Exam 34: The Origin and Evolution of Vertebrates

For the following items, match the extant vertebrate groups with the descriptions. -Their scales most closely resemble teeth in both structure and origin.

If a physoclistus fish removes gas from its swim bladder, this fish's density cannot actually change until that gas arrives at the

For the following items, match the extant vertebrate groups with the descriptions. -Which of the following are the most abundant and diverse of the extant vertebrates?

Use the following information to answer the questions below. Due to its system of nine air sacs connected to the lungs, the respiratory system of birds is arguably the most effective respiratory system of all air-breathers. Upon inhalation, air first flows into posterior air sacs, then into the lungs, and then into anterior air sacs on the way to being exhaled. Thus, there is one-way flow of air through the lungs, along thousands of tubules called parabronchi. -Some bird bones are hollow rather than honeycombed. The hollow bones mostly contain air sacs. The replacement of bone marrow with air sacs is properly understood as an adaptation to

The following questions refer to the phylogenetic tree shown below. -Which number represents the closest relative to the parareptiles?

The following questions refer to the phylogenetic tree shown below. -If circle 3 includes all of the extant reptiles that are ectotherms, then what do circles 4 and 6 represent?

The following questions refer to the description below. While on an intersession course in tropical ecology, Kris pulls a large, snakelike organism from a burrow (the class was granted a collecting permit). The 1-metre-long organism has smooth skin, which appears to be segmented. It has two tiny eyes that are hard to see because they seem to be covered by skin. Kris brings it back to the lab at the field station, where it is a source of puzzlement to the class. Kris says that it is a giant oligochaete worm; Shaun suggests it is a legless amphibian; Kelly proposes it belongs to a snake species that is purely fossorial (lives in a burrow). -Which one of these, if found, should clear up any remaining doubt as to the identity of the organism?

What should be true of fossils of the earliest tetrapods?

Which hypothesis of feather evolution do your observations lend support to?

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 saved some of the tooth-like objects within the hagfish's round mouth to analyze their composition in his mentor's biochemistry research lab. Terry will find that they are composed of the same protein found in tetrapod

Which of these species was the first to have some members migrate out of Africa?

Which type of bird is most likely to need air sacs to reduce its weight?

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. -The Gd mat on the fur of the bats should be expected to consist of

Lampreys differ from hagfishes in

Which of the following could be considered the most recent common ancestor of living tetrapods?

Which of these would a paleontologist be most likely to do in order to determine whether a fossil represents a reptile or a mammal?

Examination of the fossils of Archaeopteryx reveals that, in common with extant birds, it had

At least one of these has been found in all species of eumetazoan animals studied thus far.

Which of the following statements about human evolution is correct?

In order for the four-chambered hearts of birds and mammals to be homologous, which other organisms would have to have had four-chambered hearts?