Exam Three with Correct Answers

[1]The first land animals were what type of organism?
[A]arthropods
[B]vertebrates
[C]cnidarians
[D]echinoderms

[2]Reptiles in the Carboniferous evolved a new reproductive innovation that allowed them to breed independently of water. What is this innovation?
[A]scales
[B]endothermy
[C]binocular vision
[D]amniote egg

[3]Lizards, dinosaurs and birds belong to which of the following major groups of vertebrates?
[A]Anapsids
[B]Diapsids
[C]Synapsids
[D]Euryapsids

[4] Pelycosaurs, therapsids, and mammals belong to which major group?
[A]Anapsids
[B]Diapsids
[C]Synapsids
[D]Euyapsids

[5]Synapsids differ from anapsids and diapsids in having how many pre-orbital (behind the eye sockets) openings on each side of the skull?
[A]one
[B]two
[C]three
[D]none

[6]Anapsids include which living group of animals?
[A]crocodiles
[B]salamanders
[C]ostriches
[D]turtles

[7]One of the most well-known of the pelycosaurs, a predator having a sail-like fin on its back, was called what?
[A]Dimetrodon
[B]Eryops
[C]Moschops
[D]Elasmosaurus

[8]The sail-backs of some pelycosaurs are thought to have served what function, most likely?
[A]flight
[B]defense
[C]thermoregulation
[D]no known function

[9]Cynodonts, dinocephalians, and gorgonopsians belong to what group of animals that became dominant on land during the late Permian?
[A]dinosaurs
[B]therapsids
[C]amniotes
[D]trilobites

[10]Modern monotremes (like the platypus) gestate their young in the same way that most Permian proto-mammals probably did. What is this strategy?
[A]asexual reproduction
[B]placental gestation
[C]marsupial gestation
[D]amniote egg-laying

[11]The massive super-continent that assembled at the end of the Permian, and which comprised all existing continental plates, is named what?
[A]Laurasia
[B]Gondwana
[C]Pangaea
[D]Tethys

[12]Which group did NOT go extinct at the end of the Permian?
[A]trilobites
[B]rugose corals
[C]tetrapods
[D]blastoids

[13]What fraction of all species on Earth are thought to have gone extinct during the Permo-Triassic event?
[A]50 – 60%
[B]10 – 20%
[C]80 – 90%
[D]95 – 99%

[14]Which is NOT a reasonably likely explanation for the Permo-Triassic extinction event?
[A]nearby supernova
[B]asteroid or comet impact
[C]massive flood volcanism
[D]tectonic plate movements

[15]Where on the modern Earth can evidence be found of extensive volcanic activity at the end of the Permian?
[A]Australia
[B]North America
[C]Siberia
[D]Africa

[16]Which of the following is NOT likely to have been a result of massive flood volcanism in late Permian times?
[A]global acid rain
[B]global climate shifts caused by CO2 increase in the atmosphere
[C]darkening of the Earth due to abundant ash and dust in the upper atmosphere
[D]catastrophic heating of the Earth’s lower atmosphere, all over the planet

[17]Evidence for an asteroid impact at the end of the Permian has been uncovered near what modern continent?
[A]Australia
[B]North America
[C]South America
[D]Africa

[18]Archosaur descendents DO NOT include which group of animals?
[A]tortoises
[B]crocodiles
[C]birds
[D]dinosaurs

[19]Among the first true dinosaurs to appear in the late Triassic, one of the earliest was…
[A]Lystrosaurus
[B]Deinonychus
[C]Archaeopteryx
[D]Eoraptor

[20]Major dinosaur groups DID NOT include which of the following?
[A]Theropoda
[B]Sauropoda
[C]Artiodactyla
[D]Ornithischia

[21]Thick cranial bones and ridges found on the skulls of most pachycephalosaurs were probably used for what purpose in life?
[A]thermoregulation
[B]defense
[C]capturing prey
[D]sexual selection / male-male competition

[22]Most ceratopsian species had arrangements of spines, plates and horns on their skulls that differed significantly from each other, despite living in similar settings and presumably defending against the same predators. What is the most likely explanation for this observation?
[A]each species was specialized to feed on a particular tree or plant
[B]skull designs were used for species recognition and mating displays
[C]particular ceratopsian species were likely preyed on by specific predators
[D]echolocation

[23]Which of the following observations about hadrosaur behavior is NOT suggested by the fossil record?
[A]hadrosaurs practiced colony nesting behavior
[B]hadrosaurs cared for their nest-bound hatchlings
[C]hadrosaurs were nocturnal
[D]hadrosaurs probably used their elaborate head-crests as resonating chambers, for vocalization

[24]The largest land animals known to have ever existed belong to what dinosaur group?
[A]theropods
[B]ornithischians
[C]prosauropods
[D]sauropods

[25]Dinosaurs like Apatosaurus and Brachiosaur were huge, but had tiny heads and small, peg-like teeth. How did they process their food?
[A]they fed by skimming plankton from lakes
[B]they had to eat small pieces at a time
[C]they possessed a gizzard containing stones, which helped to grind their food
[D]they had a multi-chambered stomach like modern cattle

[26]Dromaeosaurs like Utahraptor and Velociraptor evolved a unique weapon not found among any other animal groups. What was it?
[A]recurved teeth
[B]a single enlarged, retractable toe claw on each foot
[C]grasping forelimbs
[D]a single, stabbing cranial horn

[27]Which of the following does NOT provide clear evidence that dinosaurs were endothermic?
[A]skull and brain cavity structure indicates that many dinosaurs had highly acute vision
[B]growth rings in dinosaur bone support fast early growth, which is consistent with being warm-blooded
[C]many dinosaurs were feathered, showing evidence that dinosaurs had thermal insulation, like modern birds or mammals
[D]dinosaurs lived in polar regions which would have been seasonally cold, indicating that they could maintain a viable body temperature in all parts of the year

[28]Which group of animals represents the only surviving group of dinosaurs today?
[A]turtles
[B]tuataras
[C]birds
[D]the Loch Ness monster

[29]Non-theropod Archosaurs of the Mesozoic that evolved true, powered flight belong to what group?
[A]Polyrynchids
[B]Pelycosaurs
[C]Perissodactyls
[D]Pterosaurs

[30]The earliest known fossil bird, found originally in the 19th century in Bavarian limestones, is known by what name?
[A]Eoraptor
[B]Herrerasaurus
[C]Oviraptor
[D]Archaeopteryx

[31]Given the information discussed in class and in the text, what would seem to be the most likely hypothesis for the origin of powered flight in birds?
[A]cursorial hypothesis
[B]arboreal hypothesis
[C]display/combat hypothesis
[D]swimming hypothesis

[32]Ammonoids are what kind of fossil animal?
[A]marine reptile
[B]coiled, shelled mollusc
[C]fish
[D]flying reptile

[33]Which is the only group of sea reptiles to survive the K-T extinction?
[A]ichthyosaurs
[B]plesiosaurs
[C]mosasaurs
[D]sea turtles

[34]Ichthyosaurs were fully adapted to a marine existence, and could not have traveled on land at all. How did this affect their reproduction?
[A]they evolved the capacity for placental gestation
[B]they bore live young, by retaining their eggs internally until they hatched
[C]they released microscopic larval young directly into the water
[D]they laid eggs in huge floating clusters, like modern sharks

[35]What group of gymnosperm trees was abundant in the Mesozoic, but is today represented by only one surviving species?
[A]Cycads
[B]Ferns
[C]Conifers
[D]Ginkgos

[36]Flowering plants, which did not appear in the fossil record until the Cretaceous, belong to what plant group?
[A]Bryophytes
[B]Gymnosperms
[C]Angiosperms
[D]Ratites

[37]What is the leading (most widely accepted) hypothesis explaining the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) extinction event?
[A]assembly of a supercontinent
[B]global glaciation
[C]asteroid impact
[D]volcanism

[38]A thin clay layer at the K-T boundary is often found to contain enriched concentrations of a rare heavy metal. Which metal?
[A]iridium
[B]gold
[C]uranium
[D]iron

[39]What is the age of the K-T extinction event?
[A]250 Ma
[B]125 Ma
[C]65 Ma
[D]1.5 Ma

[40]The Chicxulub feature, which may account for the K-T extinction event, was recently found off the coast of what nation?
[A]USA
[B]Mexico
[C]Brazil
[D]Australia

[41]In what geologic period do we currently live?
[A]Quaternary
[B]Tertiary
[C]Cretaceous
[D]Eocene

[42]Modern even-toed ungulates, such as cattle, deer and gazelles, belong to what group of mammals?
[A]Perissodactyls
[B]Artiodactyls
[C]Pterodactyls
[D]Ornithodactyls

[43]At the end of the Eocene, worldwide climate shifts seem to have resulted in a major die-off among some mammal groups. What is this event called?
[A]El Grande Muerto
[B]Le Petite Chat
[C]Le Grand Coupure
[D]El Mundo Perdido

[44]Grasses first appear in which Cenozoic epoch?
[A]Paleocene
[B]Eocene
[C]Miocene
[D]Pleistocene

[45]The earliest clear hominid ancestor who could walk upright on two legs, and which used this means of locomotion preferentially, was named what?
[A]Purgatorius
[B]Proconsul
[C]Homo erectus
[D]Australopithecus

[46]At what point in the past do all living humans share a common maternal ancestor, according to recent mitochondrial evidence?
[A]~1.7 Ma
[B]~1.1 Ma
[C]~200,000 years
[D]~10,000 years