Study Material for PALEO 200 - A+ Rated Study Resource

Study Material for PALEO 200 - A+ Rated Study Resource Palaeontology - answer - the study of all prehistoric life. A palaeontologist's knowledge of prehistoric life comes primarily from fossils Fossil - answer - -any preserved evidence left behind by a prehistoric organism. -fossils are usually objects or structures found buried in ancient rock formations. -Dinosaur fossils include footprints, eggshells, coprolites (fossil poop), and in rare instances even skin and feather impressions. -However, most dinosaur fossils are bones. Bones are partially made of minerals, which do not decay as easily as flesh and other soft tissues. For this reason, bones have a much greater chance of being preserved as fossils, and a dinosaur palaeontologist needs to know a great deal about bones. Dinosaurs come in all sizes - answer - -birds are the smallest dinosaurs that we know of -small dinosaurs Microraptor and Fruitadens were probably less than a metre long as adults -One possible reason people may think dinosaurs are larger than they are is because they are often "inflated" in pop culture. --, in reality Velociraptor was about the size of a dog or a turkey, not a human Adaptations - answer - traits that have evolved because they serve specific functions. Bones are adaptations that help animals to survive by serving four major functions. Adaptions: First - answer - bones passively resist gravity and maintain an animal's form. When you stand up straight, the bones in your legs act like support columns. Your leg bones support your weight, without your muscles needing to actively flex and expend energy. Adaptations: Second - answer - bones provide a ridged framework for muscle attachment. Raise your right hand high over your head. When you do, you can feel muscles in your shoulder flexing. The bones in your shoulder girdle provide a solid anchor against which your shoulder muscles can pull, and long bones in your arm allow it to move as single stiff unit. Adaptations: Third - answer - bones provide protection and can also be major components of horns and other robust weapons. For example, your skull bones form a natural helmet that protects your brain -- a delicate organ that could be seriously damaged by an impact with an unexpectedly low doorway or rogue baseball. Adaptations: Fourth - answer - bones store mineral reserves. Often the resources that an animal needs to grow and develop are plentiful at one time and rare at another. During times of plenty, animals may store a valuable mineral resource, such as calcium, by growing a new bone deposit or by increasing the density of already existing bone. Later, during a time when the resource is scarce, the animal may gain access to stored minerals by reabsorbing some of its bone. Invertebrates - answer - -Animals that lack vertebrae -include animals like insects, spiders, snails, squids, clams, jellyfish, and worms. Vertebrates - answer - animals that have two special kinds of skeletal adaptations: skulls and vertebrae. Vertebrae - answer - (singular: vertebra) are structures made primarily of bone and/or cartilage that surround a portion of the spinal nerve cord. -Together, vertebrae interlock with each other in a series and form the vertebral column. -Fish, amphibians, turtles, snakes, birds, and mammals are all examples of vertebrates. Skull - answer - -The skull is not a single bone. Rather, the skull is made up of many bones that are tightly locked together. More than any other part of the skeleton, a skull can give a palaeontologist great insight into a dinosaur's life. -Dinosaur skulls also have multiple pairs of large openings. Jaws - answer - The upper and lower jaws may contain teeth and/or include a beak, and they are critical for interpreting what a dinosaur was adapted to eat. The rear portion of the skull includes the brain case. Brain case - answer - a hollow chamber formed by multiple skull bones that houses the brain. There are many small openings into the brain