central 2 touch the ground in pigs

Answer 136

- successful group today , 70+ - characterised by having selenodont ( moon tooth) cheek teeth for chewing tough vegetation - some form of ruminating stomachs 2 groups - camels and strict groups - deer ,cattle, cheep, antelopes = ruminants

Answer 137

- appeared late Eocene - selenodont cheek teeth = for chewing tough vegetation - upper incisors lost = replaced by horny pad ; reduced or lost upper canines - 2 groups : traguloids and pecorinos - traguloids - most early genera and extinct mouse deer ; 4 toes but only 2 reach the ground ; no horns ; 3 chambered stomach - per oceans - giraffe , deer , cattle , sheep , antelope ; 2 toes ; all have bone horns ; 4 chambered stomach ; mid Miocene radiation - linked with radiation of grasses

Answer 138

- Cattle, sheep, antelope - most successful ungulates today: 50 genera, 115 species - The. Most important group of vertebrates to humans domestic sheep. , goats and cows

Answer 139

- big brains ; high encephalisation quotient - reduced snout - decreased reliance on sense of smell - forward facing eyes = stereoscopic vision for arboreal existence - excellent colour vision - post orbital bar behind eye for protection ; post orbital septa in tarsiers , makes and apes

Answer 140

- body of primates not particularly specialised - pendactylyl = five fingers five toes ; primitive placental mammal characters shared with rodents for example - grasping hands and feet ; opposable thumb and big toes - nails rather than hooves or claws on at least one digit ; monkeys and apes have nails on all digits - very flexible limbs = monkeys and apes have complete rotation of arm around shoulder for arboreal living

Answer 141

Primitate evolution - paleocene to mid Eocene Features - elongated skulls with eyes on side of the head - large incisors and diastema ( rodent like) - no post orbital bar - most have claws only - most didn’t have an opposable toes

Answer 142

- lemurs - lorises - pottos - bush babies - all have moist nose , tooth comb and toilet claw on the second toes of the hind legs - evolved from adaptiformes in paleogene ( adaptiformes early Eocene to late Miocene )

Answer 143

- anthropoids = monkey and apes ‘ higher primates’ - tarsiiformes = omomyids (extinct) and tarsiers; adaptions to leaping , powerful hind limbs

Answer 144

- either Asia or African origin - extinct groups in Eocene and Oligocene - platyrrhines ( new world monkeys) and catarrhines ( old world monkeys and hominids) split in the Eocene

Answer 145

- long tails ; some prehensile - poor thumb and finger grip - eg spider monkey

Answer 146

- none have prehensile tails - better thumb and finger grips - eg Barbary macaque

Answer 147

- chimps - gorillas - orangutan - gibbons - humans - big bodies - no tails - big brains - possession of future - not instinctive

Answer 148

- proconsul , lower Miocene , east Africa Features - no tails - relatively large brains - 150cm3 - stretched elbow joints for brachiation - small molars - large canines - primitive features

Answer 149

- DNA difference : gorilla - human = 1.62% Chimp - human = 1.24% - indicates the split between gorilla and humans happened between 8.4 and 6.2 ma and between chimps and humans only 6.2-4.6 ma - this evolution took place exclusively in Africa

Answer 150

- upright walking -bipedalism - really big brains - highest encephalisation quotient - speech - possession of culture

Answer 151

- entrance of spinal chord in skull ( foramen magnum ) beneath , not behind skull - s shaped spine = bad backs - short bowl shaped pelvis - long leg bones ; straight hinge knee ; flat feet with straight toes ; big toe not opposable

Answer 152

- increase in brain size in relation to body size - evolution of increasing behavioural complexity - eyes move to front of face for stereoscopic vision - increasing protection of eye sockets with bone - decrease in muzzle length - decrease in olfactory sense -nails replace claws - increase in gripping ability with opposable thumbs and toes - increase in parental investment in young

Answer 153

- Darwin suggested in 1871 that humans evolved from apes - corroborated by fossil and molecular evidence - DNA differences between chimps and human : 1.24% - indicates the split between chimps and humans between 4.6 and 6.2 ma in the latest Miocene or earliest Pliocene

Answer 154

- currently at least 17 species ranging in age from latest Miocene to present - highly competitive field to find fossils - many species known from fragmentary material ; tendency to name each new bit of bone as new species - in Pliocene and Pleistocene at least three co existing hominins in Africa - only one species today

Answer 155

- 6-5 ma - includes sahelanthropus ; 6 ma , chad ; complete skull - fossils show hominin looks similar to chimp/gorilla - shows bipedalism occurred well before big brians - show the split between chimp and us happened 6 ma

Answer 156

- Ethiopia , 4.4 ma - skull volume 300-350cm3 ; chimps 400cm3; us 1400cm3 - for amen magnum directly beneath brain case = bipedalism - projecting jaws giving a dish shaped face - flat nose - small canines - 1.2 m tall ; around 50kg - long arms in relation to body ;; human like hand ; opposable big toe ; adaptions to arboreal life

Answer 157

Human evolution - east Africa , 3.7-2.9 ma -skull volume 415 cm3 - hips show efficient bipedalism - retains relatively long arms - still partly arboreal? - curved finger and toe bones - diastema between canines and incisors - ‘lucy’. 40%complete female skeleton found in 1978 - features : 1.2 m tall , conical rib age = ape like pot belly

Answer 158

- human evolution - volcanic ash field in Tanzania ; set like cement after rain - 3 individuals ; one child , 2 adults , one walking in the footsteps of the other - proves bipedalism in hominins at 3.75 ma

Answer 159

Human evolution - South Africa ; 2.8-2.4 ma - 1.3 m tall - 45 kg - skull volume 445 cm3 - flatter face

Answer 160

- lived alongside other australopiths and early homo species - bodies like other contemporary australopiths - 1.75 m tall , 50kg - robust skull with sagittal crest - huge jaw muscles - huge premolars and molars with thick enamel - diet of tough plant food on grassland ; ‘gracile’ Australopiths - fruit and leaf eaters in more wooded areas - showed sexual dismorphism which is higher than in humans

Answer 161

- characterised by really large brains and small teeth - first are homo habilis and h.rudolfensis ; some classify as Australopithecus due to brain capacity being not much larger than contemporary australopiths - Kenya 2.4 -1.5 ma ; ~ 1.3 m tall ; skull volume ~ 700 cm3 - oldowantools from 2.4 ma - simple capers made by h.habilis

Answer 162

- evolved in Africa - 1.7 ma , then moved quickly across the world , first hominin found outside Africa , 200ka - skull volume ~ 830 cm3 , later 900-1100 cm3 ( Chinese erectus) - primate skull features - strong brow ridges , heavy jaw with no clear chin - fully modern bipedal body - 1.6 m tall at 12 yrs - increased in sophisticated tools - acheulean tool culture appeared around 1.5 ma in Africa - tools used to hunt large animals - evidence of fire used eg cooking

Answer 163

- adapted in ice age , climate of Europe and Near East , lived alongside and hunted wholly mammoths and rhinos etc - appeared in Europe around 200ka , disappeared 35 ka , at the same time the modern human arrived - interbreeding or genocide? - very robust bodies - relatively short legs - strong joints - Inuit patterns - skull = strong brow ridges , projected face, big nasal cavity , weak chin , large teeth , skull volume on average larger than modern humans 1500cm3 - Neanderthal culture : burial of bodies ; rituals ; coking ; building of animal hide shelters ; mousterian toolkits - 60 different types including saws and needles for sewing clothes - could Neanderthals converse with modern humans? = hyoid bone and FOXP2 gene suggest yes

Answer 164

- world domination - evolved in Africa ~ 200ka - reached Australia by 50ka - Europe and Russia by 35ka - americas by 12ka , possibly 32 ka - Polynesia 2-1ka - art from 70ka , shows evidence for abstract thinking - agriculture from 10ka in Middle East and later C.america and china = population explosion - cities from 6 ka in Iraq , today host huge populations

Vertebrate Fossil Record Flashcards

(189 cards)