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Home , Othniel Charles Marsh, Saurischia

HONR 259C “Fearfully Great ”: Topics in Research Test I Review

The nature of Science and the nature of research

Major events and figures in the history of dinosaur : Baron Georges Cuvier William Buckland Gideon & Mary Ann Mantell Richard Owen vs. Henry Fairfield Osborn

Rock Types, esp. Sedimentary Rocks: Igneous vs. Metamorphic vs. Sedimentary Environments of deposition of sedimentary rocks: how are they reflected in sedimentary structures?

Process of fossilization; taphonomy

Basics of Stratigraphy: Principles of Original Horizontality, Superposition, Cross-Cutting Relationships, Fossil Succession Relative vs. Numerical Ages Index fossils and correlation Radiometric dating The Geologic Column: Eras, Periods, Epochs (know the periods & epochs of the Mesozoic)

Evolution = Descent with Modification Natural Selection = Differential Survival and Reproduction of Variants in a Population Resulting in a Net Change in Phenotype of the Descendants Basic observations of Natural Selection: I. Variation in all populations (Variability) II. Some (but not all) variation is inherited (Heritability) III. More are born in a population than can possibly survive (Superfecundity) Homology, Analogy, Divergence, Convergence, Adaptive Trends, Adaptive Radiations, Exaptation, Heterochrony (Pedomorphosis vs. Peramorphosis)

Linnaean & proper taxonomic grammar Genus Principle of priority Lumping vs. Splitting

Systematics: Be able to read and understand a cladogram! Phylogenetic definitions of taxa Symplesiomorphy, synapomorphy, autapomorphy, homoplasy (convergence & reversals) Monophyly vs. Inferring missing data Extant Phylogenetic Bracket (Type I inference: both EPB have same state that you infer for the fossil; Type II inference: one has one state, one has the other; Type III: neither EPB has same state that you infer for the fossil)

Dinosaur Origins Where do fit among the ? What is the definition of Dinosauria? (the concestor of and and all of its descendants) Significance of , , Scutellosaurus, Saturnalia,

Dinosaur Phylogeny Be familiar with the relationships and some of the main adaptations (I’ve listed some) and habits (diet, postulated behavior, distribution in time and space, etc.) of the major dinosaur listed below:

Dinosauria: Perforated acetabulum; asymmetrical hand; semi-opposable manual digit I

Ornithischia: Predentary bone; leaf –shaped teeth; backwards-pointing (except for Pisanosaurus); cheeks in most forms : Deep, powerful skulls; predentary margin ventral to maxillary margin; jaw joint ventral to dentary tooth row Thyreophora: Scutes; obligate quadrupedality (except for Scutellosaurus) : Plates and spikes; thagomizer : Osteoderms fused to skull; rings of body armor on neck; wide hips Neornithischia: Enamel on only one side of teeth : Predentary margin ventral to maxillary margin; jaw joint ventral to dentary tooth row Iguanodontia: Facultative bipeds; toothless premaxilla Hadrosauriformes: Hinged upper jaw; “Swiss Army Hand” (spike thumb; hoof-like digits II-IV; opposable digit V) Hadrosauridae: Enlarged snout; grinding dental battery; loss of thumb Hadrosaurinae: Very large nares; broad snout Lambeosaurinae: Hollow narial crest Marginocephalia: Ridge on back of skull Pachycephalosauria: Thickened skull roof (sometimes domed) : Rostral bone; pointed jugals Neoceratopsia: Enlarged skull; frill; obligate quadrupedality : Horns (postorbital and nose); shearing dental battery

Saurischia: Complex chambers in vertebrae Herrerasauria: ?Reversal to 2 sacrals; intramandibular joint Eusaurischia: Elongated neck; digit II longest in hand; big thumb claw

Among the eusaurischians: : Leaf-shaped teeth, very elongated neck, small head, elongate femur “Prosauropods” (life habits: no shared derived characters, since they are paraphyletic!!) : Enormous size; tooth occlusion; obligate quadrupedality; short snouts : Dorsally-placed nares; columnar metacarpals : Forelimbs much shorter than hindlimb; pencil-shaped teeth : Greatly enlarged nares (as big or bigger than orbits); elongated metacarpals : Promaxillary fenestra; Intramandibular joint; loss of manual digit V; furcula; functionally three-toed pes : Subnarial gap : Lacrimal fenestra : 7 or more sacrals; reduced manual phalanges : Enlarged hands; stiffened tail : Elongate narrow snouts; conical teeth; giant size : Maxillary fenestra; very complex chambers in vertebrae; loss of manual digit IV : Enlarged naris; extra openings in antorbital region; giant size : Simply downy ; enlarged brain; narrow hand; boat-shaped chevrons : Incisor-like premaxillary teeth; fused nasals : Enlarged skull; thickened teeth; reduced arms; loss of manual digit III; elongate tibiae and metatarsi; arctometatarsus; giant size : Small beaky skull; elongate neck; all three metacarpals the same length : Toothless skull; elongate tibiae and metatarsi; arctometatarsus : Elongate forelimb; enlarged ossified sternum; laterally-facing shoulder joints; semilunate carpal; backwards-pointing pubis; broad feathers on arms and tail : Leaf-shaped teeth or toothless; boxy skull Therizinosauroidea: Small skull; leaf-shaped teeth; long neck; backwards- pointing pubis; short metatarsi Eumaniraptora: VERY long arms, tail very mobile near base; distally-placed backwards-facing pedal digit I; backwards-facing pubis; long leg feathers : retractable second pedal digit with sickle-shaped claw : Elongate arms; Reduced number of caudals (and shorter tail) : Pygostyle

From the Small Groups/Critical Reviews What kind of evidence is used to infer what dinosaurs ate what? What limitations exist for these methods?

How do paleontologists employ trace fossils? What kind of information can trace fossils reveal that body fossils do not?