Question 1

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

Accepted Answer

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

Question 2

The angiosperm radiation hypothesis proposes that

Accepted Answer

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. C

Question 3

Which of the following distinguishes Khoratpithecus from Sivapithecus?

Accepted Answer

A)   Khoratpithecus's molars are more similar to those of living chimpanzees than Sivapithecus's molars are.
B)   Whereas Khoratpithecus lived in the area now known as France and Spain, Sivapithecus lived in Thailand.
C)   Khoratpithecus's broad front teeth and a flat surface on the tongue side of the canines make it more similar than Sivapithecus to living orangutans.
D)   Sivapithecus has dental features making it more similar to modern orangutans, while Khoratpithecus has postcranial bones that most closely resemble modern chimpanzees. C

Question 4

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

Accepted Answer

A)   platyrrhines evolved from early primates that migrated to South America from North America.
B)   platyrrhines evolved from anthropoids in Africa that migrated to South America by crossing a narrower Atlantic Ocean, or via Antarctica.
C)   platyrrhines evolved from anthropoids in Asia that migrated across the Pacific to South America.
D)   Old and New World anthropoids evolved independently from different lineages in Africa and South America, respectively.

Question 5

Which two genera have been considered possible ancestors to the orangutan?

Accepted Answer

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

Question 6

Which of the following apes has been proposed as the last common ancestor of living African apes and humans?

Accepted Answer

A)   Ouranopithecus
B)   Sivapithecus
C)   Dryopithecus
D)   Gigantopithecus

Question 7

Gigantopithecus stood ________ feet tall and weighed ________ pounds.

Accepted Answer

A)   four; 300
B)   10; 660
C)   six; 250
D)   five; 400

Question 8

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

Accepted Answer

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

Question 9

Plesiadapiforms are also called

Accepted Answer

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

Question 10

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

Accepted Answer

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

Question 11

Apes first appear in Europe and Asia from about ________ mya.

Accepted Answer

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

Question 12

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.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Discuss the selective pressures operating in the...

Question 13

Name, briefly describe, and contrast the three hypotheses of primate origins.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Name, briefly describe, and contrast the three...

Question 14

The arboreal hypothesis proposes that defining primate characteristics were adaptations to life in the trees, such as

Accepted Answer

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 15

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

Accepted Answer

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

Question 16

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 ________ mya.

Accepted Answer

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

Question 17

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

Accepted Answer

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 18

The northern African fossil primate called Biretia may be an early anthropoid, based on the morphology of its

Accepted Answer

A)   ankle.
B)   skull.
C)   lower premolar tooth.
D)   pelvis.

Question 19

The evolution of apes began in Africa and continued in

Accepted Answer

A)   Europe and Asia.
B)   Asia and South America.
C)   Europe and South America.
D)   Greece and South America.

Question 20

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.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Discuss the evolution of primates beginning with...

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