Exam 34: The Origin and Evolution of Vertebrates

A trend first observed in the evolution of the earliest tetrapods was ________.

Use the following information to answer the question. Due to its system of air sacs connected to the lungs, the respiratory system of birds is arguably the most effective respiratory system of all air-breathers. Upon inhalation, air first flows into posterior air sacs, then into the lungs, and then into anterior air sacs on the way to being exhaled. Thus, there is one-way flow of air through the lungs, along thousands of tubules called parabronchi. The one-way flow of air along parabronchi makes what type of gas exchange mechanism possible, at least theoretically?

Which of the following statements would be most acceptable to most zoologists?

On the back of your skull you can feel a small bump, below which is an opening where the spinal cord enters the skull. The location of this opening toward the bottom of the skull is significant in evolutionary biology for what reason?

Which of the following characteristics allowed early gnathostomes to become successful predators?

Guppies are a common aquarium fish. They have internal fertilization, and females give birth to young that can swim immediately. Which of the following statements is correct?

Which of the following characteristics occur in Homo naledi?

At one time, birds held the same taxonomic rank as Reptilia and Mammalia. Now, however, they are considered as part of the reptile clade. Without this change, ________.

The history of hominin evolution demonstrates ________.

Living vertebrates can be divided into two major clades. Select the appropriate pair.

Primate evolution and behavior, such as hunting skills, have been directed in part by the development of depth perception. What anatomical change made depth perception possible?

At one time, Chondrichthyes were thought to have split off from other vertebrates before the evolution of bone. Now we have concluded that the Chondrichthyes split off after the evolution of bone had started. This change demonstrates ________.

Use the following information to answer the question. While on an intersession course in tropical ecology, Kris pulls a large, snakelike organism from a burrow (the class was granted a collecting permit). The 1-meter-long organism has smooth skin, which appears to be segmented. It has two tiny eyes that are hard to see because they seem to be covered by skin. Kris brings it back to the lab at the field station, where it is a source of puzzlement to the class. Kris says that it is a giant oligochaete worm; Shaun suggests it is a legless amphibian; Kelly proposes it belongs to a snake species that is purely fossorial (lives in a burrow). The organism was found to have two lungs, but the left lung was much smaller than the right lung. Kelly added that the herpetology instructor had said that in most snakes, the same condition exists. If the size difference between the lungs in this organism is not a shared ancestral characteristic with its occurrence in snakes, then its existence in this organism is explained as which of the following?

Use the following information to answer the question. Brown et al. and Morwood et al. reported in 2004 that they had found skeletal remains of a previously unknown type of hominin, now dubbed Homo floresiensis, on the Indonesian island of Flores. These hominins were small (approximately 1 meter tall)with small braincases (approximately 380 cubic centimeters)as compared with other hominins. The remains of H. floresiensis were found alongside handmade stone tools and the remains of dwarf elephants that also inhabited the island, suggesting that H. floresiensis was able both to make tools and to coordinate the hunting of animals much larger than itself. H. floresiensis is estimated to have lived at the site where the remains were found from at least 38,000 years ago to 18,000 years ago. Which would be the most feasible method of figuring out to which other hominin species H. floresiensis was most closely related?

To reproduce, many plants produce seeds-structures containing embryonic offspring along with nutrients inside a tough coat. These offspring develop after being released by the parent plant. To which animal reproductive "strategy" is seed production most comparable?

Unlike eutherians, both monotremes and marsupials

Why do skates and rays have flattened bodies, while sharks are torpedo shaped?

Vertebrates and tunicates share ________.

At one time, Chondrichthyes were thought to have split off from other vertebrates before the evolution of bone. Now we have concluded that the Chondrichthyes split off after the evolution of bone had started. This change demonstrates ________.

Female birds lay their eggs, thereby facilitating flight by reducing weight. Which "strategy" seems most likely for female bats to use to achieve the same goal?