Deck 9: Origin of Primates

Question 1

Compared to its contemporary mammals, Purgatorius had __________.

A) less specialized teeth
B) much larger brains
C) smaller hands
D) more culture

Answer 1

less specialized teeth

Question 2

The fossil record of the __________ reveals the first true primates.

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

Answer 2

Eocene

Question 3

During the Paleocene epoch, many archaic groups of mammals arose that are not precisely like any living group.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

A gap between anterior teeth is called a __________.

A) postorbital gap
B) prognathic opening
C) diastema
D) foramen magnum

Question 5

Adapids resemble modern __________.

A) apes
B) monkeys
C) tarsiers
D) none of these

Question 6

Which of the following is typical of the Paleocene?

A) warmer temperatures than those of today
B) the evolution of flowering plants
C) the evolution of plesiadapiforms
D) all of these

Question 7

Paleontologists use the form of teeth and _________ to decide to which group a fossil belongs.

A) hair
B) bones
C) fatty tissue
D) none of these

Question 8

Early primate characteristics probably evolved because these creatures were __________.

A) frugivorous
B) visual predators
C) arboreal
D) none of these

Question 9

The first placental mammals appeared in the __________ period.

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

Question 10

Which of the following is not true of omomyoids?

A) they are likely to be ancestral to all haplorhines
B) they were likely nocturnal creatures
C) they were terrestrial animals, not arboreal
D) they were small-bodied

Question 11

Compared to plesiadapiforms, adapoids and omomyoids have __________.

A) larger brains
B) longer snouts
C) claws
D) all of these

Question 12

The __________ are likely ancestors of tarsiers and apes.

A) adapoids
B) omomyoids

Question 13

Compared to plesiadapiforms, adapoids and omomyoids have more stereoscopic vision.

Question 14

The earliest mammals most resembled living __________.

A) monotremes
B) primates
C) lizards
D) insects

Question 15

The diversification of __________ had a great effect on the diversification of Mesozoic mammals.

A) birds
B) big lizards
C) flowering plants
D) microscopic life forms

Question 16

The __________ are best considered the most primitive known group of early modern primates.

A) omomyoids
B) tarsiers
C) adapoids
D) plesiadapiforms

Question 17

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic typical of plesiadapiforms?

A) claws
B) small brains
C) prognathic faces
D) large eye sockets

Question 18

Omomyoids are more common in North America.

Question 19

Notharctidae, Adapidae, and Sivaladapidae are families of __________.

A) plesiadapiforms
B) adapoids
C) tarsiers
D) omomyoids

Question 20

Lemurs live __________.

A) in Brazilian rainforests
B) on Madagascar
C) in southeast Asian rainforests
D) in central Africa

Question 21

At the end of the late Eocene, the global climate became__________.

A) cooler and dryer
B) cooler and wetter
C) warmer and dryer
D) warmer and wetter

Question 22

Aegyptopithecus belongs to the __________ family of primates.

A) Parapithecidae
B) Oligopithecidae
C) Propliopithecidae
D) none of these

Question 23

Adapoids ate __________.

A) leaves
B) fruit
C) insects
D) berries

Question 24

Between 54 million and 34 million years ago Europe and America

A) were separated by only a narrow sea
B) had very different climates
C) supported different sets of primates
D) were connected by land

Question 25

All living Old World primates have a __________ dental pattern.

A) 2:1:3:3
B) 2:1:2:3

Question 26

Parapithecidae has a __________. dental pattern.

A) 2:1:3:3
B) 2:1:2:3

Question 27

Propliopithecidae have a __________ dental pattern.

A) 2:1:3:3
B) 2:1:2:3

Question 28

Currently, most scientists support the hypothesis that New World monkeys arrived in South America __________.

A) by a water route from Africa
B) by a land bridge from Africa
C) from North America
D) by a water route from Asia

Question 29

According to DNA comparisons, Old World monkeys and apes shared an ancestor until about __________.

A) 45 million years ago
B) 30 million years ago
C) 25 million years ago
D) 20 million years ago

Question 30

Omomyoids focused on __________ for food.

A) leaves
B) small animals and fruit
C) fruit and insects
D) grasses and termites

Question 31

__________ are remains that are so recent they have not yet fossilized.

A) Skeletons
B) Subfossils

Question 32

__________ is a good candidate for the ancestor of all higher primates.

A) Aegyptopithecus
B) Apidium
C) Branisella
D) Catopithecus

Question 33

The discovery of subfossil species of lemurs have shown __________.

A) that lemurs are ancestral to higher primates
B) that lemurs disappeared only about 1,000 years ago
C) that lemurs were a much larger and varied group than previously thought
D) that lemurs lived in south America as well as the Old World

Question 34

Much of the current information on the origins of higher primates comes from __________.

A) The Congo Basin in central Africa
B) Thailand
C) southern China
D) the Fayum in Egypt

Question 35

Their differing anatomies suggest that strepsirhines and haplorhines split because __________.

A) they could no longer interbreed
B) they relied on different types of food
C) they lived in different environments
D) they began to compete over the same food resources

Question 36

The first monkeys appeared between __________ million years ago.

A) 78 and 60
B) 58 and 40
C) 65 and 55
D) 45 and 40

Question 37

Based on molecular evidence, strepsirhines and haplorhines separated about __________.

A) 58 million years ago
B) 80 million years ago
C) 67 million years ago
D) 45 million years ago

Question 38

New World and Old World primates diverged around __________.

A) 35 million years ago
B) 50 million years ago
C) 40 million years ago
D) 25 million years ago

Question 39

Since the Miocene, the number of ape species has__________, while the number of monkey species has__________.

A) increased, decreased
B) decreased, increased

Question 40

Higher primates first appeared in the __________ epoch.

A) early Eocene
B) late Oligocene
C) late Eocene
D) late Pleistocene

Question 41

African and Asian great apes diverged approximately __________ million years ago.

A) 25
B) 20
C) 17
D) 14

Question 42

Around 11 million years ago, Old World monkeys were __________ compared to monkeys today.

A) less diverse
B) about the same
C) more diverse
D) more specialized

Question 43

Victoriapithecus used a __________ pattern of locomotion.

A) semiterrestrial
B) arboreal
C) terrestrial
D) brachiation

Question 44

Morotopithecus may be a better candidate than Proconsul as the ancestor of hominoids because __________.

A) it is a knucklewalker
B) it is larger bodied
C) it has a short stiff back and suspensory shoulder anatomy
D) it has a Y-5 molar pattern

Question 45

Proconsul was a(n) __________.

A) New World monkey
B) Old World monkey
C) dental ape
D) lemur

Question 46

A characteristic that differentiates Old World monkeys from apes is __________.

A) eye orbits completely enclosed by a bony ridge
B) downward-facing nostrils
C) an extra premolar
D) bilophodont molars

Question 47

Gigantopithecus was the largest primate that ever lived.

Question 48

A characteristic that differentiates apes from Old World monkeys is __________.

A) the lack of a third premolar
B) more massive jaws
C) a suspensory shoulder
D) downward-facing nostrils

Question 49

Which of the following is NOT true of Sivapithecus?

A) it is the sole ancestor of orangutans
B) it was an arboreal quadruped
C) it lived in Asia
D) its teeth were thickly enameled

Question 50

Which of the following is NOT true of the dental apes?

A) they were small bodied compared to modern apes
B) they had less fully developed stereoscopic vision
C) they lacked a suspensory shoulder
D) they walked in a plantigrade fashion

Question 51

Victoriapithecus subsisted on __________ judging from its dentition.

A) leaves
B) fruit
C) hard fruits and seeds
D) insects and fruits

Question 52

Early apes exhibiting Y-5 molar patterns but monkey-like postcranial skeletons are called __________.

A) true apes
B) false apes
C) dental apes
D) pre-apes

Question 53

Where have Miocene apes NOT been found?

A) Europe
B) Australia
C) Africa
D) Asia

Question 54

Climatic changes during the middle Miocene caused __________.

A) Asia to become more heavily forested
B) the development of drier, more open areas in parts of Africa
C) a land bridge between Africa and Eurasia to form
D) expanded tropical areas in Europe to develop

Question 55

__________ may be a good candidate for the common ancestor of all Old World monkeys.

A) Cebinae
B) Victoriapithecidae
C) Aotinae
D) Callitrichinae

Question 56

In Old World monkeys, the cercopithecine and colobine split took place between __________ million years ago.

A) 14 and 16
B) 20 and 23
C) 16 and 18
D) 18 and 20

Question 57

Ouranopithecus lived in Greece around __________ million years ago.

A) 23
B) 18
C) 15
D) 10

Question 58

Cranial evidence seems to suggest that the early monkeys were successful because they were able to chew a tougher diet and better protect the eye.

Question 59

The adaptations of a fused mandible and orbital closure in early monkeys were probably unrelated.

Question 60

The Plio-Pleistocene radiation of Old World monkeys refers to __________.

A) the movement of Old World monkeys into Africa
B) the movement of Old World monkeys into Eurasia
C) the movement of Old World monkeys into South America
D) the movement of Old World monkeys out of Eurasia

Question 61

The probable ancestor of the gorilla, chimpanzee and bonobo lineages is __________.

A) Ouranopithecus
B) Dryopithecus
C) Oreopithecus
D) none of these

Question 62

How do molecular clocks work? How is the accuracy of molecular clocks established?

Question 63

By the mid-Miocene monkeys became more common than apes because __________.

A) monkeys are r-selected while apes are k-selected
B) monkeys can more easily shift to efficient terrestrial locomotion
C) both a and b
D) neither a nor b

Question 64

Based on molecular clocks, Goodman's phylogeny places the last common ancestor of all primates at __________.

A) 75 million years ago
B) 63 million years ago
C) 58 million years ago
D) 45 million years ago

Question 65

Although apes were initially more common than monkeys, they declined while monkey species expanded. Compare monkeys and apes and discuss what might have accounted for this change.

Question 66

Maryellen Ruvolo concluded on the basis of DNA analysis that __________.

A) chimpanzees and gorillas are more closely related to each other than to humans
B) humans have little relation to gorillas or chimpanzees
C) chimpanzees and humans are closely related to each other than to gorillas
D) chimpanzees and gorillas are more closely related to orangutans than to humans

Question 67

Explain how molecular phylogenies are created. In what ways are they advantageous and disadvantageous compared to fossil phylogenies?

Question 68

Describe the plesiadapiform mammals. In what ways do they resemble modern primates?

Question 69

Which of the following is NOT true of Gigantopithecus?

A) it had a tough, fibrous diet, perhaps of bamboo
B) it co-existed with Homo erectus
C) it lived in western Africa
D) it was the largest primate that ever lived

Question 70

The fossil evidence and molecular evidence for the primate phylogeny does not match closely.

Question 71

What kinds of climatic and environmental changes were taking place at the time of the strepsirhine - haplorhine split around 58 million years ago? What kinds of selective pressures did these changes produce to favor the split?

Question 72

A molecular clock can only work if the molecule used to make the tree is changing at a similar rate in each lineage in a phylogeny.

Question 73

What are two scenarios for the arrival of primates in the New World? Which of these is favored by scientists now?

Question 74

The divergence of apes and monkeys seems to based on __________.

A) differences in diet
B) the shift to terrestrial locomotion by the ape line
C) differences in the social composition of monkey and ape groups
D) changes in the cranial anatomy of the ape line

Question 75

What are some possible reasons for the origin and diversification of true anthropoids during the Oligocene? Include both fossil and climatic information in your answer.

Question 76

Citing specific examples, explain how both the adapoids and omomyoids differ from plesiadapiforms.

Question 77

Describe the environmental changes that occurred during the Miocene epoch. Outline how these changes impacted primates.

Question 78

Compare dental apes to modern apes. What are the primary similarities and differences between them?

Question 79

The transition from brachiation to knucklewalking occurred because __________.

A) drying and cooling caused vast forests to break up into smaller areas
B) apes shifted to terrestrial food sources
C) the body size of great apes made brachiation impossible
D) brachiation proved to be an inefficient form of locomotion