Levin, Chapter 12

Test your knowledge by selecting an answer and pressing the Submit answer button.

  1. During which geologic period were crinoids most common?
    Cambrian
    Devonian
    Mississippian
    Pennsylvanian
    Permian

  2. During which geologic period were rugose and tabulate corals the dominant reef formers?
    Cambrian
    Cretaceous
    Precambrian
    Silurian
    Tertiary

  3. During which geologic period were Archaeocyathids the dominant reef formers?
    Cambrian
    Cretaceous
    Precambrian
    Silurian
    Tertiary

  4. During which geologic period were graptolites important index fossils?
    Cambrian
    Devonian
    Mississippian
    Ordovician
    Pennsylvanian

  5. What is significant about the Ostracoderms?
    Cartilaginous fishes
    First jawed fishes
    Gave rise to amphibians
    Jawless fishes
    Most successful group of fishes today

  6. What is significant about the Placoderms?
    Cartilaginous fishes
    First jawed fishes
    Gave rise to amphibians
    Jawless fishes
    Most successful group of fishes today

  7. What is significant about the ray-fin bony fishes?
    Cartilaginous fishes
    Jawless fishes
    First jawed fishes
    Gave rise to amphibians
    Most successful group of fishes today

  8. During which geologic period were eurypterids the dominant carnivores of the ocean?
    Cambrian
    Devonian
    Pennsylvanian
    Precambrian
    Silurian

  9. During which geologic period were placoderms the dominant carnivores of the ocean?
    Cambrian
    Devonian
    Pennsylvanian
    Precambrian
    Silurian

  10. What character(s) did the earliest amphibians and the rhipidistian fishes (a group of lobe-fin fishes) have in common?
    Dorsal fins
    Labyrinthodont teeth
    Opercular bones
    Similar appendage bones
    All of the above

  11. What is the main basis for classifying fossil amphibians into subgroups?
    Number of vertebrae in the skeleton
    Skin color and texture
    Structure of the ear region
    Structure of the vertebral centrum
    Temporal openings in the skull

  12. What is the main basis for classifying fossil reptiles into subgroups?
    Number of vertebrae in the skeleton
    Skin color and texture
    Structure of the ear region
    Structure of the vertebral centrum
    Temporal openings in the skull

  13. What was the most crucial character in the origin of reptiles?
    Powerful tails for swimming
    Reduction in size
    Scaly skin
    Temporal openings in the skull
    The amniotic egg

  14. Which group of reptiles was most diverse and dominant during the Permian period?
    Anapsids
    Diapsids
    Euryapsids
    Synapsids

  15. What is thought to be the purpose of the "sails" on the backs of Permian reptiles such as Dimetrodon and Edaphosaurus?
    Attracting mates
    Floating across lakes
    Scaring predators
    Splitting logs
    Thermoregulation

  16. Which of the following groups did not go completely extinct at the end of the Permian?
    Brachiopods
    Fusulinids
    Rugosans
    Tabulates
    Trilobites

Please report any errors or problems to Dr. Heaton.
Press here to return to the ESCI 103 Home Page.