Anthro Chap 9

Front 1

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

Back 1

a) grasping hands and feet, developed vision, and greater intelligence.

Front 2

2 - The visual predation hypothesis proposes that:
a) better vision allowed for better access to fruits and small insects.
b) primate traits arose as adaptations to preying on insects and small animals.
c) species could see predators from further away, thereby securing time to flee.
d) predators had the ability to see primates better.

Back 2

b) primate traits arose as adaptations to preying on insects and small animals.

Front 3

3 - The angiosperm radiation hypothesis proposes that:
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.

Back 3

c) certain primate traits were responses to the acquisition of fruit during the Cenozoic.

Front 4

4 - Paleocene organisms that may have been the first primates were:
a) adapids.
c) dryopithecids.
b) proconsulids.
d) plesiadapiforms.

Back 4

d) plesiadapiforms.

Front 5

5 - Plesiadapiforms are also called:
a) proprimates.
c) proconsulids.
b) dryopithecids.
d) adapids.

Back 5

a) proprimates.

Front 6

6 - Euprimates represent the first true:
a) anthropoids.
c) mammals.
b) primates.
d) catarrhini.

Back 6

b) primates.

Front 7

7 - Which genus is considered the ancestor to adapids and omomyids?
a) Notharctus
c) Carpolestes
b) Proconsul
d) Eosimias

Back 7

c) Carpolestes

Front 8

8 - Basal anthropoids are:
a) Paleocene primates that may have been the first anthropoids.
b) Paleocene organisms that may have been the first primates.
c) Eocene organisms that may have been the first primates.
d) Eocene primates that are the earliest anthropoids.

Back 8

d) Eocene primates that are the earliest anthropoids.

Front 9

9 - The Fayum desert has yielded fossils of the following three primates:
a) Oligopithecus, Apidium, and Aegyptopithecus.
b) Proconsul, Notharctus, and Adapis.
c) Eosimias, Biretia, and Micropithecus.
d) Proconsul, Eosimias, and Adapis.

Back 9

a) Oligopithecus, Apidium, and Aegyptopithecus.

Front 10

10 - Two genera of propliopithecids include:
a) Aegyptopithecus and Micropithecus.
b) Propliopithecus and Aegyptopithecus.
c) Micropithecus and Aegyptopithecus.
d) Propliopithecus and Proconsul.

Back 10

b) Propliopithecus and Aegyptopithecus.

Front 11

11 - The best-accepted hypothesis for the dispersal of African monkeys to the New World is that:
a) platyrrhines evolved from anthropoids in Africa that migrated to South America in the Oligocene.
b) platyrrhines evolved from anthropoids in Africa that migrated across the Atlantic to South America.
c) platyrrhines evolved from anthropoids in Africa that migrated south on land to Antarctica, then to Patagonia.
d) Old and New World anthropoids evolved independently from different lineages in Africa and South America, respectively.

Back 11

b) platyrrhines evolved from anthropoids in Africa that migrated across the Atlantic to South America.

Front 12

12 - Comparisons of tooth wear in living apes and extinct Miocene apes suggest that some extinct species of apes ate:
a) insects, fruit, and leaves.
c) leaves, nuts, and fruits.
b) leaves, grass, and bark.
d) nuts, fruits, and small animals.

Back 12

c) leaves, nuts, and fruits.

Front 13

13 - Which two genera may be the ancestors to the orangutan?
a) Gigantopithecus and Sivapithecus
b) Gigantopithecus and Khoratpithecus
c) Khoratpithecus and Gigantopithecus
d) Sivapithecus and Khoratpithecus

Back 13

a) Gigantopithecus and Sivapithecus

Front 14

14 - Gigantopithecus stood _______ feet tall and weighed _______ pounds.
a) four; 300
c) six; 250
b) ten; 660
d) five; 400

Back 14

b) ten; 660

Front 15

15 - Chororapithecus is considered the:
a) oldest fossil in Africa.
b) ancestor to Gigantopithecus.
c) common ancestor of African apes and hominins.
d) ancestor to Aegyptopithecus.

Back 15

c) common ancestor of African apes and hominins.

Front 16

16 - Canadian primate paleontologist David Begun proposes that climate changes in Europe prompted late Miocene apes to:
a) migrate to Asia from Europe following food sources.
b) take advantage of lower sea levels to migrate from Europe to South America.
c) spread to Europe from Africa following the expansion of tropical forests.
d) move from Europe back to Africa following food sources.

Back 16

d) move from Europe back to Africa following food sources.

Front 17

17 - The evolution of apes began in Africa and continued in:
a) Europe and Asia.
c) Europe and South America.
b) Asia and South America.
d) Greece and South America.

Back 17

a) Europe and Asia.

Front 18

18 - Monkeys underwent massive _______ in the Pliocene and Pleistocene.
a) extinction
c) migration
b) adaptive radiation
d) diversification

Back 18

b) adaptive radiation

Front 19

19 - A difference between Miocene apes and modern apes is the:
a) length of the tail.
c) size of the hands.
b) breadth of the ribcage.
d) morphology of the foot.

Back 19

c) size of the hands.

Front 20

20 - Like that of Dryopithecus, a modern gorilla mandible has:
a) sharp, high crests on the teeth.
b) large canines and no diastema.
c) a Y-5 molar pattern and Sinodonty.
d) a Y-5 molar pattern; low, rounded cusps; large canines; and a diastema.

Back 20

d) a Y-5 molar pattern; low, rounded cusps; large canines; and a diastema.

Front 21

21 - Apes first appear in Europe and Asia from about:
a) 17 mya.
c) 10 mya.
b) 6 mya.
d) 12 mya.

Back 21

a) 17 mya.

Front 22

22 - Which of the following species of early primates had the most biological diversity?
a) Eosimias
c) Dryopithecus
b) Proconsul
d) Oreopithecus

Back 22

b) Proconsul

Front 23

23 - A species that is adapted to a wide range of environments, climates, and diets is:
a) highly specialized.
c) biologically diverse.
b) likely undergoing further evolution.
d) likely to go extinct.

Back 23

c) biologically diverse.

Front 24

24 - The similarity of the foot bones between _______ and the living anthropoids makes it the likely first true primate.
a) Proconsul
c) Dryopithecus
b) Micropithecus
d) Eosimias

Back 24

d) Eosimias

Front 25

25 - A rapid temperature increase about 55 mya created tropical conditions around the world, resulting in the:
a) adaptive radiation of Euprimates.
c) spread of Sivapithecus.
b) development of Dryopithecus.
d) extinction of many primate species.

Back 25

a) adaptive radiation of Euprimates.

Front 26

26 - Which Eocene organisms had clear primate characteristics like a postorbital bar, opposable thumbs, nails, and a large brain?
a) proprimates and euprimates
c) basal anthropoids
b) adapids and omomyids
d) plesiadapiforms

Back 26

b) adapids and omomyids

Front 27

27 - The calcaneus (heel bone) of Eosimias suggests that it may be a very primitive:
a) primate.
c) New World monkey.
b) anthropoid.
d) ape.

Back 27

b) anthropoid.

Front 28

28 - The northern African fossil primate called Biretia may be an early anthropoid, based on the morphology of its:
a) ankle.
c) lower premolar tooth.
b) skull.
d) pelvis.

Back 28

c) lower premolar tooth.

Front 29

29 - If you are examining the fossil remains of the genus Dryopithecus, they are most likely from where?
a) India
c) France
b) Bolivia
d) China

Back 29

c) France

Front 30

30 - Sivapithecus is widely recognized as an ancestral member of which ape lineage?
a) gorilla
c) chimpanzee
b) orangutan
d) gibbon

Back 30

b) orangutan

Front 31

31 - During the Miocene epoch of the Cenozoic era, there was an adaptive radiation of which kind of primate?
a) prosimians
c) apes
b) monkeys
d) humans

Back 31

c) apes

Front 32

32 - Apes went extinct in southern Europe (including France, Spain, Italy, and Greece) during the late Miocene, probably as a result of:
a) a meteor impact.
c) climate change.
b) a disease pandemic.
d) early humans hunting them for food.

Back 32

c) climate change.

Front 33

33 - The most distinctive feature of ape dentition, which clearly distinguishes apes from Old World monkeys, is:
a) a 2-1-2-3 dental formula.
c) a Y-5 molar pattern.
b) a long canine tooth in males.
d) bilophodont molars.

Back 33

c) a Y-5 molar pattern.

Front 34

34 - Which of the following apes has been proposed as the last common ancestor of living African apes and humans?
a) Ouranopithecus
c) Dryopithecus
b) Sivapithecus
d) Gigantopithecus

Back 34

a) Ouranopithecus

Front 35

35 - 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:
a) 5 mya.
c) 15 mya.
b) 10 mya.
d) 25 mya.

Back 35

d) 25 mya.

Front 36

36 - Which fossil group is characterized by an eye orbit fully enclosed by bone?
a) adapids
c) anthropoids
b) plesiadapiforms
d) omomyids

Back 36

c) anthropoids

Front 37

37 - The space between the canine and the first premolar in the lower jaw of some primates is a(n):
a) retrocanine space.
c) mandibular gap.
b) alveolus.
d) diastema.

Back 37

d) diastema.

Front 38

38 - Which anatomical feature would you expect to find in the fossil remains of a nocturnal species?
a) long legs
c) large eye orbits
b) pointy teeth
d) short fingers and toes

Back 38

c) large eye orbits

Front 39

39 - The most likely contender for the common ancestor of all later catarrhines is:
a) Oligopithecus.
c) Parapithecus.
b) Aegyptopithecus.
d) Apidium.

Back 39

b) Aegyptopithecus.

Front 40

40 - 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:
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.

Back 40

b) differences in ability to exploit the habitats that resulted after a change in global climate.

Front 41

1 - Why is the Fayum depression in Egypt such an important site for understanding the origin and diversification of anthropoid primates?

Back 41

The Fayum deposits span a period of nearly 10 million years, corresponding to when anthropoids appear to have radiated throughout the Old World. There are very few comparably aged sites. Primate fossils discovered there document very primitive anthropoids (Biretia), more derived species (Aegyptopithecus), and some that are without any living counterparts (Plesiopithecus). In addition, the site is firmly dated to 29-37 mya, and associated fossil flora and fossil fauna permit excellent paleoenvironmental reconstruction.

Front 42

2 - Name and briefly describe the three hypotheses of primate origins.

Back 42

Many ideas have been proposed to explain why the traits displayed by living primates would have been adaptive or would have led to reproductive success in the past. The arboreal hypothesis, developed early in the twentieth century, states that primate features such as forward-facing eyes and grasping hands and feet would have benefited an animal living in the trees. The visual predation hypothesis acknowledges that some arboreal species (such as squirrels) do not possess these key primate features, so instead it focuses on stereoscopic vision and grasping as means of catching insects. The angiosperm radiation hypothesis notes that primates appeared at the same time as flowering plants and hence suggests that primates became successful in exploiting this new food resource.

Front 43

3 - 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.

Back 43

The migration of primates from Africa to Europe and Asia was made possible by the land bridge created by a drop in sea levels. However, plate tectonic movement caused mountain ranges to form and ocean currents to shift, thereby creating dramatic changes in climate and ecology. In Europe and Africa tropical forests became woodlands and grasslands, while in Asia decreased rainfall resulted in reduced forests and decreased fruit availability.

Front 44

4 - 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.

Back 44

Primates have a number of anatomical characteristics that reflect an adaptation to life in the trees, so their geographical spread followed the distribution of woodlands. Distribution of woodlands is in turn influenced by the environment. They also show a great deal of adaptability, essential in natural selection. Beginning in the Miocene in Africa, then in Europe and Asia, primates had characteristics seen in extant apes particularly in dental and skull morphology, though many still retained very primitive body sizes and morphology.