Deck 9: From Tree Shrew to Ape

Question 1

In general, larger continents have

A) calmer weather than smaller continents.
B) the same weather as smaller continents.
C) more severe weather than smaller continents.
D) more consistent weather than smaller continents.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

________ dating determines an accurate age of single rock crystals.

A) Carbon-14
B) Thermoluminescence
C) Electron-spin-resonance
D) Argon-argon

Answer 2

D

Question 3

During the Permian and Triassic eras, much of the world's fauna was dominated by

A) trilobites.
B) amphibians.
C) reptiles.
D) mammals.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Fossils are formed when

A) rocks are heated by volcanic activity.
B) rocks are cooled after volcanic activity.
C) bone is mineralized by surrounding rock.
D) animals die slowly through starvation.

Question 5

Which of the following statements concerning climate change is correct?

A) Because Pangaea was so large, it probably had much colder winter weather than Asia does today.
B) Because Pangaea was so large, it facilitated the circulation of water from the tropics to the poles.
C) Cold areas of the world today, such as Alaska, were always cold.
D) Europe was never tropical.

Question 6

Continental drift is

A) the movement of continents.
B) the presence of genetic drift in a continental population.
C) the presence of a founder effect within a single continent.
D) the cooling of a single continent due to a drift in climatic conditions.

Question 7

Potassium-argon dating can only be used to date

A) recent archaeological sites.
B) very young rocks.
C) young fossils.
D) very old fossils or rocks.

Question 8

During the last 65 million years, the climate

A) first warmed, then cooled, and most recently became variable.
B) underwent a constant cooling trend, with decreasing variability.
C) underwent a constant warming trend, with some recent variability.
D) did not change.

Question 9

The first mammals evolved from

A) dinosaurs.
B) birds.
C) therapsids.
D) reptiles.

Question 10

The first mammals were

A) large and diurnal.
B) small and nocturnal.
C) large and cathemeral.
D) small and crepuscular.

Question 11

What is Pangaea?

A) A single landmass that contained all present-day continents.
B) The view that all mammals evolved in Gaea.
C) The specific geographic location where all life originated.
D) Evidence of an ancient underwater biome.

Question 12

Carbon-14 dating can be used to date

A) old volcanic rocks.
B) old sedimentary rocks.
C) young organic material.
D) young apatite crystals.

Question 13

Gondwanaland was a landmass that consisted of

A) all present-day continents.
B) all present-day continents except for Asia.
C) none of the continents that are present today.
D) most of the continents in the Southern Hemisphere.

Question 14

Why is continental drift important to our understanding of primate evolution?

A) It can facilitate speciation.
B) It can cause random changes in gene frequencies.
C) It produces adaptations.
D) It increases mutations.

Question 15

Radiometric dating is possible because

A) isotopes decay at a known rate.
B) older layers are deeper than younger layers.
C) when rocks are formed, chemical signatures determine how long they will last.
D) when rocks are formed, their chemical configuration never changes.

Question 16

Around 200 mya, contemporary continents

A) had not been formed into land yet.
B) were underneath the ocean.
C) were joined together into a single continent.
D) were joined together into two continents.

Question 17

Which of the following important geological events occurred approximately 150 mya?

A) Laurasia divided into Pangaea and Gondwanaland.
B) Gondwanaland divided into North America and Europe.
C) Pangaea divided into Laurasia and Gondwanaland.
D) India moved north to join Europe.

Question 18

Laurasia was a landmass that consisted of

A) all present-day continents.
B) all present-day continents except for Asia.
C) none of the continents that are present today.
D) North America, Europe, and Asia.

Question 19

Radiometric techniques provide researchers with the ability to

A) search for extraterrestrials.
B) extract DNA from inside fossils.
C) determine the morphology of a fossil.
D) determine the age of a fossil.

Question 20

Carbon-14 is described as unstable because

A) it starts to decay after a plant or animal dies.
B) it changes to carbon-12 faster than carbon-12 changes to carbon-14.
C) it is more susceptible to radiation than is carbon-12.
D) it never changes and is not a good isotope for radiometric dating.

Question 21

Imagine a fossil specimen with huge eye sockets. This animal was most likely

A) a predator.
B) a prey animal.
C) nocturnal.
D) diurnal.

Question 22

________ are important in electron-spin-resonance dating.

A) Apatite crystals
B) Volcanic rocks
C) Unstable carbon isotopes
D) High-energy nuclear particles

Question 23

The plesiadapiforms

A) were alive during the Oligocene.
B) lived in forested habitats.
C) were the earliest mammals.
D) had teeth that were adapted to eat only fruits.

Question 24

The discovery of Carpolestes simpsoni supports the idea that

A) the earliest primates were insect predators.
B) primate characteristics coevolved to facilitate leaping.
C) orbital convergence evolved after grasping hands and feet.
D) the earliest primates foraged on plant resources and insects at night.

Question 25

The first primates that were similar to modern monkeys appeared

A) at Fayum in Egypt.
B) during the Paleocene.
C) about 5 million years ago.
D) at the same time as the dinosaurs.

Question 26

The Adapidae were a group of early primates that

A) had smaller eye sockets than the Omomyidae.
B) were nocturnal.
C) were smaller than the Omomyidae.
D) had longer tarsal calcaneus bones than the Omomyidae.

Question 27

The fossil haplorrhines and the propliopithecids

A) were nocturnal.
B) had claws.
C) had a 2.1.2.3 dental formula.
D) had a 2.2.4.4 dental formula.

Question 28

The earliest primates

A) were large-brained, diurnal monkeys found in Africa.
B) had nails on their fingers like modern humans.
C) had fully enclosed eye sockets like modern humans.
D) were small, nocturnal, and found in North America and Europe.

Question 29

Early primates likely evolved to exploit new niches provided by

A) arboreality.
B) flowering plants.
C) the breakup of Pangaea.
D) insectivory.

Question 30

________ is based on an effect of high-energy nuclear particles traveling through rock.

A) Radioactive decay
B) Electron-spin-resonance
C) Thermoluminescence
D) Carbon-14

Question 31

Compared with the Eocene, the Oligocene was characterized by

A) continued separation of North and South America.
B) colder, more variable global temperatures.
C) a change in the Northern Hemisphere from deciduous to tropical forests.
D) warmer, more consistent temperatures.

Question 32

Which of the following derived characteristics did the earliest oligopithecid primates share with modern haplorrhines?

A) Their eye sockets were fully enclosed by bone.
B) They had a 2.1.3.3 dental formula.
C) They were nocturnal.
D) They had prehensile tails.

Question 33

Which of the following statements correctly characterizes the Fayum Depression during the Oligocene?

A) Its community included strepsirrhines, omomyids, and haplorrhines.
B) It was a desert.
C) It did not have any animals other than primates.
D) It is where the oldest primate fossils on record came from.

Question 34

The Eocene primates had most of the features that modern primates share, including

A) grasping hands and feet.
B) claws.
C) small brains.
D) long snouts.

Question 35

Which of the following Oligocene haplorrhines had the most primitive traits?

A) The propliopithecids
B) The parapithecids
C) The oligopithecids
D) The omomyids

Question 36

Modern ________ were most likely derived from the propliopithecids.

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

Question 37

Plesiadapiforms had several primitive features, including

A) nails instead of claws.
B) eyes that were placed on the sides of their heads.
C) the presence of a postorbital bar.
D) habitual terrestrial behavior.

Question 38

Radiometric dating is problematic because

A) it cannot be used in conjunction with other dating techniques.
B) the earth's magnetic field changes periodically.
C) these methods have relatively large margins for error.
D) many fossils of interest were present only during a limited period of time.

Question 39

The Omomyidae were a group of early primates that

A) were similar to modern tarsiers.
B) specialized in fruit.
C) had small eye sockets.
D) had large bodies.

Question 40

During which era did the first primates with modern features evolve?

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

Question 41

Multiple hypotheses seek to explain how New World monkeys arrived in South America. According to the chapter, what are some of these hypotheses?

Question 42

Why is it important to consider continental drift when studying primate evolution?

Question 43

________ provides the first evidence for suspensory locomotion among the fossil hominoids.

A) Morotopithecus
B) Dryopithecus
C) Chororapithecus
D) Proconsul

Question 44

Discuss the different hypotheses that the chapter presents for how the first primates adapted to share the same suite of diagnostic characteristics.

Question 45

________ is a derived feature that Proconsul shares with living apes and humans.

A) The absence of a tail
B) The presence of short upper limbs
C) The presence of a narrow chest
D) Thin tooth enamel

Question 46

The first hominoid, known as Proconsul, appeared

A) after Kenyapithecus.
B) during the Miocene.
C) in a woodland environment.
D) in Africa.

Question 47

You are an expert paleontologist reviewing the work of Professor Bonefinder, who recently discovered the remains of a primate fossil from South America. The fossil has a long snout, a tail, and large orbits that face toward the side and are only partially enclosed. The fossil has been securely dated to about 30 mya. Bonefinder concluded that this fossil is a hominoid. Do you think Professor Bonefinder's analysis is correct? Explain your evaluation.

Question 48

Compare and contrast the three families of Fayum haplorrhines (oligopithecids, parapithecids, propliopithecids). What characteristics did they share with living groups of primates?

Question 49

Although Pierolapithecus shared some derived morphological characteristics with modern great apes, it lacked

A) flexible wrists.
B) a stiff and short lumbar spine.
C) highly curved fingers.
D) a wide, shallow rib cage.

Question 50

Modern orangutans most likely evolved from

A) Kenyapithecus.
B) Dryopithecus.
C) Ouranopithecus.
D) Sivapithecus.

Question 51

________ are characterized by small incisors and large premolars with sharp crests.

A) Frugivores
B) Folivores
C) Insectivores
D) Faunivores

Question 52

Fossil New World primates

A) were small bodied.
B) first evolved during the Eocene.
C) were terrestrial.
D) had three premolars.

Question 53

Apes from the Middle Miocene adapted to have ________ because they ate harder foods than their predecessors.

A) molars with thick enamel and rounded cusps.
B) narrow zygomatic arches.
C) robust upper jaws.
D) molars with thin enamel and sharp cusps.

Question 54

What kind of environment did the earliest primates evolve in?

Question 55

Which of the following characteristics did the first hominoids share with modern apes?

A) Limbs of equal length
B) A narrow thorax
C) Larger brains than monkeys
D) Tooth adaptations for insectivory and frugivory

Question 56

What is the difference between relative and absolute dating?

Question 57

The hominoid radiation occurred during the

A) Eocene.
B) Oligocene.
C) Miocene.
D) Pliocene.

Question 58

Why did the radiation of hominoids come to an end?