GEOL 104 Dinosaurs A Natural History Final Review Review Tests 1 2 especially Definition of Dinosauria the concestor of Iguanodon and Megalosaurus and all of its descendants Proper taxonomic grammar What are the relationships between dinosaurs and other tetrapods What are the relationships between and important adaptations of the major groups of dinosaurs pay particular attention to those groups who were referred to again during the last third of the course Bird origins What are the major events in dinosaur history Evolution Cladistics be able to read a cladogram Geologic time Dinosaur Functional Anatomy Behavior Significance of osteological correlates Methods of interpreting function behavior Analogies with living forms Phylogenetic distribution of behaviors Biomechanics Geological Evidence tracks coprolites bite marks etc Striding locomotion in dinosaurs Difficulty in determining top speeds even for living animals Use and difficulties of footprints in studying dinosaur locomotion Cursoriality vs Graviportality osteological correlates of each Scaling issues allometry isometry negative allometry positive allometry Which groups of dinosaurs have the most cursorial adaptations Which the most graviportal Changes of locomotion in eumaniraptorans knee driven striding Other types of functional analysis bite force balance joint motion hearing smelling vision Interspecific vs Intraspecific Behavior Message of display Defensive Territorial Sexual courtship Species Recognition Medium of display Visual Sound etc Examples of dinosaur behavior from the fossil record Why display Gregarious behavior evidence direct and inferred advantages to predators to prey disadvantages to living in groups Kin Selection Reciprocal Altruism Sexual strategies sexual dimorphism Difficulties in determining sex of dinosaurs Dinosaur Eggs and Babies Altricial vs Precocial Growth Dinosaur nests clutches and nesting patterns Evidence for parental care Evidence for baby dinosaurs in groups Changes in dinosaur growth esp appearance of species level features in sub adults Skeletochronology use of Lines of Arrested Growth How dinosaur growth compares to non avian reptiles To mammals Dinosaur lifespans Life history strategies K selected vs r selected Endothermy vs Ectothermy Energy Source Metabolic Rate Temperature over Time Warm Blooded Endothermy Tachymetabolism Homeothermy Cold Blooded Ectothermy Bradymetabolism Poikilothermy Resting vs active metabolic rates duration of sustained activity recovery time Why evolve endothermy Increased aerobic capacity greater environmental tolerance increased metabolic efficiency help in parental care pre and post natal The Aerobic Equation C6H12O6 6 O2 6 CO2 6 H2O energy or glucose oxygen yields carbon dioxide water and energy How to get extra glucose oxygen How to distribute extra glucose oxygen to cells How to get rid of extra carbon dioxide Traditional Estimates of Dinosaur Physiology Posture Latitudinal distribution Feeding adaptations such as dental batteries Relation to birds Predator prey ratio Microscopic bone structure Haversian canals reworked bone Insulation Small brain size Non traditional Physiologies Gigantothermy Heterometabolism Ontogenetic and Behavioral Respiration in Mammals vs Crocs vs Birds vs other tetrapods Belly breathing in basal archosaurs and at least some dinosaurs Air sac breathing with one way lungs in at least Saurischia Other variations of respiration in Ornithischia in Pterosauria Function of four chambered hearts and evidence for such in dinosaurs Nasal Turbinates and significance of enlarged nares in bigger more derived dinosaurs Significance of higher oxygen and carbon dioxide levels and higher plant productivity in Mesozoic Other organisms of the Mesozoic and the K Pg Extinction Be familiar with the following groups and their fate relative to the K Pg Extinction Marine life Coccolithophorids foraminiferans ammonoids belemnoids rudists inoceramids Mesozoic marine reptiles Ichthyosaurs plesiosaurs hesperornithines sea turtles mosasaurs marine crocodilians Terrestrial life Plants insects amphibians turtles tuataras lizards incl snakes crocodilians incl various nonaquatic types champsosaurs pterosaurs Mesozoic mammals Origins diversity monotremes multituberculates therians eutherians placentals and our ancestors plus metatherians marsupials plus their ancestors Definitions Extinction Mass extinction Maastrichtian Campanian Paleogene K Pg extinction Hypotheses of extinction What evidence exists for different agents of extinction How might each have caused the event Good evidence for Volcanism esp Deccan Traps India Asteroid impact Iridium layer at Gubbio Italy Shocked quartz melt glass tsunami deposits ejecta deposits etc Crater at Chicxulub Yucat n Maastrichtian Regression What is the environmental impact of each of those agents The effects and timing of each What does the magnetostratigraphic record say about the timing of Deccan Traps and the Chicxulub Impact Phases of destruction from the Chicxulub impact Phase I Shockwave Tsunami Phase II Easy Bake Oven Phase III Impact Winter Phase IV Greenhouse Summer Changes in dinosaur populations especially in western North America before and at K Pg boundary Pattern of fates at K Pg in marine and continental environments Popular Culture Changing popular perceptions of Dinosauria Reconstructing dinosaurs from fossils Hunting for Dinosaurs Field techniques to collect fossils Importance of collecting data other than the bones themselves In general What are dinosaurs What are not dinosaurs