Deck 12: The Early Primate Fossil Record and the Origins of the Hominins

Question 1

Most investigators believe the origins of the primates lie in the:

A)Cretaceous
B)Jurassic
C)Paleogene
D)Triassic

Answer 1

Cretaceous

Question 2

The earliest tarsiers are from:

A)Eocene,Egypt and China
B)Oligocene,Pakistan and China
C)Eocene,Kenya and Tanzania
D)Oligocene,India and Pakistan

Answer 2

Eocene,Egypt and China

Question 3

The Plesiadapiformes:

A)may represent the earliest primates
B)were small arboreal quadrupeds
C)lacked many characteristics of later primates,such as a grasping big toes
D)all of the above

Answer 3

all of the above

Question 4

The members of the family Adapidae are characterized by:

A)nocturnal habits
B)elongated tarsal bones
C)elongated snout
D)dental comb

Question 5

Primates that show anatomical features of living primates first appear at the beginning of the:

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

Question 6

The two distinct groups of primates that appear at the beginning of the Eocone are the:

A)Adapidae and Omomyidae
B)Omomyidae and Plesiadapiformes
C)Plesiadapiformes and Tarsiidae
D)Tarsiidae and Lemuridae

Question 7

Which of the following statements is true?

A)modern primates are not descended from Mesozoic mammals
B)Mesozoic mammals coexisted with dinosaurs
C)Mesozoic mammals included monkey-like and ape-like primates
D)none of the above

Question 8

The omomyids were:

A)nocturnal
B)insectivores
C)smaller than adapids
D)all of the above

Question 9

The members of the family Omomyidae resemble in some ways the modern:

A)tree shrews
B)lemurs
C)tarsiers
D)marmosets

Question 10

The earliest loris-like primate was:

A)Bugtilemur mathesoni
B)Ardipithecus ramidus
C)Karanisia clarki
D)Proconsul africanus

Question 11

Members of the Adapidae resemble in many ways modern:

A)tarsiers
B)New World monkeys
C)lemurs and lorises
D)Old World monkeys

Question 12

The features most essential to being defined as a tarsier include:

A)very long legs relative to the arms and trunk
B)an elongation of two ankle bones
C)fusing of the tibia and fibia
D)all of the above

Question 13

The earliest fossils that belong to the superfamily Lorisoidea were found:

A)Bugti Hills,Pakistan
B)Fayum,Egypt
C)Olduvia Gorge,Tanzania
D)Shang huang,China

Question 14

The earliest loris-like and galago-like primates date from the:

A)Middle Eocene
B)Late Oligocene
C)Early Paleocene
D)Early Miocene

Question 15

The Order Primates probably originated about:

A)84.5 million years ago
B)65.5 million years ago
C)52.5 million years ago
D)38.5 million years ago

Question 16

The earliest known lemur is from:

A)Middle Eocone,Egypt
B)Early Oligocene,Pakistan
C)Middle Eocene,China
D)Early Oligocene,Tanzania

Question 17

The earliest well-documented primate fossils date from the:

A)Late Miocene
B)Middle Oligocene
C)Early Paleocene
D)Middle Eocene

Question 18

Almost half of the known living and fossil primates species have been found in:

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

Question 19

The Plesiadapiformes lived in:

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

Question 20

The members of the family Omomyidae are characterized by:

A)unfused mandibular symphysis
B)V-shaped jaw
C)elongated tarsal bones
D)all of the above

Question 21

During the Middle Oligocene,ancestral ceboid monkeys could have traveled from Africa to South America because:

A)at that time,the two continents were connected
B)major lowering of sea levels facilitated crossing on natural rafts
C)an ice age created a connecting sheet of ice
D)none of the above;the Atlantic Ocean presented an impossible barrier,as it does today

Question 22

The New World monkeys most likely:

A)evolved independently in South America from a late omomyid
B)are descended from a group of early African anthropoids
C)are descended from a group of early Asian anthropoids
D)are descended from a group of early European anthropoids

Question 23

The Propliopithecidae include:

A)Aegyptopithecus
B)Catopithecus
C)Victoriapithecus
D)a and b
E)b and c

Question 24

The fact that Aegyptopithecus shows considerable sexual dimorphism might mean that:

A)males and females lived separate from each other
B)they lived in a complex social grouping
C)males and females ate entirely different types of food
D)the males hunted and the females gathered

Question 25

The parapithecids were:

A)early anthropoids
B)frugivores
C)very small
D)all of the above

Question 26

Aegyptopithecus seems to show a locomotor adaptation for:

A)arboreal quadrupedalism
B)brachiation
C)knuckle-walking
D)erect bipedalism

Question 27

New World and Old World monkeys exhibit many similarities due to:

A)descent from a common ancestor
B)occupying similar ecological niches
C)parallelism
D)all of the above

Question 28

The upper-sequence primates of the Jebel Qatrani Formation are classified into two families:

A)the Parapithecidae and the Propliopithecidae
B)the Adapidae and the Omomyidae
C)the Platyrrhini and the Catarrhini
D)none of the above

Question 29

One of the best known propliopithecoids is:

A)Parapithecus
B)Aegyptopithecus
C)Aeolopithecus
D)Oligopithecus

Question 30

The Jebel Qatrani Formation,containing rich deposits of fossil primates,spans the years:

A)65-55 million B.P.
B)42-38 million B.P.
C)36-33 million B.P.
D)12-8 million B.P.

Question 31

The oldest known New World fossil monkey is dated at about:

A)65 million B.P.
B)45 million B.P.
C)27 million B.P.
D)10 million B.P.

Question 32

The anthropoid primates first appear in the Middle to Late:

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

Question 33

Darwinius is a well-preserved fossil from:

A)China
B)East Africa
C)Europe
D)North America

Question 34

Aegyptopithecus was:

A)a true primate that lived in the Early Eocene of North America that resembles modern tarsiers
B)an early anthropoid that lived in the Early Oligocene of Egypt
C)an Early Miocene hominoid that lived in Kenya and may be ancestral to one of the ape lineages
D)a Late Miocene hominid that might be close to the common ancestor of chimpanzees and humans

Question 35

Aegyptopithecus is characterized by a:

A)long snout and relatively small brain
B)relative expansion of the visual areas and reduction of the olfactory areas of the brain
C)tail
D)all of the above

Question 36

An important Early Oligocene site in northern Africa is:

A)Rusinga Island
B)the Fayum
C)Olduvai Gorge
D)Sterkfontein

Question 37

Which of the following is not an early anthropoid?

A)the parapithecids
B)the propliopithecids
C)the adapids
D)all of the above

Question 38

Darwinius,a well-preserved fossil from Germany,is an early:

A)adapid
B)anthropoid
C)hominoid
D)hominin

Question 39

One of the most common mammals in the Fayum beds,Apidium,belongs to the family:

A)Parapithecidae
B)Propliopithecidae
C)Aegyptopithecidae
D)none of the above

Question 40

Early anthropoids can be distinguished from prosimians and tarsiers by:

A)complete bony eye sockets
B)single,fused frontal bone
C)deep mandibles with curved angular regions
D)all of the above

Question 41

The Old World monkeys seem to have first evolved in:

A)Africa
B)Asia
C)Europe
D)North America

Question 42

The movement of the Afro-Arabian plate into the Asian plate took place approximately:

A)23-21 million B.P.
B)16-12 million B.P.
C)12-10 million B.P.
D)8-6 million B.P.

Question 43

The oldest known Old World monkey is:

A)Victoriapithecus
B)Oligopithecus
C)Apidium
D)Theropithecus

Question 44

The oldest known New World fossil monkey is:

A)Branisella
B)Kondous
C)Micodon
D)Chilecebus

Question 45

As a result of the various geological events that took place during the Miocene,major climatic changes also took place that are associated with the development of:

A)a continuous tropical rainforest throughout most of Africa
B)many discontinuous habitats including savanna grasslands
C)a shallow sea over much of what is today Western Asia
D)major desert areas covering over 50 percent of Africa

Question 46

The earliest Old World monkeys are separated from the next-oldest known Old World monkeys by a gap in the fossil record of:

A)3 million years
B)7 million years
C)10 million years
D)15 million years

Question 47

In contrast with the modern apes,Proconsul is characterized by:

A)more vertically implanted incisors
B)thin dental enamel
C)V-shaped dental arcade
D)all of the above

Question 48

The earliest family of Old World monkeys belong to the family:

A)Cercopithecidae
B)Cebidae
C)Victoriapithecidae
D)Propliopithecidae

Question 49

Middle Miocene hominoids include:

A)Heliopithecus
B)Victoriapithecus
C)Dryopithecus
D)a and c
E)all of the above

Question 50

A geological event that is important to the understanding of hominoid evolution is the:

A)movement of South America away from Africa making the Atlantic Ocean wider than it was
B)movement of the Indian subcontinent into southern Asia creating the Himalayan Mountains
C)movement of the Afro-Arabian plate into the Asian plate creating a land bridge between Africa and Asia
D)drying up of the Mediterranean Sea during the Miocene permitting the free exchange of African and European fauna

Question 51

Early Miocene hominids are found in:

A)Asia
B)Africa
C)Europe
D)South America

Question 52

Which of the following statements is true about the Miocene hominids?

A)The Miocene hominids were very monkeylike,yet were moving around the trees using suspensory behavior.
B)While the Miocene hominids possessed apelike dentition,their postcranial skeletons were very generalized and did not show the postcranial specializations found in living apes.
C)The Miocene hominids were specialized leaf-eating primates,although there is some evidence that they hunted small game.
D)The direct ancestor of the orangutan and gorilla has been identified among the Miocene hominid fossils.

Question 53

The cercopithecoids only assume a dominant role in the mammalian fauna after:

A)the extinction of the dinosaurs
B)the number of hominoids diminished
C)they spread into the New World
D)all of the above

Question 54

The hominoids most likely evolved from the:

A)propliopithecids
B)parapithecids
C)pithecids
D)cercopithecoids

Question 55

Perhaps the best known of the early Miocene African hominids is:

A)Sivapithecus
B)Gigantopithecus
C)Oreopithecus
D)Proconsul

Question 56

The last sacral vertebra of Proconsul africanus indicates that the animal:

A)was a quadruped
B)had no tail
C)was bipedal
D)none of the above

Question 57

During the Miocene:

A)glacial ice expanded in Antarctica
B)volcanic eruptions contributed to an episode of major mountain building
C)a land connection developed between Africa and Asia
D)all of the above

Question 58

During the Middle Miocene,hominoids:

A)migrated from Africa into Europe and Asia
B)diversified,in part due to dietary specialization
C)underwent a major adaptive radiation
D)all of the above

Question 59

The known postcranial bones of Proconsul suggest that the major locomotion pattern of this form was:

A)knuckle-walking
B)brachiation
C)bipedalism
D)arboreal quadrupedalism

Question 60

Fossil hominoids underwent a major adaptive radiation during the:

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

Question 61

Sahelanthropus tchadensis was discovered in:

A)Chad
B)Ethiopia
C)Kenya
D)China

Question 62

"Orrorin tugenensis was an early hominin." This statement is:

A)true
B)partially true;Orrorin was a late hominin
C)debated by paleoanthropologists
D)false

Question 63

Those who suggest that Sahelanthropus is a hominin point to the following feature:

A)cranial capacity within the fossil Homo range
B)well-developed opposable thumb associated with early stone tools
C)features of pelvis and femur suggest it was an erect biped
D)none of the above

Question 64

The cranial capacity of Sahelanthropus is about:

A)240- 250 cubic centimeters
B)270-285 cubic centimeters
C)330-380 cubic centimeters
D)405-429 cubic centimeters

Question 65

Ardipithecus kadabba was classified as a hominin on the basis of:

A)evidence for erect bipedalism
B)the flatness of the face
C)an analysis of the teeth
D)all of the above

Question 66

Sahelanthropus tchadensis dates to around:

A)9-10 million B.P.
B)7-5 million B.P.
C)3-2 million B.P.
D)1- million to 500,000 B.P.

Question 67

Gigantopithecus has been found in:

A)Africa
B)Europe
C)Asia
D)all of the above

Question 68

The site of Aramis is located in:

A)China
B)Ethiopia
C)South Africa
D)Pakistan

Question 69

Dryopithecus:

A)is one of the best known Middle-Late Miocene hominoids
B)has bones that resemble the living apes
C)was characterized by suspensory behavior and orthograde posture
D)all of the above

Question 70

Sahelanthropus tchadensis is characterized by:

A)a small,chimp-like brain case
B)a relatively flat face
C)a large,continuous brow ridge
D)all of the above

Question 71

A fossil hominoid that was a contemporary with a member of the genus Homo is:

A)Sivapithecus
B)Gigantopithecus
C)Oreopithecus
D)Pliopithecus
E)none of the above

Question 72

The diet of Gigantopithecus probably emphasized the consumption of:

A)bamboo and fruit
B)insects and leaves
C)meat
D)none of the above

Question 73

Orrorin tugenensis was found in:

A)Kenya
B)South Africa
C)Germany
D)France

Question 74

Orrorin tugenensis dates to around:

A)1 million B.P.
B)3 million B.P.
C)4 million B.P.
D)6 million B.P.

Question 75

Pliopithecus was a(n):

A)African hominoid from the Early Miocene
B)European hominoid from the Middle Miocene
C)African prosimian from the Early Eocene
D)African anthropoid from the Late Eocene

Question 76

The Miocene Hominid Radiation refers to the rapid evolution in the Miocene of:

A)the early prosimians
B)the early Old World monkeys
C)the early New World monkeys
D)the early apes

Question 77

Oreopithecus possesses:

A)large canines
B)a high degree of sexual dimorphism
C)teeth adapted to processing leafy material
D)all of the above
E)a and c

Question 78

Gigantopithecus was:

A)a very large hominid that was ancestral to "Bigfoot"
B)misnamed hominid that was actually more the size of a living chimpanzee
C)a late-surviving member of the Miocene hominid radiation
D)an ancestor of the hominins

Question 79

Late Miocene hominoids include:

A)Dryopithecus
B)Oreopithecus
C)Sivapithecus
D)all of the above

Question 80

Sivapithecus possessed:

A)thick dental enamel
B)small canines
C)cusps on the large premolars and molars which were worn flat
D)all of the above