Concept Check Questions
Chapter 34 – Vertebrates
34.1
Chordates have a notochord and a dorsal, hollow nerve cord
1. Humans are chordates, yet they lack most of the main derived characteristics of
chordates. Explain.
2. How do pharyngeal slits function in feeding in tunicates and lancelets?
34.2
Craniates are chordates that have a head
1. Which extinct chordate is more closely related to humans, Haikouichthys or Haikouella?
Explain your answer.
2. What characteristics do hagfishes have that tunicates and lancelets lack?
34.3
Vertebrates are craniates that have a backbone
1. How are differences in lamprey and conodont anatomy reflected in each animal’s feeding
method?
2. What key roles did mineralized bone play in the first vertebrates?
34.4
Gnathostomes are vertebrates that have jaws
1. What derived characteristics do sharks and tuna share? What are some characteristics
that distinguish tuna from sharks?
2. Contrast the habitats of the three surviving lineages of lobe-fins.
34.5
Tetrapods are gnathostomes that have limbs and feet
1. Was Acanthostega a terrestrial tetrapod? Explain your answer.
2. Some amphibians never leave the water, whereas others can survive in relatively dry
terrestrial environments. Contrast the adaptations that facilitate these two lifestyles.
34.6
Amniotes are tetrapods that have a terrestrially adapted egg
1. Defend or refute the following statement: The amniotic egg of a reptile is a closed
system in which the embryo develops in isolation from the outside environment.
2. Identify four avian adaptations for flight.
34.7
Mammals are amniotes that have hair and produce milk
1. Contrast monotremes, marsupials, and eutherians in terms of how they bear their young.
3. Identify at least five derived traits of primates.
34.8
Humans are bipedal hominoids with a large brain
1. Contrast hominoids with hominids.
2. How do the characteristics of Homo ergaster illustrate mosaic evolution?