DICHOTOMOUS KEY FOR PLANTS Plants originated from green algae about 470 million years ago. By 425 million years ago, some early plants had traits facilitating life on land. Over time early plants gave rise to the rich diversity of plants we see on Earth today, that is, non-vascular plants (bryophytes), seedless vascular plants and seed plants. 1. Complete the dichotomous key below for the seven types of plants: Algae Angiosperms Conifers Ferns Fungi Liverworts Mosses 1 (a) Has seeds (b) Without seeds 2 (a) Seeds in cones, no flowers (b) Seeds from flowers 3 (a) True stem, roots, leaves, has spores (b) No stem 4 (a) Simple root-like structures (b) No roots 5 (a) Root-like structures are branched (rhizoids) (b) Root-like structures are flat, leafy and unbranched 6 (a) Lives in water, has chlorophyll (b) Lives on land, no chlorophyll go to 2 go to 3 Conifers Angiosperms Ferns go to 4 go to 5 go to 6 Mosses Liverworts Algae Fungi 2. Complete the dichotomous key for trees of the Sydney region below*: 1 (a) Fruit is a gumnut (b) Fruit is not a gumnut 2 (a) Has pneumatophores go to 4 go to 2 Avicennia (b) No pneumatophores go to 3 3 (a) Large orange flower Banksi (b) White flower 4 (a) Smooth bark (b) Rough bark 5 (a) Leaves paler on undersurface (b) Leaves not paler on undersurface *Use the scientific names to complete the table. Pittosporum go to 5 Eucalyptus piperita Eucalyptus pilularis Angophora DICHOTOMOUS KEY FOR ANIMALS The animal kingdom contains organisms that are eukaryotic, heterotrophic and multicellular. The main groups of animals are the sponges; the cnidaria such as jellyfish and coral; annelids such as leeches and earthworms; molluscs such as snails and squid; arthropods such as insects, spiders and crayfish; echinoderms such as starfish and sea urchins; and the chordates, which include the vertebrates. The main features used to classify animals is the structure of the skeletal, nervous, digestive and circulatory systems, the presence of repeating units called segments, the type of body symmetry (radial or bilateral) and the patterns of development of embryo tissues. 3. Complete the dichotomous key below for the six animals, one from each phyla: Jellyfish (Cnidaria) Earthworm (Annelid) Snail (Mollusc) Housefly (Arthropod) Starfish (Echinoderm) Human (Chordates) 1 (a) Radially symmetrical (b) Not radially symmetrical 2 (a) Stinging cells on tentacles (b) No stinging cells on tentacles 3 (a) Exoskeleton of chitin go to 2 go to 3 Jellyfish Starfish Housefly (b) No exoskeleton of chitin go to 4 4 (a) Notochord at some stage Human (b) No notochord at some stage 5 (a) Has shell (b) No shell go to 5 Snail Earthworm 4. Complete the dichotomous key below for the eight insects: 8 ant 1 (a) Wings absent Ant (b) Wings present go to 2 2 (a) One pair of wings Housefly (b) Two pairs of wings go to 3 3 (a) Wings are covered by a hard covering (exoskeleton) go to 4 (b) Wings are not covered by a hard covering, they are go to 5 membranous (transparent) 4 (a) Antennae are very long (b) Antennae are very short Cockroach Beetle 5 (a) Wings are joined near the waist and are covered in fine hairs Moth (b) Wings are not joined at the waist and are not covered in fine go to 6 hairs (transparent) 6 (a) Chunky abdomen, has a stinger (b) Long abdomen, has chewing mouthparts 7 (a) All legs about equal in length (b) Hind legs much longer than forelegs Wasp go to 7 Damselfly Grasshopper 5. Complete the dichotomous key for the seven dinosaurs below: Dinosaur 1 - Muttaburrasaurus: medium sized ornithopod about 6-8 metres long with prominent nasal crest and tough, horny beak. Dinosaur 2 - Triceratops: large ceratopsian about 7-10 metres long with a short, solid neck frill and a pair of long horns over the eyes. It is a herbivore. Dinosaur 3 - Archaeopteryx: a small flying theropod about 30-60 cm long with feathers. Dinosaur 4 - Stegosaurus: large-armoured dinosaur about 8-10 metres long. It is a bulky quadruped with a line of broad bony plates along its back arranged in a double row. It is a herbivore. Dinosaur 5 - Diplodocus: large sauropod about 20-30 metres long with very long neck and long tail. It is a herbivore. Dinosaur 6 - Eoraptor: small primitive bipedal dinosaur about 1 metre long. Has grasping hands and large eyes. A fast runner. Dinosaur 7 - Coelophysis: small primitive theropod about 2-4 metres long with extremely long tail. An agile, swift runner with males slightly larger and more stockier in build than females. 1 (a) Has feathers (b) No feathers 2 (a) Has a line of bony plates along its back in a row (b) No line of bony plates on back 3 (a) Solid neck frill with long horns over eyes (b) No neck frill and horns 4 (a) Over 20 metres long (b) Less than 20 metres long 5 (a) Has prominent nasal crest and horny beak (b) No prominent nasal crest and horny beak 6 (a) About 1 metre long (b) Two or more metres long Archaeopteryx go to 2 Stegosaurus go to 3 Triceratops go to 4 Diplodocus go to 5 Muttaburrasaurus go to 6 Eoraptor Coelophysis Interesting fact! The dinosaur Muttaburrasaurus langdoni was named after Doug Langdon a farmer who found the fossil bones. The genus was named after the town of Muttaburra located in central Queensland where the fossil bones were found. Only fragments of a few skeletons have been found. This dinosaur lived approximately 100 million years ago and was a large fourlegged herbivore that could raise itself and stand on its back legs to reach the branches of tall trees. It had a toothless beak with rows of grinding teeth at the back of its mouth that acted like shears. Its three middle fingers were joined into a walking hoof-like pad.