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FoG > Palaeontology > Flashcards

Palaeontology Flashcards

1
Q

What is a body fossil

A

fossilised parts of an actual organism
- mostly hard parts, biomineralised
- exceptional preservation includes soft parts
- life or death assemblages

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2
Q

What is a trace fossil

A

Evidence of past behaviour of organisms
- footprints, tracks, burrows
- always life position - good environmental indicator

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3
Q

What is a chemical fossil

A

Relics of biogenic chemical compounds / geochemical signatures of organisms found in rocks
- stable chemical compounds formed from degradation of biological c.c.s

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4
Q

Ranks in linnaean taxonomic system

A

Domain

Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species

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5
Q

What are the 3 domains of life

A

Archea
Bacteria
Eukarya

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6
Q

What is taphonomy

A

process of fossilisation (biostratinomy + diagenesis)

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7
Q

What is biostratinomy

A

Processes that occur between death and burial of an organism
(decay, transport, deformation, destruction)

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8
Q

What is diagenesis (paleo)

A

processes that occur between burial and discovery of a fossil
(recrystallisation, dissolution, deformation)

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9
Q

What are the ways that information can be lost during fossilisation

A

Decay - Aerobic rapid decay soft tissue (timing important)

Transport - far=lost environmental indicator (identify by way up, abrasion, fragmentation)

Destruction - common to species with hard parts held together by soft parts, bio erosion, dissolution(carbonate)

Deformation - distort under pressure, not represent life morphology

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10
Q

What questions to ask in identifying preservation

A
  • is original material? (ammonite MOP)
  • has been replaced? (pyrite, phosphate, silica)
  • covered/infilled (cast/mould)
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11
Q

When are soft parts preserved

A

when rate of burial/fossilisation beats rate of decay

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12
Q

3 ways soft parts can be preserved

A

Ephemeral preservation - env factors prevent decay (low temp)

Early mineralisation - replicates morphology of soft parts

Organic preservation - some biopolymers more resistant to decay (eg feathers)

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13
Q

Periods in Paleozoic

A

Cambrian
Ordovician
Silurian
Devonian
Carboniferous
Permian

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14
Q

Periods in Mesozoic

A

Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous

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15
Q

Periods in Cenozoic

A

Paleogene
Neogene
Quaternary

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16
Q
A

FoG (6 decks)

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