Dinosaur Extinction
A big space rock smacked into the Earth _____________________ years ago and ended the Cretaceous Period.
When is 66 million?
The biggest shark ever lived in the Neogene Period.
What was megaladon?
The last supercontinent, all its continents finally finished breaking up in the Cretaceous.
What was Pangaea?
There's a big crater on Earth at the start of the Paleogene. What's it called?
What is Chicxulub?
Charles ________________ is famous for figuring out how evolution works in his famous 1800s book, "On the Origin of Species."
Who was Darwin?
Which modern day country did the asteroid smack into?
What is Mexico?
The fossil of “Ardi” (Ardipithecus, found in Ethiopia) had hip, leg, and foot features that suggest this species could live in trees but also _____________ 4.4 m.y. ago.
What is walked upright?
This seaway split North America in half during the Cretaceous Period.
What is the Cretaceous Interior Seaway (in the Zuni Transgression)?
The Paleogene Period is the first Period in which Era?
What is the Cenozoic?
Early horses had teeth that showed they ate leaves. These animals are known as __________________
What are browsers?
Which major group of animals actually benefitted from the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event?
What are mammals?
An odd group of egg-laying mammals (5 species e.g., platypus, echidna).
What are monotreme mammals?
Was an island during the Cretaceous, and was home to the Deccan Traps.
What is India?
The climate in the Paleogene Period got cooler and drier, leading to the expansion of ________________ vegetation.
What are grasslands?
Darwin's colleague Alfred _______________ collected thousands of animal specimens and independently came up with how evolution works.
Who was Wallace?
Which element was found in a clay layer at the extinction boundary, and is found in the core of asteroids?
What is iridium?
This widespread extension of the western U.S. crust on normal faults began in the Neogene.
What is the Basin and Range?
The first flowering plants evolved in the Cretaceous Period.
What are angiosperms?
Early whales have tiny hips and back limbs under their skin, evidence they had once 4-legged ancestors. What are such anatomical remnants called?
What are vestigial features?
When humans breed certain traits for animals (such as long-tailed pigeons and tiny dogs), this is known as _________________ selection.
What is "artificial?"
Tiny droplets of melted rocks that were blasted into the atmosphere by the asteroid impact. Tektites are bigger melted droplets of the same stuff.
What are spherules?
Sea level went down in the Neogene and allowed continents to connect on:
What are land bridges?
This type of tectonics occurred in the Laramide Orogeny, and involved deep, steep reverse faults through the ancient continental crust. Politicians need this too.
What is thick-skinned tectonics?
This group of creatures has opposable thumbs, fingernails, hand-like feet, forward-looking eyes and lived in trees and first appeared in the Paleogene.
What are primates?
Anatomical or behavioral characteristics that improve the chance for survival and reproduction of a species. These allow species to function well in a particular environment.
What are adaptations?