Deck 9: Primate Origins and Evolution: the First 50 Million Years

Question 1

The arboreal hypothesis proposes that defining primate characteristics were adaptations to life in the trees, such as

A) grasping hands and feet, developed vision, and greater intelligence.
B) grasping hands, tails, and intelligence.
C) developed vision, greater sense of smell, and tails.
D) developed vision, greater sense of smell, and grasping hands and feet.

Answer 1

grasping hands and feet, developed vision, and greater intelligence.

Question 2

The best-accepted hypothesis for the dispersal of African monkeys to the New World is that

A) platyrrhines evolved from early primates that migrated to South America from North America.
B) platyrrhines evolved from anthropoids in Africa that migrated to South America by crossing a narrower Atlantic Ocean, or via Antarctica.
C) platyrrhines evolved from anthropoids in Asia that migrated across the Pacific to South America.
D) Old and New World anthropoids evolved independently from different lineages in Africa and South America, respectively.

Answer 2

platyrrhines evolved from anthropoids in Africa that migrated to South America by crossing a narrower Atlantic Ocean, or via Antarctica.

Question 3

Basal anthropoids are

A) Paleocene primates that may have been the first anthropoids.
B) Paleocene organisms that may have been the first primates.
C) Eocene organisms that may have been the first primates.
D) Eocene primates that are the earliest anthropoids.

Answer 3

Eocene primates that are the earliest anthropoids.

Question 4

Which two genera have been considered possible ancestors to the orangutan?

A) Gigantopithecus and Sivapithecus
B) Gigantopithecus and Khoratpithecus
C) Khoratpithecus and Gigantopithecus
D) Sivapithecus and Khoratpithecus

Question 5

Euprimates represent the first true

A) anthropoids.
B) primates.
C) mammals.
D) catarrhini.

Question 6

Monkeys underwent massive ________ in the Pliocene and Pleistocene.

A) extinction
B) adaptive radiation
C) migration
D) diversification

Question 7

The evolution of apes began in Africa and continued in

A) Europe and Asia.
B) Asia and South America.
C) Europe and South America.
D) Greece and South America.

Question 8

Gigantopithecus stood ________ feet tall and weighed ________ pounds.

A) four; 300
B) 10; 660
C) six; 250
D) five; 400

Question 9

Which genus is considered the ancestor to adapids and omomyids?

A) Notharctus
B) Proconsul
C) Carpolestes
D) Eosimias

Question 10

Plesiadapiforms are also called

A) proprimates.
B) dryopithecids.
C) proconsulids.
D) adapids.

Question 11

The angiosperm radiation hypothesis proposes that

A) primates' unique traits are an adaptation to living in trees.
B) primate traits arose as adaptations to preying on insects.
C) certain primate traits were responses to the acquisition of fruit during the Cenozoic.
D) primates could see predators in advance.

Question 12

Comparisons of tooth wear in living apes and extinct Miocene apes suggest that some extinct species of apes ate

A) insects, fruit, and leaves.
B) leaves, grass, and bark.
C) leaves, nuts, and fruits.
D) nuts, fruits, and small animals.

Question 13

Two genera of propliopithecids include

A) Aegyptopithecus and Micropithecus.
B) Propliopithecus and Aegyptopithecus.
C) Micropithecus and Aegyptopithecus.
D) Propliopithecus and Proconsul.

Question 14

Like that of Dryopithecus, a modern gorilla mandible has

A) sharp, high crests on the teeth.
B) large canines and no diastema.
C) a Y-5 molar pattern and sinodonty.
D) a Y-5 molar pattern; low, rounded cusps; large canines; and a diastema.

Question 15

A difference between Miocene apes and modern apes is the

A) length of the tail.
B) breadth of the ribcage.
C) size of the hands.
D) morphology of the foot.

Question 16

The Fayum depression has yielded fossils of

A) oligopithecids, parapithecids, and propliopithecids.
B) Proconsul, Notharctus, and Adapis.
C) Eosimias, Biretia, and Micropithecus.
D) Proconsul, Eosimias, and Adapis.

Question 17

The visual predation hypothesis proposes that

A) better vision allowed for better access to fruits and small insects.
B) primate traits arose as adaptations to preying on insects and small animals.
C) species could see predators from farther away, thereby securing time to flee.
D) predators had the ability to see primates better.

Question 18

Canadian primate paleontologist David Begun proposes that climate changes in Europe prompted late Miocene apes to

A) migrate to Asia from Europe following food sources.
B) take advantage of lower sea levels to migrate from Europe to South America.
C) spread to Europe from Africa following the expansion of tropical forests.
D) move from Europe back to Africa following food sources.

Question 19

Paleocene organisms that may have been the first primates were

A) adapids.
B) proconsulids.
C) dryopithecids.
D) plesiadapiforms.

Question 20

Khoratpithecus has been proposed as the

A) oldest fossil in Africa.
B) ancestor to Gigantopithecus.
C) ancestor to orangutans.
D) ancestor to Aegyptopithecus.

Question 21

A species that is adapted to a wide range of environments, climates, and diets is

A) highly specialized.
B) likely undergoing further evolution.
C) biologically diverse.
D) likely to go extinct.

Question 22

During the Miocene epoch of the Cenozoic era, there was an adaptive radiation of which kind of primate?

A) prosimians
B) monkeys
C) apes
D) humans

Question 23

The MOST distinctive feature of ape dentition, which clearly distinguishes apes from Old World monkeys, is

A) a 2/1/2/3 dental formula.
B) a long canine tooth in males.
C) a Y-5 molar pattern.
D) bilophodont molars.

Question 24

Which Eocene organisms had clear primate characteristics like a postorbital bar, opposable thumbs, nails, and a large brain?

A) proprimates and euprimates
B) adapids and omomyids
C) basal anthropoids
D) plesiadapiforms

Question 25

Which anatomical feature would you expect to find in the fossil remains of a nocturnal species?

A) long legs
B) pointy teeth
C) large eye orbits
D) short fingers and toes

Question 26

The MOST likely contender for the common ancestor of all later catarrhines is

A) Oligopithecus.
B) Aegyptopithecus.
C) Parapithecus.
D) Apidium.

Question 27

The northern African fossil primate called Biretia may be an early anthropoid, based on the morphology of its

A) ankle.
B) skull.
C) lower premolar tooth.
D) pelvis.

Question 28

Which of the following species of early primates had the MOST biological diversity?

A) Eosimias
B) Proconsul
C) Dryopithecus
D) Oreopithecus

Question 29

If you are examining the fossil remains of the genus Dryopithecus, they are MOST likely from where?

A) India
B) Bolivia
C) France
D) China

Question 30

Based on genetic analysis of living primates calibrated by the fossil record, it is estimated that apes and Old World monkeys diverged into separate lineages around ________ mya.

A) 5
B) 10
C) 15
D) 25

Question 31

Which of the following distinguishes Khoratpithecus from Sivapithecus?

A) Khoratpithecus's molars are more similar to those of living chimpanzees than Sivapithecus's molars are.
B) Whereas Khoratpithecus lived in the area now known as France and Spain, Sivapithecus lived in Thailand.
C) Khoratpithecus's broad front teeth and a flat surface on the tongue side of the canines make it more similar than Sivapithecus to living orangutans.
D) Sivapithecus has dental features making it more similar to modern orangutans, while Khoratpithecus has postcranial bones that most closely resemble modern chimpanzees.

Question 32

The calcaneus (heel bone) of Eosimias suggests that it may be a very primitive

A) primate.
B) anthropoid.
C) New World monkey.
D) ape.

Question 33

Apes first appear in Europe and Asia from about ________ mya.

A) 17
B) 6
C) 10
D) 12

Question 34

Apes went extinct in southern Europe (including France, Spain, Italy, and Greece) during the late Miocene, probably as a result of

A) a meteor impact.
B) a disease pandemic.
C) climate change.
D) early humans hunting them for food.

Question 35

The space between the canine and the first premolar in the lower jaw of some primates is a(n)

A) retrocanine space.
B) alveolus.
C) mandibular gap.
D) diastema.

Question 36

Sivapithecus is widely recognized as an ancestral member of which ape lineage?

A) gorilla
B) orangutan
C) chimpanzee
D) gibbon

Question 37

Which fossil group is characterized by an eye orbit fully enclosed by bone?

A) adapids
B) plesiadapiforms
C) anthropoids
D) omomyids

Question 38

Which of the following apes has been proposed as the last common ancestor of living African apes and humans?

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

Question 39

The similarity of the foot bones between ________ and the living anthropoids makes it the likely first higher primate.

A) Proconsul
B) Micropithecus
C) Dryopithecus
D) Eosimias

Question 40

A rapid temperature increase about 55 mya created tropical conditions around the world, resulting in the

A) adaptive radiation of Euprimates.
B) development of Dryopithecus.
C) spread of Sivapithecus.
D) extinction of many primate species.

Question 41

Discuss the selective pressures operating in the late Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene that favored an adaptive radiation of monkeys and contributed to decreased diversity among apes.

Question 42

Why is the Fayum depression in Egypt such an important site for understanding the origin and diversification of anthropoid primates?

Question 43

The shift from the Miocene, which had greater diversity of ape species and fewer monkey species, to a living assemblage with greater diversity of monkey species and fewer ape species may be the result of

A) global climate changes that resulted in cooler, wetter environments less optimal for ape species.
B) differences in ability to exploit the habitats that resulted after a change in global climate.
C) cooler climates, where it is more difficult to preserve larger ape fossils.
D) declines in ape diversity, caused by competition from hominin species.

Question 44

Discuss the evolution of primates beginning with the Paleocene proprimates.In your answer, consider the effect of climate change on the environment and primates' environmental adaptations.

Question 45

Name, briefly describe, and contrast the three hypotheses of primate origins.