Exam 34: Vertebrates

Which of the following statements about human evolution is correct?

Which of the following is most likely a characteristic of the earliest tetrapod fossils?

The respiratory system of birds is one of the most effective respiratory systems of all air-breathing organisms, due to its system of air sacs connected to the lungs. Which of the following can be inferred about the air sacs given the observation that they are neither thin nor highly vascularized?

Which extant chordates are most like the earliest chordates in appearance?

A team of researchers has developed a poison that has proven effective against lamprey larvae in freshwater cultures. The poison is ingested and causes paralysis by detaching segmental muscles from the skeletal structures. The team wants to test the poison's effectiveness in streams flowing into Lake Michigan, but critics worry about potential effects on lancelets, which are similar to lampreys in many ways. Which of the following arguments best addresses the critics' concerns?

Which structure of the amniotic egg most closely surrounds the embryo?

Use the following information to answer the question. Brown et al. and Morwood et al. reported in 2004 that they had found skeletal remains of a previously unknown type of hominin, now dubbed Homo floresiensis, on the Indonesian island of Flores. These hominins were small (approximately 1 m tall) with small braincases (approximately 380 cm3) as compared with other hominins. The remains of H.loresiensis were found alongside handmade stone tools and the remains of dwarf elephants that also inhabited the island, suggesting that H. floresiensis was able both to make tools and to coordinate the hunting of animals much larger than itself. H.floresiensis is estimated to have lived at the site where the remains were found from 700,000 years ago to 60,000 years ago. Which would be the most feasible method of figuring out to which other hominin species H. floresiensis was most closely related?

What group of mammals display the following characteristics? ∙ embryos that spend more time feeding through the placenta than the mother's nipples ∙ young that feed on milk ∙ a prolonged period of maternal care after leaving the placenta?

In which of the following ways did the evolution of the jaw contribute to diversification of early vertebrate lineages?

On the back of the human skull, there is a small bump, below which is an opening where the spinal cord enters the skull. Which of the following statements provides the best evolutionary explanation for the location of the opening near the base of the skull?

Primate evolution and behavior, such as hunting skills, have been directed in part by the development of depth perception. What anatomical change made depth perception possible?

Which of the following statements best explains the different body shapes found in skates and rays compared to sharks?

Which of the following was a trend first observed in the evolution of the earliest tetrapods?

The history of hominin evolution demonstrates ________.

Which of the following represents the strongest evidence that two of the three middle ear bones of mammals are homologous to certain reptilian jawbones?

In early chordates, the primitive pharyngeal slits carried out which of the following functions?

At one time, Chondrichthyes were thought to have diverged from other vertebrates before the evolution of bone. Now we have concluded that the Chondrichthyes diverged after the evolution of bone had started. What does this change demonstrate about the evolution of fishes?

A new species of aquatic chordate is discovered that closely resembles an ancient form. It has the following characteristics: external armor of bony plates, no paired lateral fins, and a suspension-feeding mode of nutrition. In addition to these, which of the following characteristics is it most likely to exhibit?

Suppose, while out camping in a forest, you found a chordate with a long, slender, limbless body slithering across the ground near your tent. The organism is most likely ________.

Which structure in a shark is closest in function to a swim bladder in a ray-finned fish?