Basic Vertebrate Anatomy Lab
Directions: For this lab you will need to print it out and WRITE your answers on this paper. You will then need to scan or take pictures of each page and submit to Dropbox on Pilot. You will also need to utilize your book and/or Google to help with labeling and drawing.
Laboratory objective: The purpose of this lab is to familiarize the student with the fundamental forms, features and functionality of various vertebrate anatomical structures. Comparative morphology will be introduced as students compare and identify various vertebrate skeletal similarities and anomalies. The student will learn that a vertebrate creature possesses three main types of hard body parts: bone, cartilage, and teeth. The majority of the vertebrate fossils found are the petrified remains of one of these three body parts. The student will investigate each one of these types.
Laboratory discussion: Fundamental anatomical structure recognition is critical if the fossil record is to be used as an effective tool in the reconstruction and study of ancient organisms and paleo-environmental conditions. Investigation of a variety of skeletal examples will allow the student to become familiar with the structure and function of anatomical structure.
Laboratory Activities:
- Define the following terms:
- Bipedal-
- Quadrapedal-
- Facultative bipedal-
- Facultative quadrapedal-
- Anterior-
- Posterior-
- Ventral
- Dorsal
- Axial
- Lateral-
- Medial-
- Proximal-
- Distal-
- Upright or erect posture
- Sprawling posture
2) Draw, label, and describe the three types of bone tissue found in vertebrates:
- A) Aspidin-
- B) Laminar compact bone-
- C) Haversian compact bone-
Below is the skull of the early primitive meat-eating dinosaur Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis.
- Label the bones indicated on the skull above by the thin There are 7 bones to label. Write the name of the bone at the end of the thin arrow.
- Identify the four openings in the skull indicated by the thick bold arrows. Use the information below to recognize the different openings:
- Antorbital fenestra
- Infratemporal fenestra
- Mandibular fenestra
- Supratemporal fenestra
Sauroposeidon proteles
In the skeleton above, identify by name or number the following bones:
5) A Cervical (neck) Vertebra 6) A Dorsal (back) Vertebra 7) A Sacral (hip) vertebra
8) A Caudal (tail) Vertebra 9) A Rib 10) Scapula 11) Ilium 12) Ischium
13) Pubis 14) Humerus 15) Femur 16) Tibia 17) Fibula 18) Ulna
19) A Metacarpal 20) A Metatarsal 21) Chevron 22) Acetabulum
23) What is the ONLY proper abbreviation of Tyrannosaurus rex?
Part II. Systematics
Below is a cladogram showing the interrelationship of various dinosaurs and related forms. The positions of pairs of derived characters are indicated by the heavy bold horizontal lines.
26) What is the closest relative to Hylaeosaurus on this cladogram?
27) What is the closest relative to Iguanodon on this cladogram?
28) What is the closest relative to the clade comprised of Iguanodon + Hylaeosaurus on this cladogram?
Below is a cladogram and data matrix of the ostrich dinosaurs (Ornithomimosauria). In the data matrix, a “0” indicates that the derived feature (mentioned on the left) is absent; “1” indicates that the derived feature is present; and “?” means that the feature cannot be evaluated (in these cases, that part of the body isn’t known for the genus).
For example, Ornithomimus is toothless, has a long metacarpal I, and a pinched metatarsal III. Harpymimus shows the primitive (ancestral) condition: it has teeth, a short metacarpal I, and doesn’t have a pinched III.
29) Based on the cladogram above, which dinosaur is characterized by a toothed jaw and a long metacarpal I?
30) The skull of Anserimimus is not known at present. Based on the data available, do you predict that this dinosaur was toothed or toothless? Justify your answer.
