GEOL 104 Dinosaurs: A Natural History
Essays 4-6: Other Mesozoic Creatures; the K-T Boundary Extinctions; Dinosaurs in Popular Culture

DUE: Fri. Dec. 8

For each of these homework assignments (counted separately in terms of grades), answer in the form of a short essay (about one paragraph long each).  You don’t need to cite your sources (lectures, chapters in the textbook, etc.), but the information must be factual.  In some cases you will have two or more possible paragraph essays to write: you get to choose which one you use.

Again, throughout, be VERY CAREFUL about your taxonomic grammar!!

Essay 4: Other Mesozoic Creatures (use essay A or B or C)
Essay A) Many groups of reptiles returned to the sea during the Mesozoic.  Choose two of the following taxa: ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, mosasaurs, marine turtles.  Describe the adaptations that allowed these reptiles to survive in the water.  In particular, describe: their adaptations for swimming; their adaptations for feeding; and their likely mode of reproduction.

OR

Essay B) Pterosaurs represent the first major radiation of powered flying vertebrates.  In what ways did pterosaurs differ from birds (at least three)?  In what ways were they similar (at least two)?

OR

Essay C) Mammals first appeared during the Age of Dinosaurs.  However, many of the synapomorphies found in modern mammals (fur, warm-blood, mammary and sweat glands, etc.) do not readily preserve in the fossil record.  What skeletal features (at least two) might be recovered from a Mesozoic fossil to demonstrate that it was a mammal?

Essay 2 Dinosaur Extinctions (use essay D or E or F or G)
Essay D) Not all dinosaurs died out at the K-T extinction.  List three dinosaurian clades that died out prior to the K-T boundary.  List three dinosaurian clades that died out at the K-T boundary.  List one dinosaurian clade that survived the K-T boundary.

OR

Essay E) The impact of a large asteroid has been implicated as the primary causal agent of the K-T extinction event.  How would such an impact cause the extinction?  What physical evidence (at least three lines of evidence) have been found supporting the hypothesis of a K-T impact?

OR

Essay F) What are the Deccan Traps, and how might they have been associated with the K-T extinction event?

OR

Essay G) What was the Maastrichtian Regression, and how might it have been associated with the K-T extinction event?

Essay 3 Dinosaurs in Popular Culture (use essay H)
Essay H) Ever since the Great Exposition of the 1850s dinosaurs have been a staple of popular culture.  They have appeared in political cartoons, advertisements, books, stories, comics, on TV, in the movies, on video games, as toys, and more.  Find a specific example of the use of a dinosaur or dinosaurs in popular culture.  What dinosaur was (or dinosaurs were) used in this example?  Does the example seem scientifically accurate (and do you think that scientific accuracy was a goal of item)?  What message or symbol do you think the writer/artist/designer/whatever was trying to convey by using a dinosaur?
If possible, you may include the item (or a Xerox of it) with this essay.  If it is something more tangible, you may bring it into class on Monday the 11th  (although you are not obligated to do so).
NOTE: You cannot use ANY of the following examples: Jurassic Park, Jurassic Park: The Lost World, The Flintstones, Barney, or the old Henson TV show Dinosaurs!.  There are a LOT more examples than these out there.