Vertebrate Zoology Final Exam Practice Test

Which statement from the list below does not apply to leptotyphloid snakes A. fossorial B. represent the ancestral fossorial condition for snakes C. small size, no more than 20cms D. do not have traces of the pelvic girdle E. live everywhere - ANSWER D. do not have traces of the pelvic girdle Which animals from the list below are Archosaurians? A. caiman B. alligator C. eagle D. tuatara E. All except D - ANSWER E. All except D From figure 1 you can conclude the following list of statements below except. A. the skull on the left is a lizard B. connection of the lower jaw with the cranium (on the right) is indirect C. because of the condition B (above), this animal (on the right) can widely open its mouth D. the skull on the right is not a snake E. the bone labeled with number 3 is the quadrate - ANSWER D. the skull on the right is not a snake Snakes with heavy body would have ____________locomotion. A. concertina B. rectilinear C. sidewinding D. serpentine E. dorso-ventral - ANSWER B. rectilinear Snakes' feeding specialization(s) includes(e) A. kinetic skulls with free movement of the jaws B. direct connection of the lower jaw to the cranium C. flexible connection between the quadrate and supratemporal bones D. mandibles on the lower jaw are not attached and can spread sideways E. all of the above except B - ANSWER E. all of the above except B One or more enlarged teeth at rear of maxilla + small teeth at its front. - ANSWER opisthoglyphous Enlarged fangs at the front of maxilla + small teeth solid teeth behind. - ANSWER proteroglyphous Hollow fangs are the only teeth in the maxilla. - ANSWER solenoglyphous No fangs - ANSWER aglyphous The term______________ refers to areas in the skin of birds where feathers are developed A. apteria B. vane C. pterylae D. rachis E. calamus - ANSWER C. pterylae Apparently, snakes evolved from______________ A. surface dwelling lizard B. aquatic type of lizard C. arboreal type of lizard D. subterranean lizard E. all of the above are possible snake ancestors - ANSWER D. subterranean lizard Which group from the list below includes the largest snakes? A. Colubridae B. Viperidae C. Boidae D. Elapidae E. Lamprophiidae - ANSWER C. Boidae Snakes living in the desert have___________ locomotion. A. concertina B. rectilinear C. dorso-ventral D. serpentine E. sidewinding - ANSWER E. sidewinding About the "behavioral control of body temperature in squamates" (mostly lizards), they can alter the amount of absorbed solar radiation by ________________. A. changing their orientation to the sun B. changing their body contour C. changing their skin color D. becoming endothermous E. A, B and C are true - ANSWER E. A, B and C are true From figure 2 you can conclude that_____________________. A. endothermy is less costly than ectothermy B. a placental mammal with a size ranging between 1Kg to 10 kg is as efficient as a lizard of about 0.7gr C. small birds are the less efficient animals using energy for life maintenance D. large mammals are less efficient using energy for life maintenance E. B and C are true - ANSWER E. B and C are true If you look at the entire chordates spectrum, from tunicates to amniotes, you see that most species are. A. ectotherm B. endotherm C. efficient using energy D. evolution favors ectothermy E. A, C and D are true - ANSWER E. A, C and D are true About coping with cold temperature, you can say that _____________. A. ectothermous animals can supercooling B. ectothermous animals can also produce antifreeze compounds, ie. fishes C. endothermous animal increase metabolic rate D. all of the above E. none of the above - ANSWER D. all of the above Ectotherm animals living in the desert respond to dryness by_____________. A. lowering metabolic rate B. excreting salt to retain water C. exploiting microhabitats D. all of the above E. none of the above - ANSWER D. all of the above If you look again figure 2; you can say that_____________. A. endothermous animals have the tendency to be big B. ectothermous animals have the tendency to be smaller compared to endothermous C. size is not a determining factor on energy optimization D. A and B are true E. all of the above are true - ANSWER D. A and B are true The study of birds - ANSWER ornithology the study of insects - ANSWER entomology the study of reptiles - ANSWER Herpetology the study of mammals - ANSWER mammalogy the study of fishes - ANSWER Ichthyology Many hypotheses explain dinosaurs' extinction. From the list of the alternative explanations below, which one you believe is the most plausible one? A. extraterrestrial, explosion of a supernova that spread radiation and affected dinosaurs' gonads B. constipation by eating angiosperms C. meteorite impact D. eruption of massive volcanoes in India known as the Deccan Traps E. small mammals predation of dinosaurs' eggs - ANSWER C. meteorite impact About the group called Diapsida you can tell that_____________. A. all of the species have two temporal fossae B. birds are included in the group C. duckbill platypus is a good example of diapsids D. dinosaurs are included in the group E. A, B and D are true - ANSWER E. A, B and D are true During the early Mesozoic, the planet Earth consisted of one single land mass called Pangea. Break up the Pangea during the Jurassic and Cretaceous resulted in ______________. A. speciation of animals and plants B. massive extinctions C. development of simple food webs D. all of the above E. none of the above - ANSWER A. speciation of animals and plants Diapsida includes two groups: Archosauromorpha and Lepidosauromorpha. Which animals from the list below are archosauromorphs? A. ichthyosaurs B. snakes C. placodonts D. plesiosaurs E. crocodiles - ANSWER E. crocodiles About dinosaurs, you can say that they were____________. A. bipedal B. herbivores and carnivores C. diapsids D. saurischians and ornithischians E. all of the above - ANSWER E. all of the above About orinithischians you can tell that_______________. A. they were lizard-hipped dinosaurs B. they were bird-hipped dinosaurs C. they were carnivores D. birds are included in the group E. all of the above - ANSWER B. they were bird-hipped dinosaurs All the statements are true about the Great American Biotic Interchange (GABI), except. A. occurred during the Pleistocene B. occurred when the