Exam 34: The Origin and Evolution of Vertebrates

Which extant chordates are postulated to be most like the earliest chordates in appearance?

At the end of which era did most dinosaurs and pterosaurs become extinct?

There is evidence that ray-finned fishes evolved

Which of these are amniotes?

Which of the following is a cluster of genes coding for transcription factors involved in the evolution of innovations in early vertebrate nervous systems and vertebrae?

Which of these species had members who moved out of Africa?

Which shark structure is most analogous to a swim bladder full of gas?

What is the single unique characteristic that distinguishes extant birds from other extant vertebrates?

Which of the following statements would be least acceptable to most zoologists?

Which of these characteristics added most to vertebrate success in relatively dry environments?

To which of the following are the scales of chondrichthyans most closely related in a structural sense?

Which era is known as the "age of reptiles"?

In the United States and Canada, bats use one of two strategies to survive winter: They either migrate south, or they hibernate. Recently, those that hibernate seem to have come under attack by a fungus, Geomyces destructans (Gd), an attack that is occurring from Missouri to southern Canada. Many infected bats have a delicate, white filamentous mat on their muzzles, which is referred to as white-nose syndrome (WNS). The fungus invades the bat tissues, causes discomfort, and awakens the bat from its hibernation. The bat fidgets and wastes calories, using up its stored fat. The bat then behaves abnormally, leaving its cave during daytime in winter to search for food. Their food, primarily insects, is scarce during the winter, and the bats ultimately starve to death. Since 2007, it is estimated that up to 1 million bats have perished from WNS. -Gd is a cold-loving fungus. Thus, which characteristics of abnormal bat behaviour can be most expected to favour the growth of this fungus?

The following questions refer to the phylogenetic tree shown below. -Which pair of numbers represents extinct reptiles that had returned to an aquatic life?

Female birds lay their eggs, thereby facilitating flight by reducing weight. Which "strategy" seems most likely for female bats to use to achieve the same goal?

The swim bladder of ray-finned fishes

The movement of air along parabronchi is most similar to the movement of

The organisms represented by number 8 are

The following questions refer to the phylogenetic tree shown below. -Which of these numbers represents ectotherms that were able to fly?

The following questions refer to the description below. Terry catches a ray-finned fish from the ocean and notices that attached to its flank is an equally long, snakelike organism. The attached organism has no external segmentation, no scales, a round mouth surrounded by a sucker, and two small eyes. Terry thinks it might be a marine leech, a hagfish, or a lamprey. -Terry takes the body of the snakelike organism and slices it open along its dorsal side. If it is a hagfish, what should Terry see?