Transcript Fossils - MsRaySpace

Evolution
Older species

Newer species
Fossils
Fossils
What is a
fossil?
What can
fossils tell
us?
How old are
organisms?
What is a fossil?
Fossils are the preserved remains of an
organism that lived in the past.
Remains
Imprints
Traces
What could this fossil be?
www. Bible.ca
Fossil Finger!
The fossil has been replaced with limestone. Sometimes
replaced fossils maintain their interior structure.
Sometimes they do not. Fortunately, when the fossil was
sectioned, we were able to see obvious indications of
bone and ligaments.
Medical Doctor Dale Peterson of Oklahoma City, OK
examined the sectioned specimen by means of x-ray, CT
Scan and MRI. He was able to identify joints and to trace
tendons throughout the length of the fossil. His expert
conclusion is: "There can be no reasonable doubt that
this is a fossil finger."
How is a fossil formed?
Fossils form when organisms die and
become buried in sediments (sediments
are particles of soil or rock).
Permineralization & Replacement
Life Sciences & Art?
Life Science & Art?
Carbonization
CARBON
Molds & Casts
MOLD
CAST
MOLD
Molds & Casts
MOLD
CAST
Observe how molds & casts are made
Original Material
?
Fossil Jellyfish!
Fossil jellyfish from the Cambrian Mt. Simon
Sandstone in mid-Wisconsin. These are
imprints, up to a meter across, of the bell and its
anatomy preserved as the jellyfish were
stranded on a shallow tidal sand flat some 525
million years ago. These and other soft-bodied
fossils are being studied in Jere Lipps's lab in
the Department of Integrative Biology. This work
on fossils is combined with molecular
sequencing of basal invertebrates to get a
clearer understanding of the early evolution of
animals.
What in the world are these fossils of?....
What can fossils tell us?
- They can tell us about extinct species
Extinct – no members of the species are still alive.
- They can tell us about how people lived in
the past…
Fossil Hammer!
• Max Han was fishing with his family near London, TX
when he found a rock with wood protruding from it.
When the rock was cracked open, this octagonally
shaped iron hammer was exposed.
• The wood handle is partially coalifed with quartz and
calcite crystalline inclusions. Tests performed at Battelle
Laboratory document the hammer’s unusual metallurgy,
96% iron, 2.6% chlorine and .74% sulfur (no carbon).
Density test indicate casting of exceptional quality. A
unique coating of FeO, which does not readily form
under present atmospheric conditions, appears to inhibit
rusting.
Where can you find
the oldest
(and smelliest)
clothes?
Where can you find
the newest
(not-so-smelly)
clothes?
Insect Fossils
•
•
12-15 mil. year old insect fossils discovered inside Peruvian amber rocks
They were trapped for over 12 million years: Paleontologists discovered phorid flies, booklice and mites enclosed
in amber rocks lying on the shores of the Amazon River. The pre-historic animals were preserved in very good
condition.
Amber can be found in Europe - the Baltic Sea coastline in Germany and Scandinavia and the Alps for example-,
in the near orient, and in quite a few jewelry boxes. In the southern hemisphere however this fossil resin is pretty
rare. Now paleontologists stumbled over such a treasure in Peru.
A team led by Pierre-Olivier Antoine of the French "Centre national de la recherche scientifique" found the amber
rocks with insect and spiders inside near the Peruvian Amazon city Iquitos. The tiny animals lived 12-15 million
years ago he scientists told the US journal "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences".
After examining the rocks with the help of optical microscopes, members of 13 different hexapod species were
found (arachnid class), next to pollen, tiny fungi and algae.
All fossils stem from the Miocene epoch that extends from about 23 to 5.3 million years before the present. "In
South America there are only three locations where amber from the Miocene was found", Antoine and his
colleagues from Patagonia, Brazil and French-Guiana explained.
Their discovery is not only important because of its rarity but also because its variety of fossils and organisms. In
addition, the findings are proof that the tropical rain forest was a timely eco-system with high biodiversity during
the Miocene era.
Fossil Plants
St. Clair, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvanian Period (300 mya) Llewellyn
Formation. The slate here is jet black and
the detailed plant fossils are white
providing a strong contrast which adds to
the beauty of the fossil. The fossils here
comprise of plants (ferns) and trees.