Untitled Quiz

Microevolution and Macroevolution

• Microevolution: evolution within a population leading to new species.
• Macroevolution: evolution above the species level, involving significant adaptations.

Dinosaur Fossil Record

• Strengths: Provides evidence of past life forms.
• Weaknesses: Incompleteness and subjective interpretation.

Species and Genus Recognition

• Genus is capitalized and italicized, comes first.
• Species is lowercase and italicized, comes second.

Challenges in Species and Genus Determination

• Individual variation can create confusion.
• Sexual dimorphism (differences between sexes) can pose challenges.
• Crushing and distortion of bones can obscure features.
• Incompleteness of specimens can hinder analysis.

Cladogram Basics

• Clade: A group containing a shared ancestor and its descendants.
• Sister taxa: Two clades sharing a recent common ancestor.
• Outgroups: Closely related species outside the studied clade.
• Apomorphies: Traits unique to a clade (evolutionary novelties).
• Stems: Collection of extinct species within a clade.
• Branches: New traits distinguishing organisms in a branch.

Types of Groups

• Monophyletic: Includes all descendants of a common ancestor (natural group).
• Paraphyletic: Excludes some descendants, leading to an incomplete group.
• Polyphyletic: Combines unrelated organisms, forming an artificial group.

Cladistic Definition of Amniotes

• Amniotes: Group encompassing reptiles and mammals, including their shared ancestor and all descendants.

Mesozoic Era

• Divided into the late Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods.
• Spanned roughly 225-230 million years ago.

Numerical Time Scale

• Based on radiometric dating using half-lives.
• Directly applicable to organic materials and certain rocks.
• Igneous rocks provide the most accurate dating results.

Carbon 14 Dating

• Produced by cosmic rays hitting the earth.
• Used for dating materials up to around 50,000 years old.
• Not applicable to dinosaurs due to their age.

Dating Fossils

• Igneous rocks, especially mineral crystals, provide absolute ages.
• Fossils themselves cannot be dated using radiometric methods.
• Dinosaur bones and sedimentary rocks containing fossils are not suitable for absolute dating.

Anapsids, Diapsids, Synapsids, and Euryapsids

• Anapsid: No openings behind the eye (primitive).
• Diapsid: Two openings behind the eye (dinosaurs).
• Synapsid: One upper opening behind the eye (mammals).
• Euryapsid: One lower opening behind the eye (marine reptiles).
• Dinosaurs possess the diapsid skull type.

Temporal Fenestrae

• Openings in the skull behind the eye in diapsids.
• Functioned as attachment points for jaw muscles.

Diapsid Groups

• Lepidosaurs: Include lizards and snakes.
• Archosauria: Includes dinosaurs, crocodiles, and pterosaurs.

Archosauria

• Clade nested within Diapsida, including Dinosauria.
• Key characteristic: Hinge ankle structure.
• Crocodilians have a hinge between the ankle.
• Avemetatarsalians have a hinge below the ankle.

Silesaurs

• Closest relatives to dinosaurs, sharing a common ancestor.

Diagnostic Characteristics of Dinosauria

• Thecodonts (teeth in sockets).
• Two fenestrae (antorbital, mandibular).
• Muscle attached to the humerus on an elongate crest.
• Hinge below the ankle bone.
• Upright posture.
• Hip socket is a hole.

Dinosaur Definition

• Clade encompassing Triceratops, birds, and their common ancestor.

Dinosaur Posture

• Fast running.
• Energy efficient.
• Hunting efficient.
• Feeding efficient.

Upright Posture

• Shared with mammals, but evolved independently.

Unidirectional Lung

• Present in diapsids, including dinosaurs.
• Air enters and exits without backtracking, enhancing efficiency.

Archosauria vs. Reptiles and Thecodonts

• Archosauria is a monophyletic group.
• Reptiles and thecodonts are not precise phylogenetic groups.

Archosaur Characteristics

• Diapsids.
• Fenestrae on the lower jaw and in front of the eyes.
• Serrated teeth.
• Unidirectional lungs.

Archosaur Clades

• Crocodilia: Possess a crurotarsal ankle.
• Avemetatarsalia: Possess an advanced mesotarsal ankle.

Dinosaur Clades

• Saurischia: Pubis and ischium in perpendicular directions.
• Ornithischia: Pubis and ischium in the same direction.

Saurischian and Ornithischian Differences

• Ornithischians have a predentary bone on the jaw and ossified tendons in the tail.
• Saurischians have air-filled bones like birds.

Dinosaur Origins

• When: Late Triassic.
• Where: Every continent.
• From what: Dinosauromorphs.

Dinosaur Abundance in the Late Triassic

• Dinosaurs were relatively rare compared to other tetrapods.

Late Triassic Fauna

• Dicynodonts: Cow-sized herbivores.
• Aetosaurs: Armored reptiles.
• Phytosaurs: Similar to crocodilians.

Other Late Triassic Clades

• Pterosaurs, mammals, plesiosaurs, crocodiles, and turtles originated in the late Triassic.

Science and Scientism

• Science: Method of acquiring knowledge.
• Scientism: Belief that science alone can provide all truth.

LDS Church and Evolution

• No official stance on evolution.

Man and God in LDS Theology

• Man is the literal offspring of God.

LDS Church’s Attitude Towards Science

• Generally positive.

Evolution and LDS Believers

• Some oppose evolution and the idea of an ancient Earth.
• Others believe that evolution may be God's method of creating diversity.

Materialism and Religion

• Most religions view materialism as anti-God.
• The LDS Church can be considered materialistic due to its emphasis on tithing.

Carl Sagan on Religion

• Advocated for a religion with a vast God, creator of countless worlds.

Church Terms: Dogma, Doctrine, and Policy

• Dogma: Unchanging truths defined by the Church.
• Doctrine: Teachings of the gospel, also unchanging.
• Policy: Church practices that can be modified.

Scientific Theory vs. Lay-Person's Concept

• Scientific: Most reliable model of how nature works.
• Lay-person: Wild guess.

Law, Hypothesis, Theory, and Facts

• Law: Explains how something happens.
• Hypothesis: Testable explanation.
• Theory: Most reliable explanation.
• Facts: Proven to be true.

Museum of Paleontology

• Dinosaur definition: Clade encompassing Triceratops, birds, and their common ancestor.
• Diagnostic characters: Posture, skeletal traits (thecodonts, fenestrae, muscle attachments, ankle structure, upright posture, hip socket).

Human and Mammal-like Reptile Skull Type

• Synapsids.

Curation

• Conserving information for future generations.
• Creation of casts and replicas for research and sharing.

Collecting Dinosaur Bones

• Probing for size: Determining the bone's dimensions.
• Channeling around: Digging a trench around the bone to isolate it.
• Binding with consolidant: Stabilizing fragile bones with a protective layer.
• Protective paper layer: Covering the bone with paper for further protection.
• Plaster and burlap field jacket: Encasing the bone for safe transport.

Fossil Hunting Locations

• Dinosaurs lived on all continents, but fossils are found in specific environments and Mesozoic rocks.

Reasons for Not Collecting All Dinosaurs

• Common or well-studied species.
• Poorly preserved or difficult to collect specimens.
• Lack of relevance to ongoing research.

Importance of Amateurs and Rockhounds

• Access to discoveries.
• Specialized knowledge of fossil-rich areas.

Mapping Bone Locations

• Creating a precise map of the excavation site to record artifact locations.

Replication of Dinosaur Bones

• Replicas for exhibits and study, capturing anatomical detail.