Deck 15: The Late Paleozoic World

Question 1

Between the tall coal-swamp trees of Late Carboniferous were shorter plants that included the non-seed group called

A) lycopods.
B) sphenopsids.
C) cordiatecordaites.
D) gymnosperms.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

__________ is a geological time period distinguished by vast deposits of organic matter in lowland swamps and other wetland areas.

A) Silurian
B) Devonian
C) Permian
D) Carboniferous

Answer 2

D

Question 3

During __________, ocean chemistry changed so that there were __________ seas were created.

A) Late Devonian; calcite
B) Early Carboniferous; calcite
C) Late Devonian; aragonite
D) Early Carboniferous; aragonite

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Large Carboniferous and Permian foraminifera that lived on the shallow seafloor are called

A) crinoids.
B) fusulinids.
C) lycopods.
D) placoderms.

Question 5

The new reproductive strategy of reptiles allowed them to __________ for the first time.

A) kill prey by puncturing them
B) swallow meals whole
C) raise their young in water
D) reproduce away from water

Question 6

Conifers, an important tall, Late Carboniferous tree of upland terrestrial environments, are part of the group called

A) sphenopsids.
B) gymnosperms.
C) lycopods.
D) cordiatecordaites.

Question 7

We know that the Late Carboniferous atmosphere was very rich in oxygen because insects

A) adapted to juice-sucking from plants.
B) developed folded wings as an adaptation.
C) attained great size during this time.
D) developed eggs and caterpillar-like larvae.

Question 8

The Early Permian herbivore Edaphosaurus and the carnivore Dimetrodon are both

A) mammal-like reptiles.
B) large amphibians.
C) fin-backed reptiles
D) giant dragonflies.

Question 9

__________ means "naked seed plants."

A) Gymnosperms
B) CordiateCordaites
C) Lycopods
D) Sphenopsids

Question 10

Carboniferous and Early Permian vertebrates called __________ had the world largely to themselves and adapted into many forms, some of them rather large.

A) amphibians
B) arthropods
C) insects
D) reptiles

Question 11

The dominant fossil plants of Carboniferous were

A) cycads, conifers, and cycadeoids.
B) sphenopsids, seed ferns, and lycopods.
C) small seedless vascular plants.
D) flowering plants.

Question 12

During Early Permian, __________ were the top carnivores of widespread ecosystems.

A) amphibians
B) pelycosaurs
C) therapsids
D) insects

Question 13

At the start of Late Permian, the __________ appeared and they were distinctly different from their ancestors, the pelycosaurs, in that their legs were more vertically beneath their bodies.

A) amphibians
B) therapsids
C) reptiles
D) insects

Question 14

The Early Carboniferous global rise in sea level caused shallow seas to spread across broad continental surfaces at low latitudes, resulting in widespread deposition of

A) coal deposits.
B) glacial tillites.
C) black shales.
D) crinoidal limestones.

Question 15

__________ rediversified quickly after the Late Devonian mass extinction and assumed a prominent ecological position in the seas.

A) Tabulate corals
B) Ammonoids
C) Stromatoporoids
D) Placoderms

Question 16

Insects with wings were present by

A) Early Devonian.
B) Early Carboniferous.
C) Middle Carboniferous.
D) Late Carboniferous.

Question 17

The Late Paleozoic disappearance of the __________ is an example of the late Paleozoic trend away from armor on swimming animals and toward greater mobility.

A) phytoplankton
B) ostracoderms
C) placoderms
D) sharks

Question 18

The key feature in the origin of reptiles was the

A) foldable wing.
B) amniote egg.
C) protective scales.
D) caterpillar-like larvae.

Question 19

__________ may have been large-bodied endotherms, which had a high metabolic rate.

A) Amphibians
B) Pelycosaurs
C) Therapsids
D) Insects

Question 20

__________, a group of animals that were attached to the seafloor and captured food with their waving arms as it came floating by, expanded to their greatest diversity during Early Carboniferous.

A) Crinoids
B) Brachiopods, except productids
C) Lacy bryozoans
D) Fusulinids

Question 21

In each Upper Carboniferous cyclothem, offshore shale is overlain directly by __________ as a result of __________.

A) coal; regression
B) underclay; transgression
C) marine limestone; regression
D) nearshore sandy shale; transgression

Question 22

During the uplift of the __________ Mountains and other Carboniferous uplands, a block fault formed that divided the __________ basins of western Texas.

A) Ouachita; Delaware and Midland
B) Uncompahgre; Illinois and Michigan
C) Ouachita; Carboniferous
D) Uncompagre; Carboniferous

Question 23

The end-Permian mass extinction, and the one that preceded it by nine 9 million years, the end-Guadalupian mass extinction, were both related to __________, which caused an episode of greenhouse warming and the onset of __________.

A) meteorite impact; global regression
B) flood basalt eruptions; deep-sea anoxia
C) meteorite impact; deep-sea anoxia
D) flood basalt eruptions; global regression

Question 24

The Middle Carboniferous orogeny in North America is known as

A) Hercynian.
B) Alleghenian.
C) Variscan.
D) Ouachita.

Question 25

During Late Permian, the Ouachita Mountains were __________ the Delaware and Midland basins.

A) on opposite sides of
B) on the seaward side of
C) on the landward side of
D) between

Question 26

Onset of the Carboniferous-Permian ice age initiated a sudden

A) drop in origination of new genera and an upward spike in extinctions of genera.
B) drop in both origination and extinction of genera.
C) rise in origination of new genera and a downward spike in extinctions of genera.
D) rise in both origination and extinction of genera.

Question 27

In the stratigraphic cross-section through the central Appalachian Mountains, the three tectonic cycles of deposition (called I, II, and III, where I is the oldest) are related to these Appalachian orogenies, respectively:

A) Taconic, Acadian, and Alleghenian.
B) Acadian, Taconic, and Alleghenian.
C) Ouachita, Acadian, and Taconic.
D) Ouachita, Alleghenian, and Hercynian.

Question 28

During __________ Carboniferous, most of Pangaea was formed when Gondwanaland collided with __________.

A) Early; Euramerica
B) Early; Africa
C) Middle; Africa
D) Middle; Euramerica

Question 29

The suturing of Siberia to eastern Europe (Pangaea) caused the __________ Mountains to form.

A) Appalachian
B) Ural
C) Uncompahgre
D) Ouachita

Question 30

The mountains formed in southern Europe by the northward movement of Gondwanaland are called the

A) Hercynides.
B) Ouachitas.
C) Appalachians.
D) Urals.