Deck 26: Amniote Origins and Nonavian Reptiles

Question 1

Turtle fossils appear in the _____.

A) Permian
B) Triassic
C) Carboniferous
D) Jurassic
E) Cretaceous

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Since a turtle's shell essentially immobilizes the ribs,how does the turtle breathe?

A) A turtle resorts to the amphibian system of positive pressure breathing.
B) The turtle has such a low metabolic rate that all oxygen requirements can be met by passive absorption without ventilation mechanisms.
C) The turtle wags its tail to change the volume within the shell and assist ventilation.
D) The turtle draws its shoulder girdle back to exhale and contracts limb flank muscles to inhale.
E) The ribs are allowed a small amount of leeway to move; rhythmic compression of the carapace on the plastron accomplishes this.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The evolution of joints between the skull and jaw,as well as new joints allowing the jaws to separate and manipulate food,has resulted in a ________ jaw.

A) anaspid
B) mandibular
C) laterally independent
D) diaspid
E) kinetic

Answer 3

E

Question 4

Birds and _____________ belong to a monophyletic group apart from other reptiles and are assigned to the clade ___________.

A) dinosaurs, therapsida
B) mammals, therapsida
C) crocodilians, therapsida
D) crocodilians, archosauria
E) turtles, sauropterygia

Question 5

Which list below includes the four monophyletic nonavian reptilian groups?

A) Dinosaurs, modern reptiles, birds, and mammals
B) Turtles, crocodilians, lizards, and snakes
C) Dinosaurs, turtles, squamates, and crocodilians
D) Turtles, crocodilians, squamates, and tuataras
E) Dinosaurs, tuataras, crocodilians, and all other modern reptiles

Question 6

Which of these terms would be used by cladists to describe the members of the class Reptilia?

A) Monophyletic
B) Polyphyletic
C) Paraphyletic
D) A subset of the class Aves
E) None of the choices are correct.

Question 7

A unique anatomical design in turtles is that the

A) cranium is fused to the ribs.
B) ribs articulate with the backbone.
C) ribs have been totally lost.
D) limb girdles are inside the ribs.
E) sternum is fused with the ribs.

Question 8

The Age of Reptiles consisted of the

A) Silurian, Permian, and Jurassic.
B) Permian, Triassic, and Jurassic.
C) Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous.
D) Permian, Jurassic, and Cretaceous.
E) Paleocene, Miocene, and Eocene.

Question 9

Which association of lineages and eventual derived groups is NOT correct?

A) Anaspids-turtles
B) Diapsids-all "reptilian" groups except turtles
C) Lepidosaurs-only extinct ichthyosaurs and pterodons
D) Synapsids-mammals
E) Archosaurs-dinosaurs, crocodilians, and birds

Question 10

Nonavian reptiles are a paraphyletic group because

A) they do not have a common ancestry.
B) they have a common ancestry.
C) they do not include all descendants of their most recent common ancestor.
D) they include all descendants of their most recent common ancestor.

Question 11

The nonavian reptile scale is

A) mostly made of beta keratin.
B) derived from dermis.
C) contains chromatophores.
D) an important protective surface.
E) All of the choices are correct.

Question 12

What is the name of the bottom plate on a turtle,which is continuous with the breastbone (sternum)?

A) Costal
B) Plastron
C) Carapace
D) Dorsum
E) Ventrum

Question 13

For reproduction,a sea turtle

A) reverts to amphibian strategies and lays eggs in the water.
B) must return to shore to lay eggs on land.
C) retains the eggs until they hatch, or is ovoviviparous.
D) has resorted to full viviparity.
E) None of the choices are correct.

Question 14

Lecithotrophy and placentotrophy are strategies for

A) supplying nutrients in eggs before they are laid.
B) determining the sex of offspring.
C) incubating a nest of reptile eggs.
D) providing nutrients to the developing young of viviparous and ovoviviparous reptiles.
E) disposing of the placenta of newly born reptiles.

Question 15

Nonavian reptiles are different from amphibians in that reptiles possess which of the following?

A) A tough, scaly skin that provides protection against desiccation
B) Some form of copulatory organ permitting internal fertilization
C) A shelled egg that can be laid on dry land
D) More muscular jaws
E) All of the choices are nonavian reptilian characteristics.

Question 16

Amniotes arose from the ____________ during the early Carboniferous.

A) Anthracosaurs
B) Anaspids
C) Diapsids
D) Lepidosaurs
E) Synapsids

Question 17

We don't find the eggs of garter snakes,rattlesnakes,and copperheads because they retain the eggs internally.Their young appear to be born alive,but actually "hatch" inside.These snakes are _____.

A) nulliparous
B) viviparous
C) oviparous
D) ovoviviparous
E) placentotrophic

Question 18

When do lizards appear and radiate in the fossil record?

A) Lizards appeared in the Permian and rapidly radiated to give rise to the dinosaurs that dominated the next time periods.
B) Lizards appeared in the Jurassic but did not radiate until the Cretaceous when dinosaurs were near the end of their reign.
C) Lizards appeared in the Jurassic as a branch of small dinosaurs and radiated rapidly in the Cretaceous.
D) Lizards appeared in the Cretaceous and rapidly radiated.
E) Snakes took to the surface in the Permian and gradual selection for limbs allowed lizards to radiate in the Triassic.

Question 19

The anapsid skull is characterized by

A) two pairs of openings separated by a bony arch.
B) a single pair of openings and a bony arch.
C) no temporal openings and the skull roofed with dermal bone.
D) three pairs of openings to accommodate the nerves from an expanding sensory system.
E) a beak-like process that associates the turtles and the birds.

Question 20

Which describes viviparity in living reptiles?

A) It has evolved at least 100 times.
B) It increases the length of time the eggs are kept in the oviduct.
C) It is usually associated with cold climates.
D) It is only found in squamates.
E) All of these choices are correct.

Question 21

Crocodiles have a complete secondary palate that allows them to

A) cool off in hot weather by "gaping".
B) breathe while the mouth is filled with water or food.
C) smell the animal that they have seized.
D) make loud mating calls.
E) detect the warmth of prey.

Question 22

Which of the following is a feature of alligator reproduction?

A) The female hears the young and digs open the nest to help them escape.
B) The male alligator bellows during mating season.
C) Incubation temperature determines the sex ratio of the offspring.
D) The mother guards the area where the eggs are incubating.
E) All of these choices are correct.

Question 23

The scales of nonavian reptiles are derived from the ________.

Question 24

Rather than urea or ammonia,the nitrogenous wastes of reptiles are excreted as ______ ______.

Question 25

In turtles,the ribs are fused to the dorsal portion of the shell,called the _________.

Question 26

When a snake flicks its tongue out to "taste" the air or my hand,it must return the tips of the tongue past the _____________ in the roof of its mouth to detect the "taste."

A) heat-sensitive pits
B) kinetic skull
C) parietal eye
D) fangs
E) Jacobson's organ

Question 27

The dermal layer of the reptile skin contains color-bearing cells called ____________.

Question 28

Amniotes having a skull with two temporal openings on each side are called ________.
or
diapsid

Question 29

Snake venoms are generally of two types (or a mixture of the two)that include

A) kidney toxins and neurotoxins.
B) hemorrhagins and paralytic toxins.
C) kidney toxins and paralytic toxins.
D) hemorrhagins and neurotoxins.
E) venoms and antivenin.

Question 30

Which of the following is least related to the others?

A) Great Plains skink
B) Tokay gecko
C) Iguana
D) New Zealand tuatara
E) Gila monster

Question 31

The _______________ is a small,agile,mostly nocturnal lizard that has adhesive toe pads that enables it to walk upside down on a ceiling.

A) iguana
B) skink
C) chameleon
D) gecko
E) gila monster

Question 32

When a snake is swimming,it is using what kind of movement?

A) Rectilinear movement
B) Sidewinding
C) Lateral undulation
D) Concertina movement
E) None of the choices are correct.

Question 33

The order Squamata is divided into two suborders,the Serpentes and the ____________.

Question 34

The tuatara

A) is found in southwestern United States.
B) is snakelike in its features.
C) is the only surviving dinosaur relative.
D) has a well-developed parietal eye.
E) All of the choices are correct.

Question 35

Which of the following families contains venomous snakes?

A) Viperidae-pit vipers and Old World vipers
B) Elapidae-mambas, coral snakes and kraits
C) Hydrophiidae-sea snakes
D) Colubridae-common snakes, a few poisonous species
E) All of the choices are correct

Question 36

In the nonavian reptilian egg,the embryo is bathed in a fluid contained within an extra-embryonic membrane called the __________________.

Question 37

Lizards and snakes are closely related; there are a number of poisonous snakes.How common are venomous lizards?

A) Many venomous tropical species exist.
B) No lizards are venomous.
C) All lizards are at least a little poisonous but only the big ones have enough venom to be worrisome.
D) They are uncommon: In North America, the Gila Monster and Mexican Beaded lizards are the only lizards venomous to humans.
E) None of the choices are correct.

Question 38

What is the form of snake movement that allows it to move in a narrow passage,extending forward while bracing S-shaped loops against the sides of the passageway?

A) Rectilinear movement
B) Sidewinding
C) Lateral undulation
D) Concertina movement
E) None of the choices are correct

Question 39

To separate a limbless (glass)lizard from a real snake,what could you look for?

A) Ear openings on the lizard, missing in snakes
B) Rough scales on lizards, smooth scales on snakes
C) Lizards at night, snakes in the daytime
D) Lizards in trees, snakes on the ground
E) All of the choices are differences between lizards and snakes

Question 40

The synapsid lineage gave rise to present day ______.

Question 41

Crocodile teeth are set in sockets,a type of dentition called ____________ that was typical of archosaurs and early birds.

Question 42

Outline the biological contributions of the Reptilia.What advances do they exhibit over the Amphibia?

Question 43

Describe the advances of the amniotic egg of nonavian reptiles.Explain clearly why this is such a momentous evolutionary advance.

Question 44

Draw and label a simple cladogram or phylogenetic tree and describe the traits turtles possess that are different from the other reptilian groups.

Question 45

If beta-keratin is unique to nonavian reptiles,how can one say that keratin is a shared feature of nonavian reptiles,birds,and mammals?

Question 46

Why should limbs be secondarily lost in so many lineages of nonavian reptiles?

Question 47

Surviving tuataras (Sphenodon)are mostly restricted to a group of islands off the coast of ______ ______.

Question 48

Give support to the contention that the traditional class "Reptilia" is paraphyletic.If it is paraphyletic,what would you do to "fix" the situation?

Question 49

Nonavian reptiles that lay shelled eggs with development occurring outside the mother's body are __________.

Question 50

_________ __________ is the name of the organ in the roof of a snake's mouth that is used to detect taste/smell.

Question 51

Compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of being either endothermic or ectothermic.Are there any endothermic "nonavian reptiles?"

Question 52

Discuss the probable parental care of the dinosaurs.What kinds of evidence are used to support this claim?

Question 53

Describe sex determination in the Crocodilia.Speculate on the evolution of such a system.

Question 54

Discuss the two distinct views of reptile-bird-mammal classification held by cladists and evolutionary phylogeneticists.Since the "family tree" that they would draw is the same,clarify what classification concept(s)is controversial.

Question 55

Describe the unique morphological characteristics of amphisbaenians and explain how these differ from snakes.

Question 56

Discuss the origin and adaptive diversification of Reptilian groups.

Question 57

Snakes that have special heat-sensitive pits on their heads are called ______ ______.

Question 58

The nonavian reptilian kidney is of the advanced ___________ type with their passageways (ureters)to the exterior.

Question 59

Discuss the circulatory system (both pulmonary and systemic circuits)of crocodilians.Why should crocodilians,with 4-chambered hearts be classified with the nonavian reptiles? Do they share this feature with birds as a homology or a secondarily evolved condition (an analogy)?

Question 60

Discuss the shared derived characters of nonavian reptiles and birds (e.g.,type of skull,aglandular skin,etc.).