Fossils and Evolution
So, what is a fossil anyway?
• On your paper, write a definition for the
term fossil.
• What do you think they are?
• What are they made of?
• Where are they found?
• What types of things can be fossils?
Tim & Moby - Fossils
Let’s recap…
• Fossils (from Latin fossus, literally "having been dug up")
• Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals,
plants, and other organisms from the distant past.
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http://www.treasure-hunting-team.com/a27-treasure-hunting-for-fossil-fish.php
http://www.geosociety.org/graphics/gv/PikesPeak/03fossilWasp.htm
Let’s recap…
There are several types of fossils:
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• Body fossils - made from actual organic
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creature or plant (like a bone).
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http://science.nationalgeographic.com/staticfiles/NGS/Shared/StaticFiles/Science/Images/Content/triassic-plant-446443-ga.jpg
http://ruskosplanet.blogspot.com/2009_07_01_archive.html
http://www.norway.org/ARCHIVE/restech/ida/
Let’s recap…
There are several types of fossils:
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• Trace fossils - A trail, track, or burrow made by an animal
and found in ancient sediments such as sandstone, shale,
or limestone.
http://www.envs.emory.edu/faculty/MARTIN/ichnology/tf-coprolites.htm
http://www.envs.emory.edu/faculty/MARTIN/ichnology/Arthrophycus.htm It’s what it looks like… fossilized
Burrows from a worm-like poop!
Animal.
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Tracks from a Chirotherium
http://www.citizendia.org/Trace_fossil
http://dinosauriosdeargentina.blogspot.com/2009/02/dinosaurios-de-la-rioja.html
Let’s recap…
There are several types of fossils:
• Mold fossils - form when the material surrounding
the organism hardens followed
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(or mold) of the organism.
• Cast fossils - form when a mold fossil is filled with
some form of mineral.
http://petrifiedwoodmuseum.org/moldscasts.htm
A mold fossil of an A cast fossil of an
ammonite. ammonite.
Fossil Record
• The total number of fossils that have been
discovered, as well as the information
gained from them.
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• In a nutshell, here’s what we know from
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the fossils that have been discovered…
Our current era!
Mammals
100 Million years ago
Birds
150 Million years ago
Can you
believe that
200
Reptiles
Million years ago
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Amphibians
250 Millions years ago
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organisms
Fish Million
350 with jaws
years ago
have been
Fish found?
400 million jaw It
withoutyears bones
ago
sounds crazy,
Simple
500 multi-cellular
Million years ago
but
organisms it’s true!
1Single-Celled
Billion years Organisms
ago
How do we know how old they
are?!
Relative dating
• Using relative dating, scientists can look
at where the fossils are in the earth to
determine how old they are. They look at
the sediments above and below a fossil;
this allows scientists to say that an
organism lived after one species (found in
the rock below it), and before another
species (found in the rock above it).
How do we know how old they
are?!
Absolute Dating
• Scientists also use absolute dating,
sometimes it’s called “Carbon 14” dating or
just “Carbon dating”. Carbon 14 decays at
a constant rate, so scientists can measure
the amount of radioactive carbon still in the
sample and figure out how old it is.
The interactive Tree of Life!
An interactive fossil record!
Fossil Record
Dinosaur Evolution - Filling in the Gaps
How do fossils support evolution?
