•Fossils

Question 1

What is a fossil?

What do they include?

Answer 1

Preserved evidence of pre-historic life

Hard parts of an organism
Tracks, footprints, burrowers and feeding trails

Question 2

What are the seven main taxonomic ranks in order?

Answer 2

Kingdom 
Phylum 
Class
Order
Family
Genus 
Species

Question 3

What environments are fossils preserved in?

Answer 3

Fine grained sediment
Low energy environments
Best preserved in shale, mudstone and micritic limestone

Question 4

What are the hard parts of organisms called?

Answer 4

Invertebrates = shells of exoskeletons

Vertebrates = endoskeletons

Question 5

How are derived fossils formed?

Answer 5

Organisms in older rock are eroded
Then transported
And deposited in younger rocks

Question 6

What is a life assemblage ?

What are their characteristics?

Answer 6

Assemblage of fossil remains found where animals had lived

While fossils
Range of sizes
No orientation

Question 7

What is a death assemblage?

What are it’s characteristics?

Answer 7

Assemblage of fossils formed because they were brought together after death not because of their habitats

Not in living position
Fragmented through transport
Similar in size
Have orientation

Question 8

What is the process of petrification?

Answer 8

A shell is buried in sediment
Original material is dissolved leaving a mould
The mould is I filed with calcite, silica, iron oxide and iron sulphide
Creates a cast

Question 9

What is hard body preservation?

Answer 9

The soft body decomposes leaving the skeleton or shell

Gap is replaced with crystallised deposits (petrification)

Question 10

What is soft body preservation?

How can it be preserved?

Answer 10

Soft body rapidly decomposes
Process of petrification

Anaerobic environments
Frozen in glacier
Preserved in Tundra
Incorporated into wood sap

Question 11

What is a Trilobite?

What are it’s parts?

Answer 11

Oldest creature found with eyes

From the Cambrian to the Permian

Cephalon 
Thorax
Pygidium 
Glabella 
Facial suture 
Eyes 
Genial spines 
Thoracic segments 
Legs

Question 12

Which characteristics classify a trilobite?

Answer 12

Size of cephalon 
Size of pygidium 
Shape of facial suture 
Number of thoracic segments
Size of glabella
Shape of glabella 
Size of genal spines

Question 13

Morphological characteristics of a trilobite: pelagic (swimmer) lifestyle

Answer 13

Large eyes
Large glabella
Elongated body
Large pygidium

Question 14

Morphological characteristics of a trilobite: burrower lifestyle

Answer 14

Smooth cephalon 
Poorly developed/ no genal spines 
Elongated body 
Poorly developed genal spines 
Small/ no eyes 
Rushes on pygidium

Question 15

Morphological characteristics of a trilobite: Benthic (mud grubber) lifestyle

Answer 15

Large cephalon 
Reinforced fringe 
Small/ no eyes 
Wide body 
Large genal spines

Question 16

Morphological characteristics of a trilobite: predatory lifestyle

Answer 16

Large eyes
Large body
Large glabella
Thoracic spines

Question 17

What is cruziana?

Answer 17

Chevron like trails caused by a trilobite crawling, ploughing, shovelling or burrowing through soft sediment

Question 18

What is Rusophycus?

Answer 18

Surface scours

Implies that a swimming trilobite has landed, made a temporary nest then swim away

Occur at the end of cruziana trails

Question 19

What are asaphoidichnus?

Answer 19

Diagonal sets of walking trails

Crab like sideways motions as animals try to steady itself on slippery mud

Question 20

What are diplichnites?

Answer 20

Walking or striding tracks with individual leg impressions.

Series of paired markings

Question 21

What is a graptolite?

What are it’s parts?

Answer 21

A fossil that is only preserved in low energy environments & shale

Lived from Ordovician to Silurian

Nema
Stipes
Thecae

Question 22

|
     ///|\\\

What is this?
What are it’s characteristics?

Answer 22

Dictyonema
Early Ordovician

Multiple pendant stipes
Simple thecae

Question 23

|
/||\

What is this?
What are it’s characteristics?

Answer 23

Tetragraptus
Early Ordovician

4 pendant stipes
Simple thecae

Question 24

|
/ \

What is this?
What are it’s characteristics?

Answer 24

Didymograptus
Early Ordovician

2 pendant stipes
Simple thecae

Question 25

| — — What is this? What are it’s characteristics?

Answer 25

Leptograptus Middle Ordovician 2 reclined stipes Fairly complex thecae

Question 26

\_|_/ What is this? What are it’s characteristics?

Answer 26

Dicellograptus Late Ordovician 2 Scandentia stipes Complex thecae

Question 27

||| What is this? What are is characteristics?

Answer 27

Climograptus Late Ordovician 2 scadent stipes Complex and elaborate thecae

Question 28

| What is this?

Answer 28

Monograptus Silurian 1 Scandent stipe Complex and elaborate thecae

Question 29

When was the time span of an ammonoid? What are it’s parts?

Answer 29

Devonian- Cretaceous Well- developed eye Shell cavities Septa Soft bodies creature- siphon

Question 30

Goniatite

Answer 30

) ( ) Upper Palaeozoic- Carboniferous Simple loves and saddles Relatively wide shell

Question 31

Ceratite

Answer 31

} { } Mesozoic- Triassic Rounded saddle & frilled lobe Relatively thin and streamlined

Question 32

Ammonite

Answer 32

$ $ $ Mesozoic- Cretaceous Complex septa and highly frilled lobes and saddles Narrow and streamlined

Question 33

What is the time span of a Brachiopod? What are it’s parts?

Answer 33

Cambrian to Today ``` Pedicle opening Foramen Umbo Growth lines Bilateral symmetry Unequal valves Commissure Pedicle valve Brachial valve ```

Question 34

What are the two brachiopod valves? What are their parts?

Answer 34

``` Pedicle valve: Pedicle opening Hinge- teeth & sockets Abductor- close Diductor- open Muscle scars ``` Brachial valve: Brachidium Lophophone

Question 35

What is a time span of a bivalve? What are it’s parts?

Answer 35

Ordovician- Today ``` Umbo Teeth and sockets Hinge line Muscle scars Pallial line Pallial sinus ```

Question 36

What are the bivalve valves? What are their parts?

Answer 36

Dorsal Anterior Posterior Ventral No bilateral symmetry Equal valves

Question 37

What is an Infaunal (deep burrowing) bivalve?

Answer 37

Flat elongated shell Large pallial sinus Equal valves Anterior and posterior valves 20cm below the sediment surface E.g Mya

Question 38

What is an epifaunal (attached by a byssus) bivalve?

Answer 38

``` Secrets threads of protein collagen Upright position Elongate shells Equal valves Flattened surface Anterior muscle scar is smaller than posterior ``` Rocky surfaces submerged at high tide E.g mytilus mussel

Question 39

What is an infaunal (shallow burrowing) bivalve?

Answer 39

Equal convex valves Small pallial sinus Adductors similar size Strong shell Just below beach surface Cockle (cardium)

Question 40

What is an epifaunal (cemented) bivalve?

Answer 40

High energy environments Thick unequal valves Single adductor muscle Attached to bedrock Rocky surfaces on the seabed Oyster (Ostrea)

Question 41

What is a free-lying bivalve?

Answer 41

Convex valves for stability One large valve Lying on seabed Gryphaea

Question 42

What is a swimming bivalve?

Answer 42

``` Low freely Vigorously clap valves Unequal sized valves One adductor Almost bilaterally symmetrical Large muscle scars ``` Open sea and on sea bed Scallop (pecten)

Question 43

What is the time span of a plant?

Answer 43

Devonian to Today 3000ma in the sea 400ma on the land Common in terrestrial rocks

Question 44

What are the hard parts of a plant?

Answer 44

Leaf Branch Trunk

Question 45

What is the time span of a coral?

Answer 45

Pre-Cambrian to Today

Question 46

What are the parts of a coral?

Answer 46

Colonial: Septa CaCo3 exoskeleton (Corallite) Solitary: Septa

Question 47

What are the best conditions for coral?

Answer 47

Warm water (25 degree) Shallow and light (no deeper than 20m) Still water (no sediment) Oxygenated water Marine water (away from river mouth) Neutral PH (7)