PALEO 200 Final
The rule of priority - ANS-Once a species has officially been given a binomial name it cannot be
changed unless it is discovered that it is not a new species.
Holotype specimen - ANS-A physical example of a new species kept in a research institution so
other scientists may study it to verify it is a new species and compare to other species later
discovered.
Hesperonychus elizabethae - ANS-University of Alberta dromaeosaurid theropod holotype
specimen including only a small pelvis bone. One of the smallest dinosaurs from North America,
it had feathers on the tightly fused pelvis with no sutures (seen in juveniles).
Interspecific variation and intraspecific variation - ANS-Individuals with different morphologies
between different species, and individuals with different morphologies within the same species
(sexual dimorphism).
Ontogenetic variation - ANS-The variation between young and old individuals of the same
species.
Individual variation - ANS-The normal variation among individuals of a given species.
Taphonomic variation - ANS-Taphonomic processes like plastic deformation can uniquely
change the shape of a bone.
Biological species concept (BSC) - ANS-Defines a species as a group of organisms that can
successfully interbreed. It excludes those that undergo asexual reproduction.
Population - ANS-Any group of organisms that live in the same geographic area and interbreed.
One or more can make up a species.
Morphological species concept (MSC) - ANS-Defines a species as a group of organisms that
share a certain degree of physical similarity.
Phylogenetic lumpers and splitters - ANS-Lumpers require more differences before considering
two species to be distinct, and splitters require fewer differences.
Darwin's 4 principles of life - ANS-Traits of an organism are heritable, the source of trait
variation is random genetic mutation, the traits can give advantages for sexual success, and
resource competition determines which traits persist.
, Characters and shared derived characters - ANS-A character is any heritable trait that can be
described and labeled. A shared derived character is a character present in two or more groups
AND their common ancestor, but not in any distantly related groups (AKA synapomorphy). For
example, ornithischians have a beak formed by the predentary jaw bone.
Spinosaurus vs Ouranosaurus - ANS-Both have a sail, but Spinosaurus has many
synapomorphies with saurischians and theropods while Ouranosaurus has many
synapomorphies with ornithischians and ornithopods so they are different lineages. This is an
example of convergent evolution.
Clade - ANS-A group of species that includes an ancestral species and all its descendants. Can
be monophyletic, paraphyletic and polyphyletic.
Thomas Henry Huxley - ANS-Colleague of Darwin and advocated for the theory of evolution.
Recognized that birds came from dinosaurs due to Archaeopteryx being the missing link.
Sinosauropteryx - ANS-The first non-avian dinosaur to be found with feathers used for
insulation.
Yutyrannus - ANS-The largest feathered dinosaur, it was a tyrannosaurid.
The ascent of birds - ANS-Dilong (trannosaur), Nqwebasaurus (ornithomimid), Haplocheirus
(alverezsaur), Yixianosaurus (manraptorian), Xiaotingia (dromaeosaur), Archaeopteryx,
Confuciusornis, Bohaiornis (enantiornthine), Apsaravis (ornithurine), and Ichthyornis.
Different definitions of birds - ANS-Archaeopteryx and all of its descendants, feathered
dinosaurs, flying dinosaurs, crown dinosaurs (last common ancestor of all extant birds and its
descendants).
Principle of superposition - ANS-The tendency of rocks to be chronologically stacked. The
oldest rocks make up the bottom layer of sediment, and the newest make up the upper layers.
This can give the relative age but not the absolute age.
Stratigraphy - ANS-The science of using the arrangement and composition of rock layers to
interpret geological history.
Formation - ANS-A large, uninterrupted sequence of rock that is made of multiple layers that all
share similar properties and that all formed under similar conditions. Large-scale changes can
be determined by the sequence of one formation going into another.
Radiometric dating - ANS-Determines the absolute age of rock. Isotopes (elements with an
unusual number of neurons) concentration ratios are used to measure radioactive decay via
mass spectrometer. Sedimentary rocks cannot be dated, but igneous (like volcamic ash) can.
The rule of priority - ANS-Once a species has officially been given a binomial name it cannot be
changed unless it is discovered that it is not a new species.
Holotype specimen - ANS-A physical example of a new species kept in a research institution so
other scientists may study it to verify it is a new species and compare to other species later
discovered.
Hesperonychus elizabethae - ANS-University of Alberta dromaeosaurid theropod holotype
specimen including only a small pelvis bone. One of the smallest dinosaurs from North America,
it had feathers on the tightly fused pelvis with no sutures (seen in juveniles).
Interspecific variation and intraspecific variation - ANS-Individuals with different morphologies
between different species, and individuals with different morphologies within the same species
(sexual dimorphism).
Ontogenetic variation - ANS-The variation between young and old individuals of the same
species.
Individual variation - ANS-The normal variation among individuals of a given species.
Taphonomic variation - ANS-Taphonomic processes like plastic deformation can uniquely
change the shape of a bone.
Biological species concept (BSC) - ANS-Defines a species as a group of organisms that can
successfully interbreed. It excludes those that undergo asexual reproduction.
Population - ANS-Any group of organisms that live in the same geographic area and interbreed.
One or more can make up a species.
Morphological species concept (MSC) - ANS-Defines a species as a group of organisms that
share a certain degree of physical similarity.
Phylogenetic lumpers and splitters - ANS-Lumpers require more differences before considering
two species to be distinct, and splitters require fewer differences.
Darwin's 4 principles of life - ANS-Traits of an organism are heritable, the source of trait
variation is random genetic mutation, the traits can give advantages for sexual success, and
resource competition determines which traits persist.
, Characters and shared derived characters - ANS-A character is any heritable trait that can be
described and labeled. A shared derived character is a character present in two or more groups
AND their common ancestor, but not in any distantly related groups (AKA synapomorphy). For
example, ornithischians have a beak formed by the predentary jaw bone.
Spinosaurus vs Ouranosaurus - ANS-Both have a sail, but Spinosaurus has many
synapomorphies with saurischians and theropods while Ouranosaurus has many
synapomorphies with ornithischians and ornithopods so they are different lineages. This is an
example of convergent evolution.
Clade - ANS-A group of species that includes an ancestral species and all its descendants. Can
be monophyletic, paraphyletic and polyphyletic.
Thomas Henry Huxley - ANS-Colleague of Darwin and advocated for the theory of evolution.
Recognized that birds came from dinosaurs due to Archaeopteryx being the missing link.
Sinosauropteryx - ANS-The first non-avian dinosaur to be found with feathers used for
insulation.
Yutyrannus - ANS-The largest feathered dinosaur, it was a tyrannosaurid.
The ascent of birds - ANS-Dilong (trannosaur), Nqwebasaurus (ornithomimid), Haplocheirus
(alverezsaur), Yixianosaurus (manraptorian), Xiaotingia (dromaeosaur), Archaeopteryx,
Confuciusornis, Bohaiornis (enantiornthine), Apsaravis (ornithurine), and Ichthyornis.
Different definitions of birds - ANS-Archaeopteryx and all of its descendants, feathered
dinosaurs, flying dinosaurs, crown dinosaurs (last common ancestor of all extant birds and its
descendants).
Principle of superposition - ANS-The tendency of rocks to be chronologically stacked. The
oldest rocks make up the bottom layer of sediment, and the newest make up the upper layers.
This can give the relative age but not the absolute age.
Stratigraphy - ANS-The science of using the arrangement and composition of rock layers to
interpret geological history.
Formation - ANS-A large, uninterrupted sequence of rock that is made of multiple layers that all
share similar properties and that all formed under similar conditions. Large-scale changes can
be determined by the sequence of one formation going into another.
Radiometric dating - ANS-Determines the absolute age of rock. Isotopes (elements with an
unusual number of neurons) concentration ratios are used to measure radioactive decay via
mass spectrometer. Sedimentary rocks cannot be dated, but igneous (like volcamic ash) can.
