Paleo 200

Paleontology

The study of all prehistoric life

Fossil

Any preserved evidence left behind by pre historic organism

Adaptations

Traits that have evolved because they serve specific functions

Vertebrates

Animals that have two special kinds of skeletal adaptations: skulls & vertebrae

Vertebrae

Structures made primarily made of bone and/or cartilage that surrounds a portion of the spinal cord

Vertebral column

A bunch of vertebrae interlocked in a series

Invertebrates

Animals that lack vertebrae

Nares

The pair of openings for the nostrils

Orbits

The pair of openings for the eyes

Fevestrae

Additional openings in the skull, behind each orbit, dinosaurs have two of these on each side of the skull

Laterotemporal fenestrae

The fenestrae on the lateral sides of the skull

Antorbital fenestrae

The third pair of fenestrae located between the orbit and the naris

Centrum

A vertebra has a spool or disk shaped body called the ___

Neural canal

The opening in each vertebra through which the spinal nerves run

Vertebral processes

Provides attachment surfaces for muscles and sometimesprovide articulation surfaces for ribs

Transverse processes

Extend down the lateral sides of the vertebrae

Spinous processes

Extend upwards from the neural arch

Cervical vertebrae

Vertebrae in the neck they have extra large openings for blood and nerve channels and are adapted to support the weight of the head

Dorsal vertebrae

The vertebrae in the back, there are typically extra long spinous processes and rib articulation surfaces

Sacral vertebrae

Vertebrae in the hips, the pelvic bones are fused to these vertebrae , so that the powerful leg muscles have a strong anchor

Sacrum

For further strength in the hips, the sacral vertebrae are fused with one another and form a single solid bone

Caudal vertebrae

Vertebrae in the tail

Chevrons

Located under the caudal vertebrae, they protect the large blood and nerve channel and provides support for the tail muscles

Gastralia

Small ribs positioned across a dinosaurs underbelly-under the rib cage

Tetrapod

An animal that evolved from an ancestor with four feet and four limbs

Limb girdles

The limbs are connected to the rest of the skeleton by

Pectoral girdle / shoulder girdle

The forelimbs are connected via the

Scapula/ shoulder blade

The largest bone inside of the pectoral girdle

Pelvic girdle

The hind limbs are connected to the skeleton via the __

Ilium

The upper hip bone

Pubis

Bone positioned in front of the ischium nearer the belly

Ischium

Is positioned behind the pubis, nearer the tail

Acetabulum

The depression or the hole (in dinosaurs) in the pelvic girdle into which the hind limb articulates

Humerus

Located between the shoulder and elbow, is the largest bone in the forelimb

Radius

Between the elbow and the wrist are two parallel bones __ and ulna. Is thinner of the two

Ulna

Thicker of the two wrist bones, radius and ___

carpals

The bones in the wrist

Metacarpals

The bones between the wrist and fingers

Phalanges (hands)

The finger bones

Metatarsals

The bones between the ankle and toes

Phalanges (feet)

Bones in the toes

Saurischian

Dinosaurs that share an evolutionary ancestor that had a pubis that extended downward and forward, toward the ribcage -"lizard hipped”

Ornithischian

Dinosaurs that share an evolutionary ancestor that had both a special beak-forming bone in the upper jaw and a pubis that extended downwards and backwards towards the tail, "bird hipped” - birds are not bird hipped

Sauropomorphs

Large herbivores with elongated necks and relatively small heads

Prosauropods

Were an early group of sauropodomorphs and were the first group of large-bodied herbivorous dinosaurs to evolve

Sauropods

Later group of sauropodomorphs, were truly a gigantic size, a group of animals that were the largest to walk the earth

Theropods

Were bipedal saurischian dinosaurs that shared a carnivorous ancestor. Many had serrated blade-like teeth and sharp hooked claws, but some were herbivorous and few lack teeth altogether

Ornithopods

Include a wide range of dinosaurs that lack armour and that either walked bipedally all the time or a bipedal stance while running - about the size of small antelopes

Iguanodonts

Large ornithopods with a spike-shaped claw on each hand

Hadrosaurs

"Duckbilled dinosaurs“ - evolved late in the history of dinosaurs, but were highly successful. Some have elaborate boney crests, and have strikingly large beaks and dense, tightly packed rows of small teeth in the rear of their mouth

Dental batteries

Small densely packed teeth form a large chewing surfaces

Pachycephalosaurs

Bipedal with short arms, unusually stout and strong tails and armoured skulls, some have thick domed skull roofs and backwards pointing horns

Ceratopsians

A group of late evolved dinosaurs in history, have a large parrot-like beaks and skulls that are greatly expanded in the rear

Stegosaurs

A group of quadrupedal dinosaurs with rows of projecting osteoderm plates down their backs and long osteoderm spikes on their tails

Osteoderms

Bones that develop within the skin and are a common component of animal armour

Ankylosaurs

Are heavily armoured, are quadrupedal with short legs and wide ribcages, are covered with spikes protective osteoderms, tail club

Integument

The covering of a dinosaurs body, skin, feathers, scales, fur, etc

Keratin

A tough but flexible material that covers the skin, also hair, feathers, fingernails, outside of claws, beaks, and horns

Melanosomes

The pigment cells within a feather, having different arrangements for different colours

Scipionyx

A small theropod dinosaur, found in Italy. found preserved mineralized remains of the trachea and the intestines. An additional red smudge was found in the belly region, which could represent the decayed remains of the heart, liver or spleen. Some muscles were also preserved and the keratinous swaths over the claws

Taphonomy

The study of natural processes that involve an organism after it dies, decay, being scavenged by other organisms, becoming fossilized and erosion

Bloat-and-float

Shortly after death, decay causes a body to swell with putrid gasses and can cause the carcass of large animals to float easily and be transported by shallow, weakly floating water

Disarticulate

A skeleton that is separated into its various components, could be carried by water, scavengers, etc

Plastic deformation

Occurs when pressure causes the shape of a buried fossil to be changed, so that if the pressure is removed the fossil doesn't go back to its original shape

Fluvial deposits

Ancient river and stream deposits

Lacustrine deposits

Ancient lake deposits, have a better chance of preserving soft tissues like hair or feathers in these fossils

Costal environments

Although there were no marine dinosaurs, they can still be found in these environments and sometimes (rarely) deeper-water environments if the dinosaur was washed out to sea during a storm or tsunami

Aeolian or wind-based deposits

Dinosaur fossils are rarely found in sediments representing ancient deserts, because there isn't enough sediments to cover the skeleton

Sedimentary rocks

Are rocks that form when mineral and organic particles accumulate and become either cemented or compacted together.

Metamorphic rocks

Rock that forms when sedimentary or igneous rocks are changed by heat and pressure

Sedimentology

The science of how sedimentary rock forms, different types of sedimentary rocks form indifferent environments understanding the conditions that the rocks were formed in helps us learn important clues about the habitat of The organism

Mudstone and shale

Sedimentary rocks that form from mud and silt

Sandstone

Sedimentary rocks made from sand, coming from a former beach, river channel, or ocean floor environment

Coal

Type of sedimentary rock that forms from the compressed remains of plants, and indicates a swampy environment.

Limestone

Rock formed from the accumulation of shells and exoskeletons of small marine invertebrates almost always indicates a shallow marine environment

Preservation styles

The different ways that fossils are formed

Permineralization

Occurs when the empty internal spaces of a bone are filled with minerals

Replacement

Occurs when the original bone gradually decays and minerals fill the space that the bone once occupied

Badlands

Are avid environments where vegetation is sparse, where erosion rates are high, and where large expanses of ancient sedimentary rocks are exposed

Overburden

The rock that covers a fossil specimen that must be removed before the the full extent of the specimen can be judged, need large indelicate tools like shovels, pickaxes, and sometimes jackhammers and bulldozers

Orientation

This is very important in a bone bed, the position of the fossils is important I long bones that are aligned in the same direction indicate that the bones were transported by water and can tell us the direction that the water was flowing

Abrasion

Scraping or wearing down of something

Tooth marks

Scratches on the bones could be ____, which indicate that a carnivore fed on the carcass, not necessarily meaning killed by a carnivore

Herbivores

Tend to have thin, ridged or “leaf-shaped" teeth for shearing and broad, flat teeth for grinding

Carnivores

Tend to have sharp pointed teeth for piercing, and sharp hooked claws for holding struggling prey

Serrations

Small sharp bumps on a tooth that are arranged in a line that usually runs from the tip to the base of the tooth

Frugivores

Eats primarily fruit, the beak is sharp and hooked to take off the peals and protective husks

Piscivores

Specialized carnivores that primarily eat fish, tend to have tall, sharp, conical teeth that usually lack serrations

Insectivores

Are specialized carnivores that primarily eat insects, some have sharp piercing teeth for puncturing the exoskeletons

Durophagy

Some carnivores have sharp teeth for puncturing and ripping flesh but also have strong rounded teeth that enable them to crack bones, also have extremely powerful jaws

Omnivores

Are animals that eat significant amounts of both meat and plants, humans are a good example, tend to have unspecialized teeth or beaks

Resorption

The chemical process by which a dinosaur breaks down its own teeth and bones so that the minerals and nutrients that compose them to be reused

Cellulose

The walls of plant cells are made of a compound it is tough and it is difficult to breakdown as a food source animals cannot digest it on their own. Animals need from bacteria that live within their stomach and intestines. Dental batteries for the help breakdown the plant matter

Gastroliths

Small little stones in the ribcage of herbivorous dinosaurs, commonly in animals that lack teeth

Dromaeosaurs

A group of theropod dinosaurs with thin tails supported by special rod-like projections of their caudal vertebrae and chevrons, a velociraptor is a famous example

Spinosaur

A group of theropods with skulls that strongly resemble those of crocodiles, were likely piscivores, teeth are comical, have sharp tips and have little to no serrations

Alvarezsaurs

A group of small theropods with short front limbs and compact hands, were likely insectivores, have reduced teeth and short but strong front limbs

Tyrannosaur

A group of the theropods that evolved late in the history of dinosaurs and have reduced front limbs and robust skulls, teeth have serrated edges and are well adapted for puncturing and cutting flesh, have a tremendous biting force

Scavenging

Refers to the consumption of an already dead animal by a carnivore that did not play a part in killing it

Cololites

The fossilized gut contents, can help give info about diet