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Definition
| Evolution above the species level. |
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| The process of forming new species. |
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| A factor that separates breeding poplutions, thereby preventing gene flow, creating divergent subspecies, and ultimately (if maintained) divergent species. |
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| Speciation through a branching mechanism whereby an ancestral popultaion gives rise to two or more descendant populations. |
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| Change in the timing of developmental events that is often responsible for changes in the shape or size of a body part. |
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| A gene responsible for large scale effects on growth and development that are frequently responsible for major reorganization of body plans in organisms. |
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| A model of macroevolutionary change that suggests evolution occurs via long periods of stability or stasis punctuated by periods of rapid change. |
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| A sustained directional shift in a population's average age characteristics. |
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| Characteristics that define a group of organisms that did not exist in ancestral populations. |
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| Characteristics possessed by an organism or group of organisms due to shared ancestry. |
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| In biological evolution a process by which unrelated populations develop similarities to one another due to similar function rather than shared ancestry. |
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| According to the theory of plate tectonics, the movement of continents embedded in underlying plates on the earth's surface in relation to one another over the history of life on earth. |
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| Rapid diversification of an evolving population as it adapts to a variety of available niches. |
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| Possessing characteristics that, by chance, are advantageous in future environmental conditions. |
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| An animal that maintains a relatively constant body temperature despite environmental fluctuations. |
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Definition
| An animal whose body temperature rises or falls according to the the temperature of the surrounding environment. |
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Definition
| Reproduction involving the production of relatively few offspring with high parental investment in each. |
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| Reproduction involving the production of large numbers of offspring with relatively low parental investment in each. |
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| A theory for primate evolution that proposes that life in the trees was responsible for enchanced visual acuity and manual dexterity in primates. |
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Definition
| A hypothesis for primate evolution that proposes that hunting behavior in tree-dwelling primates was responsible for their enhanced visual acuity and manual dexterity. |
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Definition
| The hypothesis that dates of divergences among related species can be calculated through an examination of the genetic mutation that have accrued since the divergence. |
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| Walking on two hind legs characteristic of humans and their ancestors. |
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Definition
The genus including several species of early bipeds rom eastern, southern and central Africa living between about 1.1 and 4.3 mya.
One of them is a direct ancestor to humans we just don't know for sure which one. |
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Definition
| Semi-arid plains environment as in eastern Africa. |
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| One of the earliest bipeds that lived in eastern Africa about 4.4 to 5.8 mya. |
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Definition
| A space between the canines and other teeth allowing large projecting canines space within the jaw. |
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Definition
| A new proposed genus and species of bipeds contemporary with early australopithecines; may not be seperate genus. |
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Term
| Gracile Australopithecines |
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Definition
| Members of the genus Australopithecus possessing a more lightly built chewing apparatus; likely had a diet that included more meat that that of the robust australopithecines. |
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Term
| Robust Australopithecines |
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Definition
Several species within the genus Australopithecus, who lived from 2.5-1.1 mya in eastern an souther Africa.
Known for the rugged nature of the chewing apparatus
- Large back teeth
- large chewing muscles
- sagital crest
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Term
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Definition
| A crest running from front to back on the top of the skull along the midline to provie a surface of bone for the attachment of the large temporal muscles for chewing. |
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| Law of Competitive Exclusion |
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Definition
| When two closely related spcies compete for the same niche, one will out-compete the other, bringing about the latter's extinction. |
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Definition
| A technique of stone tool manufacture performed by striking the raw material with a hammerstone or by striking raw material against a stone anvil to remove flakes. |
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Definition
| The first part of the Old Stone Age beginning with the earliest Oldowan tools spanning from about 200,000 or 250,000 to 2.6 mya. |
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Definition
| The firststone tool industry, beginning between 2.5-2.6 mya. |
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Definition
| The tissue inside of long bones where blood cells are produced. |
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Definition
| In a food chain, the third animal group (second to scavenge) to obtain meat from a kill made by a predator. |
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Definition
| The tool making tradition of Homo erectus in Africa, Europe, and Southwest Asia in which hand axes were developed from the earlier Oldowan chopper. |
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Definition
| The opening in the skull that accommodates the tongue controlling hypoglossal nerve. |
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Term
Sahelanthropus tchadensis
Timeframe |
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Definition
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Term
Sahelanthropus tchadensis
Cranial Features |
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Definition
- Flat Face
- U-shaped dental arcade
- small canines
- anterior foramen magnum
- heavy browridges
- small craial capacity (320-380cm^3)
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Term
Sahelanthropus tchadensis
Geographical Location |
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Term
Orrorin Tugenensis
Timeframe |
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Definition
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Orrorin Tugenensis
Cranial Features |
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Definition
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Orrorin Tugenensis
Postcranial Anatomy |
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Definition
- bipedal
- size of modern chimp
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Orrorin Tugenensis
Geographical Location |
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Definition
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Term
Ardipithecus ramidus
Timeframe |
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Definition
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Ardipithecus ramidus
Cranial Features |
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Definition
| Dentition is transitional between apes and Australopithecines |
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Term
Ardipithecus ramidus
Culture/Ineresting facts |
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Definition
| Associated fauna indicate that it may have been a forest dweller. |
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Ardipithecus ramidus
Geographic Location |
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Definition
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Term
Australopithecus anamensis
Timeframe |
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Definition
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Australopithecus anamensis
Cranial Features |
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Definition
- Thick enamel on molars
- sectorial premolars
- prognathic
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Term
Australopithecus anamensis
Postcranial Anatomy |
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Definition
- Bipedal
- has climbing capabilities
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Term
Australopithecus anamensis
Culture/Interesting Facts |
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Definition
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Australopithecus anamensis
Geographic Location |
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Definition
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Australopithecus afarensis
Timeframe |
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Definition
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Australopithecus afarensis
Cranial Features |
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Definition
- Gracile, low, sloping forehead
- large canines in males
- cranial capacity (420cc)
- thick tooth enamel
- prognathic
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Term
Australopithecus afarensis
Postcranial Anatomy |
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Definition
- Bipedal
- with climbing capabilities
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Australopithecus afarensis
Culture/Interesting Facts |
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Definition
- Lucy
- Laetoli footprints
- "First Family"
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Australopithecus afarensis
Geographic Location |
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Definition
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Term
Australopithecus africanus
Timeframe |
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Definition
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Australopithecus africanus
Cranial Features |
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Definition
- Gracile prognathic face
- smaller front teeth
- parabolic dental arcade
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Term
Australopithecus africanus
Postcranial Anatomy |
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Definition
- 3.8-4.5 ft tall
- bipedal
- retained climbing capabilities
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Term
Australopithecus africanus
Culture/Interesting Facts |
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Definition
- First Australopithecine ever discovered by Raymond Dart.
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Australopithecus africanus
Geographic Location |
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Definition
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Term
Australopithecus garhi
Timeframe |
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Definition
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Term
Australopithecus garhi
Cranial Features |
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Definition
- Intermediate Large teeth
- arched dental arcade like humans
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Australopithecus garhi
Postcranial Anatomy |
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Definition
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Australopithecus garhi
Geographic Location |
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Definition
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Australopithecus aethiopicus
Timeframe |
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Definition
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Australopithecus aethiopicus
Cranial Features |
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Definition
- Robust Large teeth and chewing apparatus
- large muscle attachments (410-530cc)
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Term
Australopithecus aethiopicus
Postcranial Anatomy |
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Definition
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Australopithecus aethiopicus
Geographical Location |
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Definition
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Term
Australopithecus boisei
Timeframe |
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Definition
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Australopithecus boisei
Cranial Features |
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Definition
- Robust Large teeth and Chewing apparatus
- dished face
- large muscle attachements (500-530cc)
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Term
Australopithecus boisei
Postcranial Anatomy |
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Definition
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Australopithecus boisei
Culture/Interesting Facts |
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Definition
| Discovered by Leakey's at Olduvai in 1959. |
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Term
Australopithecus boisei
Geographical Location
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Definition
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Term
Australopithecus robustus
Timeframe |
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Definition
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Australopithecus robustus
Cranial Features |
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Definition
- Robust Large teeth and Chewing apparatus
- dished face
- large muscle attachments (500-530cc)
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Term
Australopithecus robustus
Postcranial Anatomy |
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Definition
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Term
Australopithecus robustus
Geographical Location |
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Definition
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Term
Homo habilis/Homo rudolphensis
Timeframe |
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Definition
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Homo habilis/Homo rudolphensis
Cranial Features |
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Definition
- smaller teeth than Australopithecines
- thinner cranial bones
- larger brainsize (500-750cc)
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Term
Homo habilis/Homo rudolphensis
Postcranial Anatomy |
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Definition
- 3.5-4 ft tall
- modern feet but very small
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Term
Homo habilis/Homo rudolphensis
Culture/Interesting Facts |
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Definition
- Made first stone tools
- Oldowan Tool tradition--for scavenging meat
- called "handy man"
- The first fossil memebers of genus Homo
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Homo habilis/Homo rudolphensis
Geographical Location |
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Definition
- Ehtiopia
- Kenya
- Tanzania
- South Africa
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Term
Homo erectus/Homo ergaster
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Definition
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Term
Homo erectus/Homo ergaster
Cranial Features |
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Definition
- Heavy brow ridges
- sloping forehead
- receding chin
- powerful jaws
- larger brain size
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Term
Homo erectus/Homo ergaster
Postcranial Anatomy |
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Definition
| Modern postcranial skeleton |
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Term
Homo erectus/Homo ergaster
Culture/Interesting Facts |
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Definition
- Made Acheulean Tools (hand axe)
- First hominid to migrate out of Africa
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Term
Homo erectus/Homo ergaster
Geographical Locations |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| 12th cranial nerve leading to the tongue. |
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