Dino Final

Clade

"A grouping of organisms based on their hypothesized evolutionary history, consisting of a common ancestor and all of its descendants"

Synapomorphy

"A shared trait that helps define a group" or "a shared, derived characteristic that helps define an evolutionary group"

Dinosauria / Dinosaur Greek

"terrible lizard"

Dimetrodon Greek

"two, measure, tooth"

Iguanadon:

"iguana", Greek: "tooth"

Empirical:

"Things that can be recognized by the senses (sight, touch, etc.)"

Law:

A generalization about some aspect of the natural world that appears to be true in all cases

Hypothesis:

"A proposed explanation for a set of observations about the natural world

Theory:

"An explanation about some aspect of the natural world that has been repeatedly tested and confirmed"

Normative

Both the good and the bad

Falsifiable

A scientific hypothesis, theory, or claim can be proven false through empirical observation or experiment

Scientific journal

"A specialized publication for evaluating and sharing scientific research between scientists"

Peer Review

"A process used in scientific journals where multiple scientists (usually anonymously) argue for the publication or rejection of an article"

Corroboration

"When multiple studies / techniques support the same hypothesis. A critical part of theory building."

Fossil

"The preserved remains of a prehistoric organism"

Minerals

"Solids with a well-defined chemical composition and crystal structure"

Body fossil

"Physical remains of an organism"

Molecular fossils

"Molecules that can be preserved and extracted from fossils. Examples include: ancient DNA, proteins, and lipids (fats)"

Trace fossil

(ichnofossil) "Remains of an organism but not the organism itself"

Lagerstätte

A fossil deposit with exceptional preservation"

Bone beds

"Sites where Hundreds or thousands of fossils are preserved"

Paleontology

"The branch science that deals with the discovery, collection, and study of fossils"

Sedimentation

"The laying down of dirt and mud, eventually turning into layers of rock."

Erosion

"The weathering of rock by wind and water"

Stratigraphy

"The science of mapping the order of rocks"

Mesozoic

"Dinosaurs are found in these rocks (Greek for middle; life) because they are in the middle of the stratigraphic column "

Igneous rocks

"Formed through the cooling and solidification of magma and lava."

Sedimentary rocks

"Formed by the accumulation and cementation of sediment at the Earth's surface"

Metamorphic rocks

"Formed by the transformation of other rocks through extensive heat and pressure"

Geology

"Scientific study of the physical Earth, its composition, and the processes that change it over time"

Index fossil

Fossils from organisms that had a broad distribution but were short-lived lithostratigraphy "(Greek for and mineral composition"

Biostratigraphy

"(Greek for: life) Dating rocks based on their fossils"

What are the three different rocks

"Igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic"

Geochronology

"(Greek for Earth; time) provides absolute dates for strata

"The scientific theory of common descent states:

that all living things are connected through a series of common ancestors"

What does the scientific law of natural selection show?

"The scientific law of natural selection shows how populations become better adapted to their environment by the preservation of favorable traits"

Kinetic skull (cranial kinesis):

"Significant movement of skull bones relative to each other

What is the dinosaur pelvis made out of?

"The pelvis is made up of three bones the ilium, ischium, and pubis"

What is the acetabulum and what does it allow for?

"The acetabulum is the hole in the pelvis and it allows the femur to upright stance like birds and mammals."

Comparative anatomy:

"The study of similarities and differences between species

Cladistics:

"Formalized the process of determining evolutionary relationships (phylogenies)"

Taxa / taxon:

"Any unit used in the biological classification of life. Can be populations, species, or larger clades"

Cladogram

An evolutionary tree (phylogeny) made from cladistic analyses

Monophyletic clade:

"A group made up of a common ancestor and all of its descendants"

Paraphyletic clade:

"A group made up of a common ancestor and some, but not all of its descendants"

Evolutionary Tree / phylogeny:

A branching diagram representing the inferred evolutionary relationships and history among various biological species based on shared ancestry

Paleobiogeography:

The distribution of fossils over space

Plate tectonics theory States:

Earth's outer shell (lithosphere) is divided into several large, rigid plates that glide over a ductile inner layer (asthenosphere).

Paleoclimatology:

The reconstruction of climate through deep (geologic) time

Tillite:

Sedimentary rock containing unsorted and unstratified rock material. Sign of ice and cold weather, glaciers. (very cold)

Evaporite:

Sedimentary rock formed from a deposit of precipitated minerals. Indicative of hot weather. (hot and dry)

Latorite and Kaolinite:

Sedimentary rock formed from extreme weathering of parent rock. Requires hot temperature and lots of water. (hot and wet)

Amniotes (clade Amniota):

Greek membrane surrounding the fetus

Permian:

The geologic period that predates the Mesozoic

Mass extinction:

An unusually large number of extinctions occurring worldwide

Pangea:

The major paleocontinent at the start of the Mesozoic

Lystrosaurus:

Greek: tool, shovel; lizard

Synapsida:

latin: with; arch/valult

Cynognathus

Greek: dog; jaw

Ectotherms:

("cold blooded") Use external sources of energy to control body their temperature (requires more energy)

Endotherms:

("warm blooded") Use metabolic processes to control body their temperature

Crurotarsi

Latin: lower leg; ankle

Effigia okeeffeae

latin: ghost; in honour of Georgia O'Keeffe for her paintings of the badlands at Ghost Ranch

Homologous evolution:

The process where similar traits in different organisms arise from a common ancestor

Convergent evolution:

The independent evolution of similar traits that were not found in a common ancestor

Avemetatarsalia

Latin: bird; lower ankle

Pterosaurs:

A clade of extinct flying diapsids that existed during the Mesozoic

Eoraptor

Greek: dawn; theif

Coelophysis

Greek: hollow; process/form

Theropods (clade Theropoda):

Greek: wild beast; foot

Plateosaurus

Greek: broad; lizard

Sauropods (clade Sauropodomorpha)

Greek: lizard; foot

Gondwana:

The southern supercontinent, Gondwana, consists of the previous continents as before

Laurasia:

The northern continent, Laurasia, includes Euramerica plus modern-Asia

Dilophosaurus

Greek: two; crested; lizard

Eropoda:

The meat eaters

Ornithischians (clade Ornithischia):

Greek: bird; hip

Lesothosaurus:

A south African country + Greek: lizard

Scutellosaurus:

Greek: little-shielded; lizard

Ecology:

The study of relationships among living organisms and their physical environment

Ornithopods (clade Ornithopoda):

Greek: bird; foot

Thyreophorans (clade Thyreophora):

Greek: shield bearer

Stegosaurus

Greek: roof; lizard

Niche partitioning:

A process where competing species use the environment differently in a way that helps them coexist.

Allosaurus

Greek: different; lizard

Ceratosaurus

Greek: horn; lizard

Birds:

A clade of endothermic diapsids with feathers

Exaptation:

When a trait that originally evolved for one purpose is re-used to serve a new adaptive role

Anchiornis

Greek: near(almost); bird

Sauropods and prosauropods (clade Sauropodomorpha)

Greek: lizard; foot

Brontosaurus

Greek: thunder; lizard

Brachiosaurus

Greek: arm; lizard

Pneumatic bones:

Bones that are filled with air sacs

What ancestral traits made them so big?

Legs straight under the body (thanks to the acetabulum), hollow bones, air sacs for increased oxygen

Angiosperms:

Plants that bear flowers and fruits

Argentinosaurus:

Argentina + Greek: lizard

Hadrosaurs:

Duck billed dinosaurs

Pachycephalosaurs:

Bone-headed dinosaurs

Ceratopsia:

Horned dinosaurs

Dental battery:

Stacks of hundreds of teeth used for grinding plants