Deck 6: Early Primate Evolution

Question 1

Which of the following was NOT a predominant vertebrate life form 70 million years ago?

A) icthyosaurs
B) dinosaurs
C) pterosaurs
D) plesiadaposaurs

Answer 1

plesiadaposaurs

Question 2

A primary consideration of all dating methods is the _____________ of a fossil.

A) provenience
B) condition
C) Both A and B are correct.
D) Neither A nor B is correct.

Answer 2

provenience

Question 3

Researchers must know a fossil's _____________ before they can calculate its age.

A) provenience
B) context
C) Both A and B are correct.
D) Neither A nor B is correct.

Answer 3

Both A and B are correct.

Question 4

The context of a fossil includes all of the following EXCEPT

A) the type of rock in which the fossil was found.
B) the phylogenetic position of the fossil.
C) what nonfossil items surrounded the fossil.
D) what other fossils were found nearby.

Question 5

Which of the following is NOT a relative dating technique?

A) faunal correlation
B) fission-track
C) stratigraphy
D) fluorine dating

Question 6

The context of a fossil is needed

A) to draw inferences about the fossil.
B) for use in reconstructions of past life.
C) for use in reconstructions of past environments.
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 7

Which of the following is NOT a chronometric dating technique?

A) fluoroscopy
B) dendrochronology
C) potassium-Argon (40K/40Ar)
D) thermoluminescence

Question 8

The major groups of mammals are

A) the marsupials, the multituberculates, and the placentals.
B) the monotremes, the marsupials, the multituberculates, and the placentals.
C) the monotremes, the marsupials, and the placentals.
D) the marsupials, the multituberculates, the primates, and the placentals.

Question 9

Mammalian traits include

A) homiothermy, a set of specific reproductive patterns, and a set of unique brain structures.
B) heterodontism, a set of specific reproductive patterns, and a set of unique brain structures.
C) homiothermy, heterodontism, a set of specific reproductive patterns, and a set of unique brain structures.
D) a set of specific reproductive patterns and a set of unique brain structures.

Question 10

After the mass extinction event 65 million years ago, _____________ underwent an adaptive radiation.

A) placentals
B) monotremes
C) marsupials
D) multituberculates

Question 11

After the mass extinction event 65 million years ago, _____________ quickly became extinct.

A) placentals
B) monotremes
C) marsupials
D) multituberculates

Question 12

Today, the vast majority of mammals are

A) placentals.
B) monotremes.
C) marsupials.
D) multituberculates.

Question 13

Today, only three species of mammals are

A) placentals.
B) monotremes.
C) marsupials.
D) multituberculates.

Question 14

During the Paleocene epoch, Pleseadapiformes

A) dramatically decreased in numbers.
B) underwent an adaptive radiation.
C) became extinct.
D) were not in evidence, having become extinct during the Lower epoch of the Cretaceous period.

Question 15

Fossil forms that meet all of the criteria for a true primate are first found in the _____________ epoch.

A) Oligocene
B) Paleocene
C) Miocene
D) Eocene

Question 16

Adapoids are found in the fossil record of

A) Africa, North America, South America, and Europe.
B) South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia.
C) Africa, North America, Europe, and Asia.
D) North America, Europe, and Asia.

Question 17

Omomyoids are found in the fossil record of

A) Africa, North America, and South America.
B) South America, Europe, and Asia.
C) Africa, North America, Europe, and Asia.
D) North America, Europe, and Asia.

Question 18

Fossil finds within the past few decades indicate the earliest anthropoids appeared in the _____________ epoch.

A) Oligocene
B) Paleocene
C) Miocene
D) Eocene

Question 19

The earliest anthropoids are found only in

A) North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia.
B) Africa and South and Southeast Asia.
C) Africa, Asia, and Europe.
D) Europe, North America, and Asia.

Question 20

Most of the modern primate forms show up in the fossil record of the _____________ epochs.

A) Pliocene and Pleistocene
B) Miocene and Pliocene
C) Oligocene and Miocene
D) Eocene and Oligocene

Question 21

Which of the following orders from the Archonta taxonomic group is now extinct?

A) Scandentia
B) Dermoptera
C) Pleseadapids
D) Chiroptera

Question 22

Which of the following is NOT an early form of modern mammals from the Eocene epoch?

A) rodentia
B) multituberculates
C) perissodactyla
D) cetaceans

Question 23

During the Oligocene, there was

A) an expansion in the number and diversity of herbivorous mammals.
B) an increase in the number and types of carnivorous predators.
C) Both A and B are correct.
D) Neither A nor B is correct.

Question 24

The El Fayum's Jebel Qatrani formation ranges in date from

A) the upper Oligocene through the late Miocene.
B) the lower Oligocene through the earliest Pliocene.
C) the upper Eocene through the earliest Miocene.
D) the upper Eocene through the earliest Pliocene.

Question 25

The definition of stratigraphy includes dating by

A) examining the relative amounts of chemicals in bone.
B) examining the relative amounts of minerals in bone.
C) correlating with fossils of known age.
D) using layers of earth.

Question 26

The specific association of all EXCEPT one of the following traits in the same organism helps define it as a primate. Which trait is NOT one of the main primate traits?

A) a high encephalization quotient
B) fast postnatal growth
C) a long gestation period
D) 3-D vision

Question 27

Unguiculate means

A) nails instead of claws on the ends of the digits.
B) a type of pterosaur that lived 65 million years ago.
C) a high encephalization quotient.
D) an enclosed eye socket.

Question 28

All of the following are possible ancestral hominoids EXCEPT

A) Nyanzapithecus.
B) Ouranopithecus.
C) Oreopithecus.
D) Purgatorius.

Question 29

Prehension in primates means

A) ability to grasp.
B) ability to think.
C) ability to think ahead of time.
D) ability to grasp ahead of time.

Question 30

Which of the following is NOT true about adapoids?

A) They were arboreal.
B) They had nails on their hands and feet.
C) They had relatively long legs, a long trunk, and a long tail.
D) They were similar to tarsiers.

Question 31

Which of the following is NOT one of the main hypotheses regarding the evolution of primates?

A) arboreal hypothesis
B) foraging hypothesis
C) visual adaptations hypothesis
D) angiosperm radiation hypothesis

Question 32

Which one of the following is NOT one of the characteristics of Oligocene fossils that fit our notions of what a primate is and what an anthropoid primate is?

A) more body hair
B) reduced nasal area
C) enclosed eye socket
D) generally small orbits

Question 33

Fossils of what may be the earliest primates are found in all of the following locations EXCEPT

A) Montana.
B) Australia.
C) China.
D) Morocco.

Question 34

Another word for neotropical monkeys is

A) Platyrrhines.
B) parapithecids.
C) Catarrhines.
D) callitrichids.

Question 35

Heterodontism means

A) having different types of teeth.
B) having different types of sexuality.
C) when the two sexes of one species have different types of teeth.
D) when the two sexes of one species exhibit different types of sexuality.

Question 36

All of the following are part of the cluster of structural traits that are used to define apes EXCEPT

A) modifications to the shoulder.
B) modifications to the arm.
C) high, sharp molar teeth.
D) lack of a tail.

Question 37

The specific association of all EXCEPT one of the following traits in the same organism helps define it as a primate. Which trait is NOT one of the main primate traits?

A) post-orbital bar
B) grasping hands and feet
C) nails instead of claws
D) hair on most of the body

Question 38

Which one of the following animals is NOT thought to have competed with the Pleseadapiformes, eventually causing their extinction?

A) rodents
B) marsupials
C) bats
D) primates

Question 39

Which of the following is a strong candidate for a direct (or very close) orangutan ancestor?

A) Gigantopithecus
B) Sivapithecus
C) Lufengpithecus
D) Dryopithecus

Question 40

The origin of primates seems to be tied to the diversification and radiation of which of the following?

A) insects
B) leafy plants
C) flowering plants
D) fruit plants

Question 41

Which of the following is NOT true of El Fayum?

A) Today, it is a desert.
B) Today, it is cold.
C) In the past, it was filled with tropical forests.
D) In the past, it was dotted with lakes.

Question 42

Which of the following is NOT true about the Eocene epoch?

A) It was generally warm and humid.
B) Most land environments were tropical and subtropical forests.
C) Many early forms of modern mammals had evolved before then.
D) At the beginning, North America and Europe were still joined.

Question 43

All of the following is true about chronometric dating techniques EXCEPT

A) they give us a specific age for a fossil.
B) they are based on analysis of a piece of the fossil itself or on analysis of the rocks surrounding the fossil.
C) examples include any of the radiometric methods.
D) many elements found in bones contain radioactive components that do not change over time.

Question 44

Which of the following is NOT true about omomyoids?

A) They generally had short, narrow snouts.
B) They show a strong resemblance to lemurs.
C) They generally had large eyes.
D) They moved about by leaping arboreally.

Question 45

Name, define, and give an example of the two broad categories of dating techniques. What determines which dating technique is used?

Question 46

There is a set of characteristics that generally tell us whether or not a mammal is a primate, and it is the specific association of these traits in the same organism that defines it as a primate. Name four traits that primates share with mammals and four traits that are unique to primates. For one of the traits, speculate as to why/how the trait evolved in primates.

Question 47

Name and describe the three main sets of ideas/theories about the kinds of selection pressures that would result in the appearance of a set of primate-like traits in the fossil record and the divergence of primates from a general mammalian form.

Question 48

Name the two main groups of anthropoid primates found in the early Fayum deposits, and describe two characteristics of each. Also, name which of the groups is believed to be linked to modern monkeys and apes, and why.

Question 49

Discuss the three main theories of how anthropoids came to be in South America. Which one of these possibilities do you believe is the most likely explanation and why?