BL3002 / GL3007 Evolution of angiosperms

The diversification of angiosperms in the Early Cretaceous is characterised by...

• stable coexistence with gymnosperms

• slight dominance over gymnosperms

• wholesale ecological replacement of gymnosperms

• they were a minor component of gymnosperm-dominated ecosystems

Bennettitaleans have fallen out of favour as ancestors of angiosperms because...

• their flower structure is considered too simple

• their flower structure is considered too complex

• their stems are too woody

• they have too many bracts

Angiosperms are widely believed to have a cryptic early history because....

• phylogenetic trees place them as crown group gymnosperms

• phylogenetic trees place them as stem group gymnosperms

• phyogenetic trees place them as sister group to gymnosperms

• phylogenetic trees place them as ancestral to gymnosperms

The plant fossil record shows a bias toward plants that ...

• are woody

• are wind-pollinated

• have thick leathery leaves

• all of the above

Why is the discovery of Amborella in the cloud forest of New Caledonia important?

• It supports the palaeoherb hypothesis for angiosperm origins

• it supports the magnolid hypothesis for angiosperm origins

• it implies early plants were tall and woody

• it implies early plants had complex flowers

The famous tiny fossil flowers from Scania are preserved as....

• carbonaceous compressions

• external moulds

• 3D permineralized remains embedded in silica

• 3D charcoalified remains

The high-fire world of the Cretaceous may have promoted the evolution of...

• gymnosperms with broader climatic tolerance

• angiosperms with broader climatic tolerance

• gymnosperms with fire-adapted characters

• angiosperms with fire-adapted characters

Microvictoria and Jerseyanthus both show that Early Cretaceous angiosperms had evolved....

• true petals

• sepals

• modern pollination mechanisms

• primitive pollination mechanisms

What major groups of phytophagan insects radiated during the Cretaceous?

• butterflies and moths

• beetles and bugs

• ants and bees

• All of the above

Insects first formed close ecological relationships with....

• gymnosperms

• angiosperms