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

Question 1

The Fayum desert has yielded fossils of the following three primates:

A)Oligopithecus, Apidium, and Aegyptopithecus.
B)Proconsul, Notharctus, and Adapis.
C)Eosimias, Biretia, and Micropithecus.
D)Proconsul, Eosimias, and Adapis.

Answer 1

Oligopithecus, Apidium, and Aegyptopithecus.

Question 2

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.

Answer 2

size of the hands.

Question 3

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.

Answer 3

a Y-5 molar pattern; low, rounded cusps; large canines; and a diastema.

Question 4

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 5

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 further away, thereby securing time to flee.
D)predators had the ability to see primates better.

Question 6

Chororapithecus is considered the:

A)oldest fossil in Africa.
B)ancestor to Gigantopithecus.
C)common ancestor of African apes and hominins.
D)ancestor to Aegyptopithecus.

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

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

A)platyrrhines evolved from anthropoids in Africa that migrated to South America in the Oligocene.
B)platyrrhines evolved from anthropoids in Africa that migrated across the Atlantic to South America.
C)platyrrhines evolved from anthropoids in Africa that migrated south on land to Antarctica, then to Patagonia.
D)Old and New World anthropoids evolved independently from different lineages in Africa and South America, respectively.

Question 9

Euprimates represent the first true:

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

Question 10

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.

Question 11

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.

Question 12

Gigantopithecus stood _______ feet tall and weighed _______ pounds.

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

Question 13

Plesiadapiforms are also called:

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

Question 14

Monkeys underwent massive _______ in the Pliocene and Pleistocene.

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

Question 15

Two genera of propliopithecids include:

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

Question 16

Which two genera may be the ancestors to the orangutan?

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

Question 17

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 18

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 19

Paleocene organisms that may have been the first primates were:

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

Question 20

Which genus is considered the ancestor to adapids and omomyids?

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

Question 21

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

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

Question 24

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

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

Question 25

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

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

Question 26

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 27

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 28

Apes first appear in Europe and Asia from about:

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

Question 29

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

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

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:

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

Question 31

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 32

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 33

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 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 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 36

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 37

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

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

Question 38

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

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

Question 39

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 40

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 41

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 42

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

Question 43

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 44

Name and briefly describe the three hypotheses of primate origins.