EART 65: Natural History of Dinosaurs - Final Exam: Version A
This test has 75 questions, each worth 2 points. You may use your two page "cheat sheet". No
electronics. Turn in your scantron and this question sheet when you leave.
FIRST 25 QUESTIONS: FROM FIRST TWO-THIRDS OF THE CLASS (50 pts total)
1. What was the name of the first dinosaur described in a scientific paper?
a. Scelidosaurus
b. Troodon
c. Iguanodon
d. Megalosaurus
2.
Some mythical beasts may be based on people seeing and trying to understand dinosaur
fossils.
a. True
b. False
3.
Richard Owen, an early dinosaur worker, viewed dinosaurs as slow, reptile-like animals,
which affected scientific and public views of dinosaurs for much of the next century.
a. True
b. False
4. Which of the following is an example of a body fossil?
a. a foot print
b. a fossil feather
c. a coprolite
d. all the above
5. Which of the following taphonomic processes affects organic remains before burial?
a. compaction
b. cementation
c. trampling
d. all the above
6.
A key principle that allowed workers to put local columns of rock in relative temporal
order was the __________.
a. principle of superposition
b. principle of inclusions
c. principle of cross cutting relations
d. all the above
7.
Biological evolution is the theory that organisms are connected by ancestor-descendent
links and that they change through time.
a. True
b. False
8.
Which of the following is a component of the Theory of Natural Selection, as proposed by
Darwin?
a. Based on their particular traits, organisms show differences in fitness (i.e., mating ability, fertility,
fecundity or survivorship)
b. The existence of transitional intermediates (missing links) in the fossil record.
c. Inheritance of information from parent to offspring was particulate (i.e., based on genes and not
simple blending).
d. All the above
9.
Two shared derived characters uniting the Vertebrates are the possession of a nerve cord
and a stiff notocord on their dorsal surface.
a. True
b. False
10. The skull below, which has one temporal opening behind the eye (per side of the head), is
referred to as ____________________.
a. euryapsid
b. diapsid
c. synapsid
d. anapsid
1
11. The earliest dinosaurs, Herrerasaurus and Eoraptor, were small, bipedal carnivores.
a. True
b. False
12. The first dinosaurs appeared about ________ million years ago.
a. 300
b. 250
c. 230
d. 200
13. Bipedality and upright quadrupedal locomotion are both solutions to the problem of
simultaneous walking and breathing that living reptiles experience.
a. True
b. False
14. A shared derived trait that unites the Saurishcia is a lizard-hipped pelvis with a forward
projecting pubis.
a. True
b. False
15. Which of the following is a group of bird-like theropod dinosaurs with relatively big brains
and long fore limbs?
a. Herrerrasaurus
b. Carnosauria
c. Coelurosauria
d. all the above
16. The herbivorous saurischian dinosaur in the figure below, with a huge thumb claw and
long cervical vertebrae, is a _______________.
a. Pisanosaurus
b. prosauropod
c. sauropod
d. ornithopod
17. Sauropods had high encephalization quotients.
a. True
b. False
18. One reason researchers suspect stegosaur dorsal plates may have been used for
thermoregulation is that their surfaces were highly vascularized.
a. True
b. False
19. Stegosaurs defended themselves using tails bearing large spikes.
a. True
b. False
20. How did large dinosaurs deal with the fact that leg strength does not increase as fast as
the stress on the legs as bodies grow larger?
a. Kept the proportions of the leg constant as size increased.
b. Lived in water to support weight.
c. Kept legs straight when walking.
d. All of the above
21. Some herbivorous vertebrates are large and indiscriminant, consuming plant parts that
are rich in easily digested nutrients.
a. True
b. False
22. It is unlikely that “fat-head” pachycephalosaurs directly butted heads because they lack
structures to align the domes during strikes, and therefore would have experienced
dangerous glancing blows.
a. True
b. False
23. Advanced ornithopods, such as hadrosaurids, had complex dental batteries that allowed
them to chew their food finely in their mouths.
a. True
b. False
2
24. The dinosaur figured below, with horns and frills, is a ______________.
a. psittacosaur
b. ceratopsid
c. ornithopod
d. pachycephalosaur
25. Analysis of skull structure suggests that some hadrosaurid ornithopods may have
communicated using vocalizations.
a. True
b. False
NEXT 50 QUESTIONS: MOSTLY FROM THE LAST ONE-THIRD OF THE CLASS
MATCHING. Fill in the blanks using words from the list below. Pick the word that most closely fits the
definition or sentence (30 pts. total)
26. In _____________ the chief source of heat energy to keep the body in the optimal
temperature range comes from the external environment.
27. In _____________ the chief source of heat energy to keep the body in the optimal
temperature range is internal and comes from metabolic activity.
28. In _____________ the internal body temperature is kept relatively constant (± about 2°C).
29. The _____________ of a dinosaur can be calculated using relationships based on modern
animals if we know the cross-sectional area of its limb bones.
30. The _____________ equals stride length divided by leg length.
31. A replica of the internal volume of the brain case is called an _____________.
32. Offspring that are fairly helpless when born and need to be cared for by their parents are
called _____________. As a consequence, their parents have few offspring at time.
33. The most common birds of the Mesozoic were the _____________.
34. The first flying vertebrates were Permian _____________.
35. From the position of the __________ within the skull, we can deduce the angle at which
the head was held relative to the ground in pterosaurs and other animals.
36. The _____________ are marine reptiles with squat bodies, paddle-like limbs, long necks,
and small heads.
37. Relative to fish, amphibians and reptiles, most mammals have thick _____________ on
their teeth.
38. The earliest and most primitive mammals currently known is/are _____________.
39. Deposits left by tsunamis, which ring the Gulf of Mexico at the Cretaceous-Tertiary
boundary, are known as _____________.
40. The asteroid hypothesis for the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction was proposed after
scientists from Berkeley found unusually high concentration of _________ at a boundary
site in Italy.
3
Matching Answers
a.
enantiornithes = 33
b.
weight = 29
c.
relative speed
d.
endotherms = 27
e.
ornithurines
ab.
homeotherms = 28
ac.
iridium = 40
ad.
placodonts
ae.
ectotherms = 26
bc.
semi-circular canals = 35
bd.
tempestites = 39
be.
pterosaurs
cd.
ce.
de.
abc.
abd.
abe.
acd.
ace.
ade.
bcd.
bce.
cde.
relative stride length =30
endocast = 31
heterotherms
altricial = 32
pleisiosaurs = 36
height
enamel = 37
flocculus
multituberculates
lizards = 34
Morganucodon = 38
precocial
True or False: A = True, B = False (30 pts. total)
41. It takes more prey animals to feed an endotherm predator than to feed an ectothermic
predator. A
42. Very large dinosaurs would have been warmer than their surrounding and would have
had relatively invariant temperatures because they would not have shed heat efficiently.
A
43. The small nasal cavity volumes of some dinosaurs suggest that they did not have high
metabolic rates. A
44. There is evidence that some dinosaurs engaged in cannibalism. A
45. Growth rate data suggest that large theropods attained great size by living longer, not
growing faster. B
46. To calculate encephalization quotient, one must estimate both the mass of the brain and
the mass of the body. A
47. Internal fertilization of eggs first appeared in the vertebrates in the sharks. A
48. The furcula appeared in theropod dinosaurs, but it was not flexible as in modern birds. A
49. Birds evolved a special pulley structure in their shoulders that allows them to pull their
wings backwards by contracting a muscle on their chest. A
50. Primitive pterosaurs had long tails. A
51. Placodonts were large generalist aquatic carnivores related to monitor lizards. B
52. The quadrate-articular jaw joint of therapsids evolved into the malleus-incus middle ear
bones of mammals. A
53. Some living mammals lay eggs. A
54. Soot layers at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary suggest that the event involved massive
wildfires. A
55. The Deccan Traps are massive volcanic flows in India that span about 5 million years
across the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary. A
4
Multiple Choice (40 pts. total)
56. Living endotherms mostly all have ____________.
a. bipedal posture
b. bladders
c. insulating body covering
d. low EQs
57. Dense haversian bone (figured below) is no longer considered strong evidence for
dinosaur endothermy. Why?
a. It does not occur in many adult mammals.
b. It indicates fast growth, not a high metabolic rate.
c. It occurs in any bone that undergoes extensive remodeling in response to mechanic stress.
d. all of the above
58. The fact that some groups of dinosaurs lived at high latitudes is viewed by some workers
as evidence that these animals –––––––––––––––.
a. had warm body temperatures due to high metabolic rates
b. were ectotherms
c. were heterotherms
d. were not very bright
59. If a dinosaur had a foot print that was 1 m long, roughly how long was the leg that
produced that print?
a. 1 m
b. 2 m
c. 4 m
d. 10 m
60. Wilson & Fisher’s experiment suggest that brachiosaurs would produce manus only
prints __________.
a. only if they were swimming
b. when they were digging for food
c. only in rapid currents
d. if they were partially submerged, with their lighter back ends floating
61. Large theropods had a life history with ____________.
a. constant mortality from birth, to youth, to old age
b. moderate juvenile mortality, followed by a long period with little mortality late adulthood
c. very high juvenile mortality
d. a steadily increasing rate of mortality
62. Which of the following bird-like traits are observed in the eggs and nests of
coelurosaurs?
a. hard egg shells of calcium carbonate
b. some parental care and clutch attendance
c. a bird-like oviduct
d. all the above
5
63. Which of the following dinosaurs had the highest encephalization quotient?
a. stegosaurs
b. coelurosaurs
c. sauropods
d. carnosaurs
64. We argued in class that dinosaurs may have engaged in same sex coupling because of
their pattern of their relationships to which of the following living taxa that engage in
these behaviors?
a. birds
b. mammals
c. lizards and snakes
d. all the above
65. What trait possessed by modern birds did Archaeopteryx lack?
a. a keeled sternum
b. flight feathers
c. a pygostyle
d. pneumatic skeletons
66. What is a reason we believe that most feathered, non-avian theropod dinosaurs didn't fly?
a. They had few feathers on the arms and tail.
b. Their feathers were asymmetrically vaned.
c. They had relatively long arms.
d. All the above.
67. Which of the following structures reflects the stiffening and strengthening of bird
skeletons?
a. synsacrum
b. tarsometatarsus
c. carpometacarpus
d. all the above
68. These flying vertebrates have large head crests for steering, reduced tails, fused bones
(ribs, sacrum, sternum), and pneumatic foramen for their air-filled bones.
a. pterodactyloid pterosaurs
b. primitive pterosaurs
c. enantiornithine birds
d. Aves
69. Pterosaur brains have a large _____________, which is thought to be important for gaze
stabilization.
a. flocculus
b. otic lobe
c. olfactory bulb
d. cerebrum
70. _____________ were the most “fish-like” marine vertebrates, with fore and hind limbs
modified into flippers, tail and dorsal fins, and a beak-like snout with many pointy teeth.
a. Pliosaurs
b. Placodonts
c. Nothosaurs
d. Ichthyosaurs
71. What is a solution that mammals evolved to solve the problem of simultaneous walking
and breathing?
a. hepatic piston
b. upright posture
c. secondary palate
d. all the above
72. _______________ were archaic, herbivorous, rodent-like animals that first appeared in the
Jurassic.
a. Monotremes
b. Morganucodontids
c. Multituberculates
d. Marsupials
73. How might a comet or asteroid impact contribute to animal and plant extinction?
a. tsunami if the impact occurs in the ocean
b. intense heating and wild fires caused by blast and re-entry of debris from crater
c. climate changes induced by dust and gas injected into the atmosphere
d. all the above
74. Mineral grains with internal deformations generated by high-speed impact in laboratories,
at nuclear test sites, and at impact sites are called _______________.
a. chert
b. shocked quartz
c. tektites
d. cenotes
75. Which group underwent an evolutionary expansion after the K-T extinction?
a. placental mammals
b. Neornithe birds c. monotremes
d. all the above
e. a and b
6