Deck 34: The Vertebrates

Question 1

In addition to the defining features of chordates, ALL craniates are distinguished by which of the following combination of features?

A) a cranium and a gnathostome
B) a cranium and neural crest
C) a cranium and protostome development
D) a cranium and an ostracoderm
E) a cranium and an operculum

Answer 1

a cranium and neural crest

Question 2

The neural crest consists of:

A) embryonic cells on each side of the neural tube
B) embryonic cells that form the kidney
C) clusters of Hox genes
D) cells that form hair follicles
E) cells that lie along the crest of the spine

Answer 2

embryonic cells on each side of the neural tube

Question 3

Which of the following statements best describes the Hox genes of the different groups of animals?

A) All animals have Hox genes.
B) Invertebrate chordates have one cluster of Hox genes.
C) Gnathostomes have four clusters of Hox genes.
D) Hox genes are involved with the evolution of structural complexity.
E) All the choices provided are correct.

Answer 3

All the choices provided are correct.

Question 4

Which of the following characteristics do ostracoderms and lampreys share?

A) Both are extinct.
B) Both have fins.
C) Both are parasitic on other fish.
D) Both are jawless.
E) All the choices provided are correct.

Question 5

Which of the following statements is NOT true of Chondrichthyans?

A) They have internal fertilization.
B) They were the first vertebrates to develop teeth.
C) Their buoyance is maintained partly by the oil in their livers.
D) They are color blind.
E) Their teeth are composed of dentine and enamel whereas the scales are made of chitin.

Question 6

Which of the following groups of animals is NOT completely extinct?

A) Ostracoderms
B) Acanthodii
C) Placodermi
D) Acanthostega
E) Coelocanth

Question 7

Species that retain the eggs within the female but do not nourish them via a placenta are:

A) ovoviviparous
B) viviparous
C) oviparous
D) hermaphroditic
E) parthenogenetic

Question 8

The lateral line is:

A) a lateral stripe on the side of male fish that aids in sex-recognition
B) a series of sensory organs that detects pressure waves in the water
C) the row of fins along the sides of eels
D) the row of pharyngeal slits along each side of the heads of fish
E) the row of small blocks of cartilage along each side of the notochord of agnathan fishes

Question 9

Following are taxonomic categories matched with a common name of animals. Which of these is incorrectly matched?

A) Dipnoi/lungfish
B) Actinopterygii/ray-finned fish
C) Gymnophiona/caecilians
D) Lepidosauria/lizards and snakes
E) Therapoda/crocodiles

Question 10

Which of the following is NOT a tetrapod

A) a frog
B) a snake
C) a bird
D) a human
E) a lungfish

Question 11

Buccal pumping is:

A) pumping blood from the atria to the ventricle
B) pumping air into the lungs by raising the floor of the throat
C) pumping blood from the ventricle to the body
D) pumping wastes through the kidneys
E) pumping blood from the ventricle to the atria

Question 12

Which of the following kind of animal is NOT an amphibian?

A) Caudata
B) anuran
C) salamander
D) Gymnopiona
E) amniote

Question 13

Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A) Frogs and toads have external fertilization whereas salamanders and caecilians have internal fertilization.
B) Frogs, toads, and most salamanders have four legs whereas caecilians are legless.
C) Frogs, toads, and salamanders lay eggs whereas some caecilians lay eggs and others give birth to live young.
D) Salamanders and caecilians have external tails whereas frogs and toads do not.
E) Adult frogs, toads, and salamanders are predators on insects and other small animals whereas caecilians are herbivores.

Question 14

Reptiles are better adapted to life on land than are amphibians. Which of the following statements best describes their advantage?

A) Reptiles have an egg with an amnion, yolk sac, allantois, chorion, and shell.
B) Reptiles have a skin that resists loss of water by evaporation.
C) Reptiles breathe by expanding the rib cage.
D) Reptiles have the ability to concentrate urine.
E) All the other choices provided are correct.

Question 15

Which of the following statement best describes the defining characteristics of members of the Class Testudines?

A) They lack teeth.
B) They have a hard shell.
C) They have a kinetic skull.
D) They have both a hard shell and are lacking in teeth.
E) They have both a kinetic skull and a hard shell.

Question 16

A distinguishing feature of Lepidosauria is their:

A) hard shell
B) kinetic skull
C) external fertilization
D) shell-less eggs
E) none of the choices provided

Question 17

Which of the following statements best describes the differences between snakes and lizards?

A) All snakes lack eyelids and all lizards have eyelids.
B) All snakes lack external ear openings and all lizards have external ear openings.
C) Some snakes are venomous and no lizards are.
D) All snakes lack limbs but all lizards have limbs.
E) None of the other choices are foolproof and combinations of characteristics are sometimes necessary to distinguish lizards and snakes.

Question 18

Which of the following taxa are extant (have at least some members that are still living; opposite of extinct)?

A) Ornithischia
B) Lepidosauria
C) Saurischia
D) theropods
E) ichythosaurs

Question 19

Animals capable of producing their own body heat by way of metabolism and of retaining it are said to be:

A) metabolic
B) thermogenic
C) thermodynamic
D) endothermic
E) All of the choices provided are correct

Question 20

Epidermal placodes are:

A) epidermal thickenings that give rise to integumental coverings such as feathers and hair
B) epidermal thickenings that give rise to the lateral line system
C) epidermal thickenings that lead to the formation of mesoderm
D) epidermal thickenings that give rise to skin glands
E) none of the choices provided

Question 21

Archaeopteryx lithograpica:

A) was the first fossil directly linking birds to reptiles
B) had a beak with teeth
C) had a small, reptilian breastbone
D) had both claws and feathers on the wings
E) All of the choices provided are true

Question 22

The principal advantage of air sacs in birds is that:

A) They increase the surface area through which oxygen is absorbed.
B) They provide better aerodynamic lift.
C) They minimize the absorption of harmful gases.
D) They promote continuous flow of air through the lungs thereby enhancing metabolism by making oxygen more readily available.
E) All of the choices provided are correct.

Question 23

Which of the following pairs of names is NOT a match?

A) Piciformes/woodpeckers
B) Falconiformes/eagles, hawks, vultures
C) Passeriformes/robins, starlings, sparrows/warblers, etc.
D) Anseriformes/ducks, geese/swans
E) Galliformes/owls

Question 24

Which of the following statements best describes the function of hair?

A) insulation
B) sensory perception
C) camouflage
D) protection and defense
E) All the choices provided are correct

Question 25

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic that distinguishes mammals from all other vertebrates?

A) mammary glands
B) hair
C) endothermy
D) specialized teeth
E) enlarged skull

Question 26

The monotremes differ from all other mammals by:

A) laying eggs
B) being restricted to Australia and New Guinea
C) lacking a placenta
D) having poorly developed nipples
E) All of the choices provided are correct

Question 27

Marsupials are distinguished by:

A) a marsupium
B) a marzipan
C) opposable thumbs
D) nails
E) All of the choices provided are correct

Question 28

The Order Primates had its origin in:

A) small arboreal monotremes
B) bipedal marsupials
C) small, arboreal, insect-eating mammals
D) bipedal ornithischian dinosaurs
E) theropods with hair

Question 29

Which of the following attributes is related to the arboreal ancestry of humans?

A) an opposable thumb
B) binocular vision
C) grasping fingers
D) visual acuity
E) All of the choices provided are correct

Question 30

Prosimians are:

A) small, primitive primates
B) professional animal trainers
C) primitive australopithecines
D) the most advanced primates
E) none of the choices provided

Question 31

A hominin is:

A) different words with the same pronunciation, like "whale" and "wail"
B) all forms of humans, extinct and extant
C) arboreal primates
D) the lesser apes
E) chimpanzees and gorillas

Question 32

What environmental change likely influenced the evolution of bipedalism in humans?

A) Trees grew taller, making it necessary to reach higher to pick fruit.
B) Warming of the Earth made it an advantage to get the heat-sensitive brain higher above a hot substrate.
C) Evolution of fleeter predators, making it necessary to use the hands to fight them off, rather than try to outrun them.
D) The Earth cooled and there was a resultant change from a forested to a grassy landscape.
E) Evolution of longer hind limbs made quadrupedal locomotion less effective.

Question 33

The IMMEDIATE ancestors of humans (genus Homo) were the:

A) chimpanzees
B) australopithecines
C) prosimians
D) gibbons

Question 34

Hagfish are craniates but are not vertebrates.

Question 35

A hagfish is a not a fish.

Question 36

Lampreys' main body support is the notochord, not a vertebral column.

Question 37

Acanthostega is an important fossil for the understanding of phylogeny because it is an intermediate form between lobe-finned fishes and amphibians.

Question 38

The formation of feathers, hair, and reptilian scales is based on completely different developmental patterns and genetic influences.

Question 39

Some dinosaurs had feathers.

Question 40

In previous times, birds and pterosaurs were contemporaries.

Question 41

The first truly bipedal primates were the australopithecines.

Question 42

Our species, Homo sapiens, had been in existence for only somewhat more than 50,000 years when it moved out of Africa and replaced Neanderthal Man, another species of human, about 30,000 years ago.

Question 43

Several species of humans have occurred together in the same time and place in the past.

Question 44

The most recent fossil and DNA evidence supports the idea that modern humans (Homo sapiens) evolved from a single stock from Africa rather than from multiple stocks in different parts of the world.