ADDITIONAL QUIZ - Evolution of Animals

The earliest evidence of any life on Earth is?

Fossilized mats of bacteria called stromatolites

The fossil Charnia is?

The earliest “animal-like” organism pre-dating the Cambrian Period

The fossil Charnia?

Was found in 600 million year old rocks, was found in rocks once thought to be too old for animal fossils

Just prior to the evolution of complex life?

The only life was microbial, the Earth went through a period of glaciation extending from pole-to-pole, and life almost went extinct before it had a chance to get started

Relatively soon after “Snow Ball Earth” ended?

The climate warmed due to greenhouse effect of volcanic ash, atmospheric oxygen increased due to photosynthetic cyanobacteria

The protein Collagen?

Is only found in animals, allows cells to stick together, and was made possible due to increased atmospheric oxygen

Multicellular life?

Was made possible due to increased atmospheric oxygen, was made possible to evolution of collagen, and allowed cells to work together making them more efficient and allowing them to control the inside environment

The fossilized “proto-animals” at Mistaken Point in Canada?

Were immobile, had no mouth, fed by absorbing carbon from seawater

We know that fossils at Mistaken Point were animals, not plants, because?

They existed in water too deep for light to penetrate and for photosynthesis

The fractal animals?

Were soft bodied and resembled ferns

The fractal animals?

Went extinct a few million years after they appeared, left no descendents, and were out-competed by the animals evolving at the beginning of the Cambrian

Fractal animals were an evolutionary dead-end because?

They were so simple they could not evolve

The Ediacran animals?

Existed just as the fractal animals began to die out

The Ediacran animals include?

Dickinsonia, Spriggina, Kimberella

Mobility?

Evolved in the Ediacran animals, allowed animals to feed more effectively, was made possible by the evolution of bilateral symmetry

Bilateral symmetry?

Existed in Spriggina and many other Ediacran animals

How long did it take for multicelluar organisms to appear?

3 billion years

Where did animal life first evolve?

In the seas

The rapid evolution of animals was due to?

Evolution of s*xual reproduction

Evidence of s*xual reproduction in animals?

Was found by Dr. Mary Droser in the fossil Funisia, is shown by attachment points with difference sizes between family groups, and is seen in modern day corals

The fossil Markuelia?

Appeared 20 million years after the Ediacran Period, shows a mouth with teeth, a gut, and an an*s, is the earliest known example of a predator

The Cambrian explosion?

Was the rapid appearance of many animal fauna in the fossil record

The Burgess Shales?

Are found in Canadian Rocky Mountains, contain a seam of fossils documenting the Cambrian Explosion, are 505-508 million years old

What type of animals were the first large predators?

Arthropods

The arthropods had?

Eyes, legs, and a hard exoskeleton and segmented bodies

Although the seas teemed with life, the surface of the Earth was lifeless until?

600 million years ago

Early Cambrian evolutionary “experiments” in animal body plans were?

Opabinia with five eyes and a proboscis with a claw, Hallucigenia with five legs and spines

The rapid evolution of animal body plans in the Cambrian Period was driven by?

Evolution of predation

The earliest apex predator of the Cambrian period was?

Anomalocaris

During the Cambrian the following evolved in animals?

Legs and eyes, swimming, and armor

During the Cambrian period?

Shells reinforced with CaCO3 evolved, early mollusck Wiwaxia evolved, and Arthropods evoled

What percentage of Cambrian fossils in the Burgess Shales are Arthropods?

50%

The most successful Arthropod originating in the Cambrian period was?

The Trilobite

One feature unique to the Trilobites are?

Eyes with mineralized lenses made of Calcite

Stereoscopic vision in some Trilobites?

Enhanced depth perception, improved hunting and defense, and allowed for 360 degree vision