Exam 23: Paleobiology and Macroevolution

On a regional level, coastal areas generally experience ____ fluctuations in temperature compared to interior regions of landmasses. ​

Fossil evidence from five continents exists for 100 extinct, and one extant, species of ____ ​

The evolutionary mode in which species evolve rapidly at first and then remain stable for very long periods of time is called ____. ​

Throughout Earth's history, changes in climate patterns that led to declining sea levels took an especially severe toll on organisms living in ____ environments. ​

About 250 million years ago Earth's continents merged into one supercontinent called ____. ​

The complete replacement of one type of organ with another is called ____. ​

Over time, the carbon isotope ¹⁴C decays into ____. ​

Some animals have evolved sexual maturity in juvenile body forms. This is called ____. ​

The extinction of the dinosaurs occurred rapidly as a result of a single cataclysmic event. ​

Genes in the Hox family of homeobox genes control the body plans of animals along the ____ axis, including where ____ will develop on the animal's body. ​

The appendages in both fishes and tetrapods develop from buds of ____, the middle embryonic tissue layer. ​

If the entire history of the Earth is symbolized by a 12-month calendar, dinosaurs and mammals both appear in the month of ____. ​

The earliest signs of life appeared on Earth during the ____ era.

In which period was a mass extinction event least likely?

Scientists hypothesize that the massive Permian extinction was triggered by an asteroid impact. ​

The radioactive decay of carbon-14 can be used to determine ____.

At times when Earth's climate was cooler than it is today, the polar ice caps ____, rainfall ____, and sea levels ____.