Geology Flash Cards

Front 1

Anterior

Back 1

Towards the Head

Front 2

Posterior

Back 2

Towards the tail

Front 3

Appendicular

Back 3

that part of the skeleton appended to the ancestral fish skeleton: shoulders, arms, hips, legs.

Front 4

Axial

Back 4

head, vertebrae, ribs, sternum.

Front 5

Cephalic

Back 5

entire head, not just the skull.

Front 6

Skull

Back 6

head except for the jaws.

Front 7

Cranial

Back 7

skull region

Front 8

Cervical

Back 8

Neck

Front 9

Dorsal

Back 9

Back

Front 10

Caudal

Back 10

Tail

Front 11

Pectoral

Back 11

Chest

Front 12

Dermal

Back 12

of the skin

Front 13

Distal

Back 13

farther from the midline of the body

Front 14

Proximal

Back 14

closer to the midline of the body

Front 15

Gastralia

Back 15

bony, straw like bones which cover the ribs

Front 16

Anterior

Back 16

Towards the Head

Front 17

Posterior

Back 17

Towards the tail

Front 18

Appendicular

Back 18

that part of the skeleton appended to the ancestral fish skeleton: shoulders, arms, hips, legs.

Front 19

Axial

Back 19

head, vertebrae, ribs, sternum.

Front 20

Cephalic

Back 20

entire head, not just the skull.

Front 21

Skull

Back 21

head except for the jaws.

Front 22

Cranial

Back 22

skull region

Front 23

Cervical

Back 23

Neck

Front 24

Dorsal

Back 24

Back

Front 25

Caudal

Back 25

Tail

Front 26

Pectoral

Back 26

Chest

Front 27

Dermal

Back 27

of the skin

Front 28

Distal

Back 28

farther from the midline of the body

Front 29

Proximal

Back 29

closer to the midline of the body

Front 30

Gastralia

Back 30

bony, straw like bones which cover the ribs

Front 31

Thagomizer

Back 31

dermal bones, spikes on a stegosaurus' tail

Front 32

Fenestra

Back 32

medium to large hole passing through a bone

Front 33

Foramen

Back 33

small hole passing through a bone (for nerves or blood vessels)

Front 34

Fossa

Back 34

slight depression in surface of a bone

Front 35

Ossicle

Back 35

small bone (reptiles- stirrup)

Front 36

Ossified

Back 36

well-mineralized (bony)

Front 37

Nares (External)

Back 37

Nostrils/Hole for nose.

Front 38

Hyomandibular

Back 38

bone on the back of the skull of jawed fishes, becomes columella in amphibians and stapes in reptiles and mammals

Front 39

Articular

Back 39

back of lower jaw in reptiles, becomes malleus in mammals

Front 40

Quadrate

Back 40

the skull bone articulating with the lower jaw in reptiles; becomes incus in mammals

Front 41

Top midline of skull front to back

Back 41

nasal, prefrontal, frontal, parietal

Front 42

Side of skull front to back

Back 42

rostral, premaxilla, maxilla, jugal, postorbital, squamosal (temporal bone in humans)

Front 43

Angular

Back 43

becomes the tympanic bone in mammal skull, supporting the ear drum

Front 44

Articular

Back 44

On back jaw in reptiles; becomes malleus bone in mammalian ear

Front 45

Shoulder girdle

Back 45

clavicle (collar bone), Interclavicle (joins the clavicle), and Furcula (fused interclavicle and clavicle) = wishbone in birds

Front 46

Gastralia

Back 46

abdominal dermal armor, looks like fine belly "ribs", but are not ribs

Front 47

Armor

Back 47

plates and spines in stegosaurs and ankylosaurs

Front 48

Homodont

Back 48

all teeth similar shape and function

Front 49

Differentiated

Back 49

some teeth have specialized shape and functions

Front 50

Diastema

Back 50

distinct gap in tooth row.

Front 51

Dental battery

Back 51

many teeth packed close together to make a single tooth row as in ornithopod dinosaurs.

Front 52

Labyrinthodont

Back 52

conical teeth with highly infolded enamel, as in labyrinthodont amphibians.

Front 53

Antorbital fenestra

Back 53

fenestra located just in front of the orbit (eye socket).

Front 54

Orbit

Back 54

eye socket

Front 55

Lacrimal

Back 55

small bone just anterior to orbit, with a lacrimal foramen (hole for a tear duct)

Front 56

Palpebral

Back 56

wing-like bone shading in the eyes in some dinosaurs, alligators, and crocodiles.

Front 57

Sclerotic

Back 57

plates in the reptilian eye that attach muscles to stretch the lens.

Front 58

Scapula

Back 58

shoulder blade.

Front 59

Coracoid

Back 59

just anterior to the scapula, contacts the upper arm bone; large in reptiles, much smaller in primates

Front 60

Glenoid fossa

Back 60

indentation at the scapula-coracoid junction for articulation with the upper arm bone (humerus).

Front 61

Humerus

Back 61

Upper arm bone

Front 62

Radius

Back 62

Shorter of two lower arm bones.

Front 63

Ulna

Back 63

longer of two lower arm bones; includes elbow (olecranon).

Front 64

Carpals

Back 64

wrist bones.

Front 65

Metacarpals

Back 65

palm of the manus (hand).

Front 66

Phalanges

Back 66

finger bones

Front 67

Ungual

Back 67

claw-shaped terminal phalanx.

Front 68

Ilium

Back 68

dorsalmost of three hip bones.

Front 69

Pubis

Back 69

anteroventral hip bone (used for sitting in dinosaurs)

Front 70

Ischium

Back 70

posteroventral hip bone

Front 71

Marsupial bone

Back 71

pair of bones extending forward from the hip in pouched animals to support the young.

Front 72

Acetabulum

Back 72

hip socket for the femur.

Front 73

Femur

Back 73

upper hind limb

Front 74

Tibia

Back 74

thicker of the two lower leg long bones.

Front 75

Fibula

Back 75

thinner of two lower leg long bones. Much reduced in birds (toothpick bone)

Front 76

Fibula

Back 76

thinner of two lower leg bones. Much reduced in birds (toothpick bone)

Front 77

Tarsals

Back 77

ankle bones

Front 78

Astragalus

Back 78

contacts the tibia

Front 79

Calcaneum

Back 79

contacts the fibula; heel bone in non-dinosaur and non-pterosaur reptiles in humans.

Front 80

Metatarsals

Back 80

bones of the sole of the pes (foot).

Front 81

Phalanges and unguals

Back 81

as in the forelimb

Front 82

Relative geologic time

Back 82

the temporal order of the fossil record, based on biostratigraphic zones such as taxon range zones, assemblage zones, etc

Front 83

Absolute geologic time

Back 83

Age in millions (Ma) or Billions (Ba)of years, based on radiometric dates and less commonly tree growth rings.

Front 84

Phanerozoic Eon

Back 84

Name means "visible animals", begins with cambrian period

Front 85

Paleozoic Era

Back 85

"Ancient animals", reptiles are the most advanced vertebrates, Terminated by the Permo-Triassic mass extinction, 544-248 Ma

Front 86

Mesozoic Era

Back 86

"Middle animals", Dinosaurs, birds, and mammals appear. Terminated by K-T mass extinction, 248-65 Ma

Front 87

Cenozoic Era

Back 87

65-0 Ma, age of mammals

Front 88

Fossils accumulate in...

Back 88

Far from coastlines--Paleozoic and Mesozoic marine fossils
Modern coastal plains--Cenozoic marine fossils
Near mountains or in high dune sands (Terrestrial and lake fossils)

Front 89

Triassic First Appearances

Back 89

mammals,nothosaurs, plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, lepidosaurs, rhynchosaurs, trilophosaurs, archosaurs (including crocs and dinosaurs)

Front 90

Lepidosaurs

Back 90

expanded temporal openings; skull more flexible

Front 91

Sphenodontids

Back 91

lepidosaurs, tuatara; two post orbital fenestrae still present

Front 92

Squamata

Back 92

heminipenes (double shafted penis), one pair post orbital-fenestrae (lizards), loss of post-orbital fenestrae (snakes)

Front 93

Archosauromorph diapsids: synapomorphies

Back 93

specializations allow for efficient breathing while running, bipedal, parasagittal gait, stiffened torso, muscular diaphram, swallow gravel to help with digestion, nest making with vegetation

Front 94

Archosauromorph Group: archosauria

Back 94

Early triassic (recent), facultative parasagittal gait, antorbital fenestra, lateral mandibular fenestra, serrated laterally compressed teeth

Front 95

"Advanced" Archosauria- Group Crurotarsi

Back 95

calcaneum is locked to the distal pes (foot), (crocodylotarsi, ornithosuchia)

Front 96

Group Ornithodira

Back 96

calcaneum is locked to the fibula (dinosaurs, fabrosaurs, pterosaurs); bipedal runners-advanced metatarsal ankle (AM), metatarsals II-IV long, I-IV bunched (I and V are shortened), long anterior neck vertebrae: s-curve, no dorsal armor plates, pterosaurs and dinosauromorpha

Front 97

Dinosauromorpha

Back 97

even better bipedal runners (than ornithodira), shorter arms, open acetabulum (hip socket), narrow metatarsals (I-V), smaller calcaneum-attached to fibula; heel bone, astragulus-attached to tibia, S-shaped neck, dinosauria

Front 98

Superorder Dinosauria

Back 98

wide tibia locked to astragulus and calcanuem (double roller joint), long scapula, manus (hand) with digits I-III long (thumb-middle finger); sacrum (hip) with three vertebrae (except herrerasaurus)

Front 99

Earliest Dinosaurs

Back 99

Eoraptor, Herrarasaurus, Pisanosaurus

Front 100

Eoraptor

Back 100

not yet differentiated into major dinosaur subgroup, raptor with different teeth

Front 101

Herrerasaurus

Back 101

theropod-like but only two sacral vertebrae, from Argentina, only 2 sacral vertebrae

Front 102

Pisanosaurus

Back 102

early ornithopod

Front 103

Later Triassic Dinosaurs (ca. 223 Ma)

Back 103

Saurischia and Ornithischia

Front 104

Sarischia

Back 104

coelophysis, procompsognathus, plateosaurus

Front 105

Ornithischia

Back 105

Heterodontosaurus

Front 106

Late Triassic Mass Extinction

Back 106

Comet impact?, many therapsids went extinct

Front 107

Early Jurassic dinosaur radiation

Back 107

Footprints tell the pace of size increase (reach enormous sizes), crocodylomorphs-chased off the dry land; retreat into swamps, rivers, and lagoons; mammals restricted to largely nocturnal habits

Front 108

How many dinosaur genera were estimated to have existed?

Back 108

3,400 (400 existed in the late cretaceous)

Front 109

Only four dinosaurs are known from over 100 specimens

Back 109

Plateosaurus, Coelophysis, Psittacosaurus, Maiasaura

Front 110

Where to find dinosaur fossils

Back 110

Terrestrial sediments (alluvial, riverine, lacustrine)

Front 111

Marginal marine sediments: (least common)

Back 111

deltaic, lagoonal, other nearshore sediments, often bored or reworked fragments of skeletons

Front 112

Joseph Leidy

Back 112

Deinodon and Trachodon teeth, Montana (1855), 1858: Hadrosaurus foulkii, Haddonfield, NJ., first substantial North American dinosaur skeleton.

Front 113

Great Dinosaur Bone War

Back 113

(1870-1890), Marsh and Cope

Front 114

Robert Bakker

Back 114

1971-most bipedal dinosaurs were tachymetabolic endotherms(fast metabolism), wrote a book called "Hot Blooded Dinosaurs"

Front 115

Gigantothermy:inertial endothermy

Back 115

Very large body size stores sun’s heat during the day, loses heat slowly during the cool night.
Does not work near the north or south pole where night lasts 6 months.

Front 116

Mulchothermy

Back 116

For herbivores, bacterial decomposition (mulching) of food releases heat.

Front 117

Active endothermy

Back 117

Temporary heat from contraction of red muscle as boas, pythons warming their eggs by shivering.

Front 118

Indeterminate growth

Back 118

Growth with slowing but not cessation in adult.
Crocodiles, alligators, snakes.
Some dinosaurs, e.g., Dryosa urus, which may have been endothermic.

Front 119

Determinate growth

Back 119

Growth stops in the adult.
Birds, mammals.
Some dinosaurs, e.g., Troodon, Syntarsus, which may have been non-endothermic.

Front 120

Dinosaur Weight:

Back 120

For quadrupeds:
Log10 grams = 2.73Log10(H + F) – 1.11 (N/A)
For bipeds:
Log10 grams = 2.73Log10(F) – 0.76 (N/A)
Divide grams by 453.6 to get pounds.

Front 121

Relative Stride Length

Back 121

S/L

Front 122

m/s =

Back 122

D x square root of [Leg length in meters x 9.8 m/s]

Front 123

Triassic world: Pangaea (Pangea):

Back 123

N-S trending continent with high seasonality near the poles, great interior deserts.
Laurasia in the north: North America, Europe, central and NW Asia.
Gondwanaland in the south: South America, Africa, Arabia, Australia, New Guinea, India, Madagascar,
Low diversity, large part of land is uninhabitable; many dinosaurs live on coast
During Triassic- the large continent began to split apart

Front 124

K-T (Cretaceous-Tertiary) mass extinction

Back 124

All non-avian dinosaurs; all pterosaurs, plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, and mosasaurs.
75% of bird families (all Enantiornithes).
36% of crocodylian families.
27% of turtle families.
Marine fauna: all ammonites, belemnites, rudist bivalves; most planktonic foraminifera.
Tropical marine organisms hit hardest, seasonal climates (in N. and S.) many animals/ dinosaurs survived
Extinction happened because climate was “boring”, geographically the world was also “boring” all Appalachian mountains were flattened, not many mountains, two major land masses (Asia and North America) were connected; low global diversity
Asteroid killed off mainly large dinosaurs, top predators and herbivores; climate changed (light gone for about a year or more), takes off base of food chain