Lab 10 - Paleogeography and Biodiversity in the Cenozoic

India has now collided with Eurasia, forming the Himalayan Mountains. What type of plate boundary is this?

continental-continental convergent

Convergent Evolution

different unrelated structures become more similar (analogous) example- bats wings, bird wings

Mammals evolved during the Mesozoic, but took over and diversified after the end-Cretaceous extinction event that wiped out what group of animals that dominated in the Mesozoic?

dinosaurs

What is taxon?

taxonomic unit

What do mastodons eat? And their climate?

trees and woody vegetation warm forest, warm/wet climate

Analogous structures

Similar structures that appear in groups of organisms due to convergent evolution

Does biodiversity INCREASE or DECREASE when there are multiple small landmasses compared to one large landmass?

increase

What happened to the supercontinent Pangea by the start of the Cenozoic?

it was completely seperated

What was the climate like during the Pleistocene? What was the sea level?

much cooler, lower

Analogous structures evolve independently, they are similar structures that appear in groups of organisms. This are a result of what evolution?

Convergent evolution

Homologous structures are inherited from a common ancestor, this is a result of what evolution?

Biological evolution

What type of evolution happens when different species have a common ancestor?

Biological evolution

What was the period that flowering plants become dominant?

By the end of the Cretaceous

Homologous structures

Features shared by different groups of organisms because it was inherited from a common ancestor

The Cenozoic is known as the Age of....

Mammals

Convergent evolution

Two distinct lineages evolve similar characteristics, like wings, because of selective pressure.

What are the similarities do you see between the Xenosmilus and the Hoplophoneus?

big canines

What did Mammoths eat? And their climate?

grass and sedge cold grassland, cold/dry climate

Megalodon teeth can be found in Charleston. What does this tell you about the sea level during the Miocene?

high

Adaptive Radiation

rapid taxa diversification into available ecologic niches can occur after an extinction event (new species adapt to different environment)

What kind of geologic features would you expect to see at a continental-continental convergent plate boundary?

reverse faults, anticlines and synclines

Biological Evolution

same structure is motified (homologous) example- tetrapods 4 limbs

What kind of foods do Megalodon eat?

sea turtles, dolphins, whales, other sharks and large fish

What type of skull does Dimetrodon have?

synapsid

What type of skull does cynodont have?

synapsid

What type of skull does the modern mammal have?

synapsid