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Paleontology > Lecture 3 > Flashcards

Lecture 3 Flashcards

1
Q

Types of fossils - physical remnants

A

Body fossils (e.g., bones, shells, carbonized and permineralized remains)
Moulds and casts

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2
Q

4 main types of fossils that contribute to the ecosystem

A

Body fossils
Ichnofossils
Geochemistry
Molecular tracers

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3
Q

Types of fossils - evidence of activity

A

Ichnofossils or trace fossils (e.g., burrows, footprints, coprolites, gastroliths)

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4
Q

Types of fossils - biosignatures

A

Molecular fossils (e.g., species-specific lipids, DNA)
Geochemistry (Organic C, 13-C, 18-O)

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5
Q

Body fossils

A

Remains of body parts (original remains)

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6
Q

Examples of body fossils

A

Mammoth preserved in permafrost
Vertebrate bones
Pollen grains
Carbon films/carbonized films
Permineralized fossils
Moulds
Casts

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7
Q

Ichonology

A

The study of trace fossils

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8
Q

Types of ichnofossils

A

Trace fossils
Coprolites
Gastroliths

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9
Q

Implication of ichnofossils

A

Sedimentary evidence of biological activity (moving, walking, feeding, reproduction, etc.)

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10
Q

Examples of ichnofossils

A

Burrows in Ordovician sediment in Manitoba formed by movement of invertebrates in seafloor mud
Modern burrows exposed by erosion on a tidal flat
Human footprints preserved in volcanic ash in Italy
Bird footprints in Halifax
Coprolite in Saskatchewan

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11
Q

Coprolite

A

Fossilized, mineralized dung

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12
Q

Gastroliths AKA?

A

Stomach stones

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13
Q

Gastroliths

A

Rocks voluntarily ingested by certain vertebrates species show characteristic shape, polish, and location within skeletons (birds, crocodiles, some dinosaurs)

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14
Q

Molecular tracers

A

Chemical residues; provide info about the presence of an organism

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15
Q

Geochemistry and ancient life

A

Elemental and isotopic signature of rocks, sediments or fossils

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16
Q

Lagerstatten meaning

A

Storage places

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17
Q

Fossil-Lagerstatten

A

Sedimentary deposits that contain exceptionally abundant or exceptionally well-preserved fossil assemblages

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18
Q

2 types of fossil-lagerstatten

A

Konzentrat-Lagerstatten
Konservat-Lagerstatten

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19
Q

Konzentrat-Lagerstatten

A

Immense numbers of fossils are preserved (e.g., cave deposits, bone beds)

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20
Q

What are Konzentrat-Lagerstatten related to?

A

Abundance in life, and also to rate of sediment deposition

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21
Q

Konservat-Lagerstatte

A

Quality rather than quantity
Peculiar preservation conditions allowed soft or unmineralized tissues of animals and plants to be preserved

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22
Q

Names of 8 selected Lagerstatte

A

Ediacara Hills
Mistaken Point
Burgess Shale
Manitoba Lagerstatten
Joggins Formation
Mazon Creek
Solnhofen Limestone
Baltic Amber

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23
Q

Ediacara Hills age

A

Proterozoic (approx 600 Mya)

24
Q

Ediacara Hills general location

25
Ediacara Hills major fossil types
1st complex multicellular soft-bodied organisms - possibly early invertebrate animals
26
Ediacara Hills significance
Shallow marine habitat, or deep on the ocean floor Rapid burial by turbidite flows
27
Turbidity current
Generated when sediments slide off the edge of the continental shelf
28
Mistaken Point age
565 Mya - one of the oldest known Ediacaran biotas
29
Mistaken Point general location
Newfoundland
30
Mistaken Point significance
Deep-water environments Ash deposits
31
Mistaken Point fossil types
Ichnofossils
32
Burgess Shale age
508 Mya
33
Burgess Shale general location
BC
34
Important characteristic of Burgess Shale
Sudden appearance of "shelly fossils"
35
Burgess Shale fossil type
Submarine cliff - margin of an algal reef --> catastrophic burial in a fine sediment, and deposition on a sea floor deficient in oxygen
36
What kind of Lagerstatten is the Burgess Shale period-wise?
Cambrian Lagerstatten
37
Manitoba Lagerstatten age
443 Mya - Ordovician
38
Manitoba Lagerstatten significance
Restricted lagoon environment Record of early nearshore marine life: eurypterids (sea scorpions), horseshoe crabs
39
Joggins Formation location
Nova Scotia
40
Joggins Formation age
315 Mya - Carboniferous
41
Joggins Formation major fossil types
Late Carboniferous tropical vegetation, tree trunks Charcoal accumulations Early tetrapods (amphibians, reptiles), other animals
42
Mazon Creek general location
Illinois
43
Mazon Creek age
310 Mya - Carboniferous
44
Mazon Creek fossil types
Clay ironstone concretions (unusual type of preservation), jellyfish and sea anenomes
45
Mazon Creek significance
Late Paleozoic shallow marine, freshwater and terrestrial life in estuary deposits
46
Nodules
Diagenetic features
47
Solnhofen Limestone general location
Southern Germany
48
Solnhofen Limestone age
150 Mya - Jurassic
49
Solnhofen Limestone significance
Restricted lagoon within a shelf sea Stagnant waters with high evaporation Fossils in very fine-grained lithographic limestone
50
Solnhofen Limestone fossil types
Fish fins, cephalopod with soft tissues, large jellyfish
51
Baltic amber deposit general location
Russia
52
Baltic amber fossil types
Amber - fossil resins
53
Baltic amber significance
May have different botanical affinities, geological ages, chemistry and properties
54
How does baltic amber deposit so well?
Very fast burial --> no biostratinomic loss
55
Broad example of a Konservat-Lagerstatte
Permafrost
56
What does permafrost depend on?
Local climatic conditions Unlikely to preserve for significant interval of geological time

Paleontology (22 decks)

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