Why are fossils important to learn about Fossils

Why are fossils important to learn about? • Fossils provide a record of life on Earth from as long as 1 billion years ago • Help us to understand the different environments that once existed • They show organisms (animals and plants) have changed over time • Changes from simpler to more complex development • These records can be dated, so they are a physical representation of evolutionary progression • Example: the way that ancient fish developed a bone in their jaw over time. • Those representative species in any given time are what would be expected if evolution had occurred. • http: //www. paleoportal. org/

When did the fossil appear? What Time Period, Era, Epoch? Work Sheet Activity

Ammonites (molluscs- “Cephalopods”) Largest found – 7. 5 ft

Gastropods (molluscs-snails & Slugs)

Trilobites Arthropods (crabs, spiders, etc) 1 -4” avg size Largest – 28” x 16” wide

Shark Teeth Sand tiger Largest found – 7” tall

Crow Shark Teeth

Shark Vertebrate Fossil

Mosasaur Tooth Aquatic Reptile

Orthoceras (Mollusc-Cephalopods)

Bivalves

Oyster (llymatogyra)

Brachiopod

Platystropia Ponderosa (Brachiopod)

Devil’s Toenail (Exogyra-Oyster shell)

Corals

North Florida Fossil Coral

Stingray Barb Fossil

Crinoids (related to sea stars, sea urchins, sand dollars)

Echinoid – Sea Urchins

Dinosaur Bones

Dinosaur Egg Fragment

Coprolites Trace fossils - “Ancient Dung or Poo. P” Largest found – 2’ x 6. 5” wide

Plant Fossils

Dawn Redwood

Amber (copal) 30 -50 mya

Delaware State Fossil - The Belemnite Ancient Mollusk found along the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal

Types of Fossils - Review Types of fossils (3: 53) https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=fd 630 LR 9 Fv. U Bill Nye The Science Guy & Fossils [ FULL EPISODE ] (34: 34) https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=h. OX 8_wqq. RPs What are fossils and how do they form (9: 31) https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=c_DCP 4 c. LVNg