Modes of Preservation

●​ Mummification: Rare. Preserves life form with some tissue or skin intact. Very
fragile. Natural mummification usually happens in dry and cold places where
preservation happens quickly and effectively. Mummification is not truly fossilization.
●​ Preserved actual remains (freezing, tar, amber): Much rarer than other fossil
types. These are still intact parts of the organism. Actual remains can be seen
preserved in ice, tar, or amber. A good example is mammoth hair, which is often
frozen and still preserved.
●​ Tar: Organisms trapped in tar -> low/no oxygen -> rapid burial, well preserved.(e.g.
La Brea tar pits in Los Angeles.)
●​ Intact hard remains: e.g. shells, teeth (remains that require no preservation)
●​ External Molds: Imprints of the organism embedded in rocks.
●​ Casts: Formed when external molds are filled with sediment.
●​ Internal molds (Steinkerns): Sediment fills the shell of a deceased organism such
as a bivalve or a gastropod. These remain after the organism's remains decompose
to show the internal features of the organism.
●​ Petrification/Petrifaction/Permineralization: Mineral-saturated water fills inter- and
intracellular spaces, then evaporates, leaving the minerals behind. Over time, this
completely replaces organic tissues. The most common mineral to cause
petrification is silicon (silicification), but other minerals (pyritization (sulfur),
phosphatization (calcium-phosphate minerals) also work.
●​ Carbonization/Coalification: All parts of the original organism except the carbon
are removed from the fossil over time. Complex organic molecules are converted
into more stable carbon compound(s). The remaining carbon is the same carbon that
the organism was made of.
●​ Recrystallization: Original minerals in the fossil over time revert into more stable
minerals, such as an apatite shell recrystallizing into the more thermodynamically
stable calcite.
●​ Replacement: Hard parts of the organism are replaced with minerals over time.
●​ Trace fossils: Trace fossils are fossils that are not part of the organism. These
include footprints, burrows, eggshells, and coprolite (fossilized excrement). They
give insight into an organism's behavior.
●​ Imprints: Shallow impressions of a fossil organism that does not retain organic
material.
●​ Compression: A fossil that has been crushed or flattened but retains some organic
material, although it has been chemically altered. A fossil can be partially impression
and partially compression (ex. an insect fossil with wing imprints and compressed
body).
Conditions for Preservation
Fossils almost always form in sedimentary rocks. The extreme heat and pressure needed to
form igneous or metamorphic rock often destroys or warps the organism.

Bias: animals with mineralized hard parts (skeletons or shells) more likely to be preserved
than soft-bodied animals; aquatic organisms more likely to be covered in sediment and
preserved than terrestrial (land) organisms

-​ Rapid Burial
-​ Hard Parts: Soft organisms (e.g. worms, jellyfish) typically compose too fast for
fossilizations. Only the hard parts like skeletons and teeth remain long enough to
keep the imprint in the rock while the rock is forming.
-​ Low Oxygen Environment: Prevents or slows decomposition while fossilization
occurs (e.g. tar, amber)
-​ Escaping destruction: such as areas underwater with low wave activity with the
exception of the Abyssal Zone (sediment drawn into the Earth’s mantle at this depth)

Preservation & Environment

Silicification:
-​ Fluids in volcanic terrain often contain silica, which can be absorbed by plants and would
indicate that a volcano was near the plant in the past.
-​ Plant begins fossilization process while still living (silica absorbed quickly mineralizes
and fossilizes organism upon death; this can lead to very fine levels of detail).

Pyritization:
-​ Many plants pyritized when they are in marine sediments (high sulfur content)
-​ Natural habitat or near enough to a marine environment to be carried down by a river,
flood, or some other method.
-​ More rarely, plants can be pyritized when in clay terrain.

Carbonate mineralization:
-​ Occur both in marine and nonmarine environments.
-​ Most popular form: Coal balls (often found in a round ball
shape) are often a fossilization of many different plants
and their tissues. Often occur in the presence of seawater
or acidic peat.
-​ Acetate peels can be made to study organic material
trapped within a coal ball. These peels may sometimes be
fairly revealing of cellular detail.
Sedimentary Rocks
Sandstones/Siltstones: These rocks can usually be found in off-shore deposits or
beaches. They commonly preserve water ripples, tracks, petrified wood, dinosaur bones
and hard-shelled invertebrates.
Conglomerates: Fossilized bones and teeth, as well as amphibian and reptile fossils, can
be found in conglomerates.
Shale: Most common fossil preserving rock, shales can contain fossils that are perfectly
preserved. They can contain vertebrates, invertebrates, or plants.
Limestones: Also a very fossiliferous rock, these represent both shallow and deep tropical
seas. Invertebrate fossils, as well as remains of armored fish and shark teeth, can be found
in limestones.
Coal/Coal Shales: Plants, fish, insects, marine invertebrates, and even dinosaur footprints
can be found in coal deposits.

Coquina: angular shell grains, fine to

medium grained

Shale: lamination (layers), fine grained,

generally dark grey or black

Chert (flint): fine grained, silicon dioxide

Diatomite: similar to chalk limestone, but
less chalky and lighter

Dolostone: tan, grey, or slightly pink color

Sandstone: grainy and it does not have to

be layered, though it commonly is

Limestone Chalk: looks and feels like

chalk

Fossiliferous Limestone: has fossils that

are relatively small, but does not have to be
covered with fossils
Relative & Absolute Dating
Relative Dating
●​ Principle of Superposition: If there are undisturbed layers of sedimentary
rocks, then the layers will be younger as they near the top. The oldest layers are
on the bottom and the youngest layers are on the top.
●​ Principle of Original Horizontality: Rocks are originally layered horizontally. If
there are layers that are higher on one side than on the other, it is due to the
tilting of rocks caused by a geological event.
●​ Principle of Cross-Cutting Relationships: This principle states that a fracture
or cut in a rock caused by another rock (igneous intrusion) is always younger
than the rock it cuts.
●​ Principle of Inclusions: Fragments of one rock in another rock must be older
than the rock it is contained in.
●​ Unconformity: Discontinuous layers of rock abutting each other
●​ Faunal Succession: Fossilized flora and fauna in strata succeed each other
vertically in a specific, reliable order that can be identified over wide horizontal
distances.

Absolute Dating
●​ Half-life (Radiometric): The half-life of an isotope is how much time it takes for
half the atoms in that isotope to decay. After that many years, half the atoms in
the isotope will decay. After that many years again, half of that half (one-quarter
of the whole or two half-lives) will decay. After that many years again, half of the
half of that half (one-eighth of the whole or three half-lives) will decay. It will go on
until the isotope decays to its daughter product. The table below shows major
radioactive isotopes and their half-life. (Ma = million years, Ga = billion years)
xy=a where y = half-life, x = number of decays, and a = age
Carbon 14 5730 years

Potassium-40 1.25 Ga Decays to argon-40

Uranium (U-235) 703.8 Ma

Uranium (U-238) 4.468 Ga Decays to lead (Pb-206)

(3) Limitations of relative and absolute dating in determining the age of fossils
(4) Use of radiometric dating of igneous rocks and volcanic ash along with relative
dating techniques to determine the age of fossils.
Geologic Time Scale
Supereon (Precambrian only) -> Eon -> Era -> Period -> Epoch -> Age
-​ Little known about the Precambrian, (all life forms lacked hard shells or skeletons)
-​ Fossils called stromatolites that show indications of cyanobacteria, first found in the
Archean. It is possible that the first lifeforms and self-replicating RNA strands
emerged as early as the mid-Hadean. The Phanerozoic Eon is when shelled
invertebrates began to emerge, and the fossil record expands.
Paleozoic (ancient animals) dominated by marine invertebrates
Mesozoic (middle animals) dominated by reptiles
Cenozoic Era (recent animals) dominated by mammals
Era -> periods except for the Archaean and Hadean Eons (only divided into eras)
Periods -> Epochs starting after the beginning of the Phanerozoic Eon.
All epochs are then further divided into Ages, which (rarely) are divided into Chron.
Index fossils: This method is called biogeochronology. These divisions all have counterparts
in chronostratigraphy, as Eon/Eonthem, Erathem/Era, System/Period, Series/Epoch,
Stage/Age, and Chronozone/Chron.

Paleozoic Era
The periods of the Paleozoic:
●​ Cambrian: (541.0 mya to 485.4 mya) The first period, when marine invertebrates
start to emerge. Part of the Age of Invertebrates.
●​ Ordovician: (485.4 mya to 443.8 mya) Primitive fish start to form. Index fossil is
the trilobite genus Cryptolithus. Part of the Age of Invertebrates.
●​ Silurian: (443.8 mya to 419.2 mya) Early land animals began to emerge. Part of
the Age of Fishes.
●​ Devonian: (419.2 mya to 358.9 mya) First forests and amphibians form. Index
fossils include Mucrospirifer (brachiopod genus) and Phacops (trilobite genus).
Part of the Age of Fishes.
●​ Carboniferous: 358.9 mya to 298.9 mya Contains both the Mississippian and
Pennsylvanian Periods. Part of the Age of Amphibians.
○​ Mississippian: (358.9 mya to 323.2 mya) Widespread shallow seas
form.
○​ Pennsylvanian: ( 323.2 mya to 298.9 mya) Coal-bearing rocks form.
●​ Permian: (298.9 mya to 251.9 mya) Earliest gymnosperms (cone-bearing trees).
Part of the Age of Amphibians.

Mesozoic Era (Age of Reptiles, dinosaurs dominant)

●​ Triassic: (251.9 mya to 201.3 mya) First dinosaurs and earliest mammals.
 ●​ Jurassic: (201.3 mya to 145 mya) Earliest birds.
●​ Cretaceous: (145 mya to 66 mya) Flowering plants (angiosperms) develop.

Cenozoic Era
The periods in the Cenozoic differ from the other two eras by being broken down even
further in epochs. This entire era is known as the Age of Mammals.
●​ Paleogene: (66.0 mya to 23.0 mya) Apes begin to appear. It is broken down into
epochs:
○​ Paleocene (66.0 mya to 56.0 mya) "Age of Birds", lasting through the
Eocene.
○​ Eocene: (56.0 mya to 33.9 mya) Further development of mammals.
Giant birds rule the land.
○​ Oligocene: (33.9 mya to 23.0 mya) Rise of true carnivores.
●​ Neogene: (23.0 mya to 2.6 mya) Mammals and birds continue to evolve into
modern forms. Early hominids appear.
○​ Miocene: (23.0 mya to 5.3 mya) Grasses and grazing animals develop.
○​ Pliocene: (5.3 mya to 2.6 mya) First modern animals.
●​ Quaternary: (2.6 mya to present) Humans appear and develop. This is the
period we are still in today.
○​ Pleistocene: (2.6 mya to 11,700 ya): The most recent period of
repeated glaciations.
○​ Holocene: (11,700 ya to present): The epoch in which we live today.
The Holocene is further divided into the Boreal Age, followed by the
Atlantic Stage.
○​ Anthropocene: A proposed epoch marking the beginning of human
impact on the Earth.

New System for Geologic Time (2007):

●​ Cenozoic is broken into the Paleogene, Neogene, and Quaternary
○​ Paleogene: Mammals develop from small creatures to diverse animals
■​ Paleocene
■​ Eocene
■​ Oligocene
○​ Neogene: Hominids develop, insects evolve into roughly modern
forms
■​ Miocene
■​ Pliocene
○​ Quaternary
■​ Pleistocene
■​ Holocene
https://www.soinc.org/sites/default/files/uploaded_files/FossilsGeologicTimeScale.pd
f
https://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/Geologictime.html

viii. The Geologic Time Scale, its organization, major events, the 5 major mass
extinctions, and the Pleistocene-Holocene extinction of megafauna. An official
Science Olympiad Geologic Time Scale is posted at soinc.org & should be used for
all competitions
ix. Index Fossils: characteristics and use in determining the age of rocks & geologic
formations
xi. Modes of life and mobility: benthonic/benthic (infaunal vs epifaunal; sessile vs
vagrant); planktonic/
planktic; nektonic/nektic (swimmers); terrestrial
xii. Ecologic role and trophic level (role in food web): producers, filter/suspension
feeder, predator,
scavenger, deposit feeder (detritovore), herbivore
xiii. Differences in plant reproduction through seeds or spores.
xiv. Environments: marine (e.g., shallow marine/shelf, reef, lagoon, deep marine);
terrestrial (e.g.,
tropical, temperate forest, grassland, wetlands, desert, taiga, tundra), fresh water
(e.g., lakes, rivers,
swamps)
xv. Mineral and organic components of exoskeletons, shells, and bones/teeth (e.g.,
calcite, aragonite,
silica, chitin, biological apatite/calcium phosphate)
xvi. Adaptations and morphologic features and their implications (e.g., serrated
sharp teeth in vertebrates
indicate predatory behavior)
xvii. Significance of important paleontological discoveries (e.g., non-avian dinosaurs
with feathers;
transitional species such as Tiktaalik and Archaeopteryx)
xviii.Paleontological significance of Lagerstätten (conservation and concentration)
limited to: Burgess
Shale, Beecher’s Trilobite Bed, Mazon Creek, Ghost Ranch, Solnhofen Limestone,
Yixian Formation
(Liaoning), Green River Formation, and La Brea Tar Pits
xix. Major evolutionary events, trends, and transitions: (e.g., Ediacaran biota,
Cambrian Explosion,
Ordovician Radiation, Mesozoic Marine Revolution, Mesozoic-Cenozoic Radiation;
suture patterns
in cephalopods, fish to tetrapods transition, evolution of birds from dinosaurs,
evolution of whales,
evolution of horses)
xx. Convergent evolution: (e.g., fins in fish, marine reptiles, and mammals; wings in
insects,
pterosaurs, birds, and bats)
xxi. Interpretation of cladograms to show evolutionary relationships
xxii. Stromatolites, how they form, their role in the history of life and the development
of Earth’s
atmosphere, including the Great Oxygenation Event
xxiii.Trace fossils (ichnofossils) as evidence of fossil behavior. Limited to trails,
tracks & trackways,
footprints, resting traces, borings, burrows, tubes, predation marks, and coprolites
(1) Use of dinosaur footprints to calculate hip height and length of animal
Formulas

Hip Height = Length of Footprint x 4

Head to Tail Length = Length of Footprint x 10

Use of dinosaur trackway to determine running or walking speed of bi-pedal

dinosaurs

Relative Speed Ratio: Stride Length divided by Hip Height

If the ratio is less than 2.0, the dinosaur was WALKING.
If the ratio is between 2.0 and 2.9, the dinosaur was TROTTING.
If the ratio is greater than 2.9, the dinosaur was RUNNING.

Dermal denticles -> teeth evolution

In which group of ancient fish do we first see evidence of jaws? (1)
a) Placoderms

Modes of Life
Different animals have different modes of life (these generally refer to oceanic dwellers,
which makes up a bulk of the list). The main modes of life are:
●​ Pelagic: Free swimming, e.g. fish or scallops (scallops "swim" by flapping their
shells).
●​ Sessile: Rooted to the floor, e.g. crinoids (sea lilies) and sea anemones.
●​ Benthic: Lives on the sea floor, e.g. crabs, lobsters, crinoids.
●​ Vagrant: Free swimming, same as pelagic.
●​ Motile: The opposite of sessile; moves around. Examples include anything that is
Pelagic/Vagrant, Benthic, or any other organism able to move around.
●​ Coiled: The outsides of an organism coil around a center point.
●​ Planktonic: Does not actually swim; floats and is carried along with the ocean's
currents.
Index Fossils
Index fossils are fossils of organisms that lived only in four periods. They developed near
the beginning of the period, and became extinct before the end. Note that this refers to
genera or species, not entire classes or families. Index fossils are extremely useful for
dating rock. They can not be used to tell absolute age (we need carbon-14 (or other
isotope) testing for that), but can be used for relative dating. By comparing two rock
outcrops with the same index fossil, we can conclude that they are roughly the same age,
(give or take several million years). To be an index fossil, the organism must have had a
wide geographic range, because if a fossil is found only on some barren outcrop in the
desert, it can not be used to date rocks from many miles away. It also helps to be fairly
common - for instance, dinosaurs of North America are not index fossils because of their
rarity.
For example, Genus Mucrospirifer can be an index fossil for the Devonian Period because
they only existed during that period. Therefore, if a rock is found with a Mucrospirifer in it, it
can be assumed that the rock is from the Devonian Period.

Symmetry
Most multicellular organisms display some form of symmetry. Humans are bilaterally
symmetrical because if a person was cut in half from the middle of the front of the head, all
the way down the middle, the two sides would look the same.
There are many types of symmetry but the main types are:
●​ Bilateral Symmetry: Brachiopods are bilaterally symmetrical between each side
of each individual valve, and bivalves are bilaterally symmetrical between each
valve.
●​ Radial Symmetry: Imagine a sand dollar and put it in a circle - from the center of
that circle, all the surrounding parts are symmetrical. All echinodermata exhibit
radial symmetry.
●​ Pentamerism: A type of radial symmetry, think of a starfish. They generally have
five arms and a center point from which all these arms go out. Pentagonal
symmetry, my friends. All echinodermata exhibit this, some in variations.
●​ Coiled symmetry: Gastropods exhibit it - their shells are coiled around a center
point at the apex.
●​ Spherical symmetry: It is able to be cut into 2 identical halves through any cut
that runs through the organism's center

Lagerstätten
A Lagerstätte ("place of storage" in German) is a sedimentary deposit that contains fossils
preserved in excellent condition (sometimes even soft tissue fossils).
Distinguished into two kinds:
●​ Konzentrate-Lagerstätten: (concentration Lagerstätten) Deposits with a certain
"concentration" of organic hard parts such as a bone bed, however, concentration
deposits such as reefs or oyster beds are not considered Lagerstätten.
●​ Konservat-Lagerstätten: (conservation Lagerstätten) Deposits known for
exceptional preservation of fossils. These are crucial for understanding the
history and evolution of life. These are much more spectacular than the
Konzentrate-Lagerstätten.

Burgess Shale
●​ Located in the Canadian Rockies of British Columbia, Canada.
●​ Famous for its incredible preservation of soft parts (estimated 98% are entirely
soft-bodied), and unique diversity.
●​ 508 million years old from the middle Cambrian period.
●​ Discovered in 1909 by Charles Walcott.
 ●​ Commonly preserved primitive and early trilobites.
●​ The rock unit is black shale.

Beecher's Trilobite Bed

●​ Located within the Frankfort Shale in Cleveland's Glen, Oneida County, New
York, USA.
●​ Although only 3-4 cm thick, it yields many well-preserved trilobites with soft tissue
preserved by pyrite replacement (unusual in the fossil record).
●​ Formed during the Late Ordovician period.
●​ Originally discovered in 1892 by William S. Valiant but excavated in 1893-1895
by Charles Emerson Beecher.

Mazon Creek
●​ Located near Morris, in Grundy County Illinois.
●​ Preserved are a wide variety of fossils including amphibians, insects, fish,
crustaceans, eurypterids, jellyfish, snails, clams, and cephalopods.
●​ Formed ~309 million years ago in the Carboniferous period.
●​ Declared a National Historic Landmark in 1997.
●​ Fossils preserved in ironstone concretions.

Ghost Ranch
●​ Located near Abiquiú in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico.
●​ Famous for its remarkable concentration of fossils, especially Coelophysis, with
almost a thousand preservations.
●​ Formed during the Triassic period.
●​ Declared a U.S. National Natural Landmark in 1975.
●​ Was once a home of famous painter Georgia O'Keefe

Solnhofen Limestone
●​ Located in Bavaria, Germany.
●​ Geographically known as the Altmühltal Formation.
●​ Famous for detailed imprints of soft bodied organisms (like sea jellies) and being
the the place where Archaeopteryx was discovered.
●​ Formed during the Jurassic period.

Yixian Formation (Liaoning)

●​ Located in Jinzhou, Liaoning, China.
●​ Famous for its well-preserved fossils, especially of feathered dinosaurs.
●​ Formed during the early Cretaceous period spanning for 11 million years.
●​ Mainly composed of basalts with siliciclastic sediments, which is unusual in terms
of depositional environments you'd expect to find fossils.

Green River Formation

 ●​ Located along Green River spanning across Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah.
●​ Famous for a wide variety of animals especially bony fish, bats, and a large
number of plants.
●​ Thin layers of sediment deposit.
●​ Formed during the Eocene Epoch.

La Brea Tar Pits

●​ Located in Los Angeles, California.
●​ Famous for the preserved animal bones found in the tar pits. Some of these
animals include Pleistocene mammoths, dire wolves, and Smilodons.
●​ Formed during the Pleistocene Epoch.
●​ Declared a U.S. National Natural Landmark in 1964.
●​ Only lagerstatte on the list to contain human remains. The human remains were
that of a woman, which was names the "La Brea Woman".

Include information on all the genera, as well as any necessary information listed on the rule
page such as extinction events or geologic time. However, do not just copy and paste or
print pages off of Wikipedia- typing out information makes it easier to remember. It is also
helpful to have a "references section", as many stations have questions regarding the
anatomy of specific phyla, major mass extinctions, different sedimentary rocks, and
methods of fossilization. Having a timeline of the geologic time scale on hand can prove to
be useful, as well as diagrams of phyla and other things that could be asked about on the
test. Try creating a template for the genera, so it is not as hard to make sheets quickly for
the binder. Print out important pictures in color and print double sided, if possible. If printing
double sided is not an option, it is possible to put two sheets of paper in one sheet protector
so space in the binder is not wasted. Remember to tab and organize the binder so that it is
easier to find the information, as there is not much time to flip through during the
competition. If done right, the binder will be more valuable than the field guide. Use practice
tests to gain familiarity with the binder (as well as the field guide). Find more information on
rules in the 2020 Science Olympiad Rules Manual.
Frequently referencing information specified in the rules is important for a successful
competition. Team members must also be able to identify fossils accurately, as a large
portion of the test revolves around it. Information about the phyla detailed on the Fossil List
is essential, though not all information specified in the rules will be tested. The event can be
run in many different ways, and expecting surprises will make the test less stressful.
However, do not try to cram information into the binder. The binder can be a valuable
resource, but a 3-inch binder is likely excessive. Having a larger binder does not mean that
a team is guaranteed to place, and it is more important to have information memorized than
needing to look in the binder. Still make sure that everything required for competition is
available, because spending time building the binder makes memorization easier.
The majority of the binder should still consist of pages on each taxa (order/class/phylum) on
the National Fossil list.
Domain -> Kingdom -> Phylum -> Class -> Order -> Family -> Genus -> Species
What is needed for each page:
Order
●​ Fossil Range
●​ Taxonomy
●​ Mode of Life/Diet/Habitat/Distribution
●​ Anatomical features, size
●​ Nicknames, common names
●​ A picture (or many if there are various forms of the specimen)
●​ Any other important/trivial info that should go under a misc. section (pop culture,
etc)
Subphylum
●​ The common anatomical features throughout the group
●​ Distinctive features of the said group
 ●​ Adaptations over time
●​ The fossil range of the group
●​ General habitats and common modes of life
●​ Common names/Nicknames for group
●​ Misc. info
Phylum
●​ A broad range of info and less distinctive features
●​ There are generally a few main features are shared in these large groups
●​ Adaptations over time
●​ Nicknames/Common names (Like Bryozoans are called Sea mats/Moss animals)
●​ Misc. info

These pages should not be used for identification, and should only be looked at if the test asks for information that is not
memorized.
Many competitions also require labeling of some sorts, typically anatomical features of a specific phylum, class, etc. It is
helpful to be prepared for this and include diagrams of anatomical features of specimen such as trilobites, Phylum Bryozoa,
Phylum Crinoidea, etc.
Binders can be full of whatever is put into them. A great binder outweighs any guide, and knowing where every single piece
of information lies is a wonderful asset. This is typically one of the more competitive events, so knowing the information well
and thoroughly will be a great advantage. Tabbing also makes it easy to find information. It is especially helpful to make a
binder or adapt an old one, because that is when information gets memorized.

Available Field Guides

There are 3 main fossil guides used for this event: Simon and Schuster's Guide to Fossils, the Audubon Field Guide, and the
Smithsonian (DK) Field Guide.
1.​ Audubon: It has almost all invertebrates on the list, which automatically puts it first. It has very good
information and has everything needed for ID purposes, but it is a bit bulky and specimens are
sometimes difficult to find.
2.​ Smithsonian: Very straight forward, not very bulky, but it does not have all of the specimens on the list. It
is much better organized than the Audubon and has better pictures.
3.​ Simon and Schuster's: It does not have many of the samples, but it is the only guide of the three that
has information on dinosaurs. The guide has good general information, but the organization is awkward
and some of the fossil information is lacking.
Generally, the best choice as a field guide would be either Smithsonian or Audubon. Smithsonian is better organized and
has better pictures, but Audubon has better information. Whichever field guide is chosen, remember to organize, tab, and
add things into the field guide to improve it and be able to find information more easily. It is recommended to tab each
phylum and group of fossils, as well as plants, trace fossils, and rocks.
Remember: all three books can be used for studying, taking notes, and preparing the binder.
For the 2019-2020 season, you are not allowed to remove material from your binder, so it is not recommended to bring a
field guide.

Day of the Event

If bringing a binder, make sure that everything is hole-punched and organized. It is also okay to have pages in sheet
protectors, which includes all notes, the fossil list, pictures, diagrams, etc. If papers are stuffed into the side folders or just
placed in, the proctors will remove them and they will be unusable. Make sure to bring plenty of pencils, an eraser, and a
magnifying glass for live specimens.

How the Event is Run

Typically, the event is run in stations with a set time limit (generally from 7 to 9 minutes). Most tests generally involve
identifying a phylum and answering questions about its mode of preservation. Some involve pictures of a phylum on the list
or a picture of something else (like sediment). Every test is different, so be prepared for surprises. There may not be much
time but every team has the same time limit, so just keep calm, do not rush, and do not waste time. Having a partner is also
helpful, as it is possible to have one partner write down the answers on the answer sheet while another partner flips through
the binder to confirm the answers.

Domain -> Kingdom -> Phylum -> Class -> Order -> Family -> Genus -> Species

FOSSILS LIST