GEOL 104 Dinosaurs: A Natural History
Final Review

Review Tests 1 & 2, especially:
	Definition of “Dinosauria” (all descendants of the most recent common ancestor of Iguanodon and Megalosaurus)
	Proper taxonomic grammar!
	What are the relationships between dinosaurs and other tetrapods?
	What are the relationships between and important adaptations of the major groups of dinosaurs?
	Bird origins
	What are the major events in dinosaur history?

Contributions of…
J. Ostrom	J. Horner	R.T. Bakker	J. Ruben		W. Alvarez

Dinosaur behavior
	Altricial vs. Precocial Growth
	How dinosaur growth compares to non-avian reptiles?  To placental mammals?
	Interspecific vs. Intraspecific Behavior
	Displays: Defensive, Sexual, etc.
	Methods of interpreting behavior:	Comparisons with living forms (by analogy, by phylogeny)
					Biomechanics
					Geological Evidence
	Examples of dinosaur behavior from the fossil record

Endothermy vs. Ectothermy
				“Warm-Blooded”			“Cold-Blooded”			
Energy Source:			Endothermy			Ectothermy
Metabolic Rate:			Tachymetabolic			Bradymetabolic
Temperature over Time:		Homeothermy			Poikilothermy			

Latitudinal distribution	Blood pressure		Feeding adaptations	Relation to birds	Posture
Predator-prey ratio	Microscopic bone structure (Haversian canals)	Brain size 	Insulation
Oxygen isotopes		Respiratory turbinates	
Gigantothermy		Heterometabolism (Ontogenetic and Behavioral)
What evidence is there for dinosaurian endothermy, dinosaur ectothermy, or alternatives?
Dinosaur breathing (“belly breathing”, air sacs); cooling; hearts

Other creatures of the Mesozoic
	Marine reptiles of the Mesozoic (Turtles, Ichthyosaurs, Mosasaurs, Plesiosaurs):
		What were each groups main adaptations to help them survive in the ocean?
	Pterosaurs:		How did their wings differ from bird wings?
	Mammals:  Monotremes, Multituberculates, Marsupials, Placentals
		What is their place in the phylogeny of amniotes?
mandible	middle ear	mammary glands		whiskers	& fur
incisors		canines		premolars	molars		occlusion	deciduous teeth

Extinction
	Definitions: 	Extinction, Mass extinction	
	Maastrichtian		Campanian		Tertiary		K-T extinction
	Coccolithophorids	Ammonoids		Rudists		Inoceramids
	Champsosaurs
	Fate of various land and sea creatures at K-T boundary
	
Hypotheses of extinction:	what evidence exists for them?  how might each have caused the event?
Poor evidence:  Mammals eating eggs, Gas from space, Supernovae

Good evidence for:	Volcanism:  Deccan Traps (India)
			Asteroid impact:
Iridium layer at Gubbio, Italy
Shocked quartz, melt glass, tsunami deposits
Crater at Chicxulub (Yucatan)
			Maastrichtian Regression
	Changes in dinosaur populations before and at K-T boundary

Popular Culture
	Dinosaurs as metaphors
	Changing popular perceptions of Dinosauria

Jurassic Park/The Lost World
	What problems are there with the techniques used in the story to revive the dinosaurs?

In general
	What are dinosaurs?  What are not dinosaurs?

Final thought: