PALEONTOLOGYthe study of fossils or past life

“paleo” means old or ancient

Chapter 6 – The Rock and Fossil Record

http://youtu.be/ClJ5lwl_wM03 ½ min Fossil Rock Anthem

EXTINCT

Dodo bird

Woolly Mammoth

Quagga

Saber Tooth Tiger

•Extinction is the death of every member of a species.•To be extinct means to be no longer on this Earth.

FOSSILthe preserved remains, traces, or imprint ofan organism

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rkGu0BItKM&feature=share&list=PLOxx_Ap1N_kcgyHcmqdi5cnYRNuihA8Mw2 ½ min  What are fossils

http://youtu.be/Zo49Pyhii-k3 min  BBC – Earth’s rarest and ancient fossils

BODY FOSSILThe actual remains of an organism, including bones, shells, teeth, and seeds.

PETRIFACTIONThe process by which the organic material of an organism is replaced with hard minerals.

Petoskey rock – fossilized coral from Michiganpetrified dinosaur bone agate

(rock)

http://youtu.be/068GcVD3VaE5 min  Petrified Forest National Park

MOLD The imprint or shape (empty space) left by an organism’s body or movements.

CASTA mold left by an organism’s body or movements that has been filled with minerals or sediment. The cast forms inside the mold.

AMBERInsects, frogs, lizards and plants have been preserved in soft, sticky tree sap. Overtime, the sap hardens into amber, which can be used in jewelry.

TRACE FOSSILSDetails preserved in rock provide info about the activities of prehistoric animals, including animal tracks, trails, burrows, and nest.

Animals burrowed through the soft sediment at the bottom of the ancient seas.Amphibian tracks

La Brea Tar Pitshttp://youtu.be/nBfMa62fkHA3 ½ min La Brea Tar Pits

The extinct animals discovered at Rancho La Brea were trapped in the asphalt (tar) between 11,000 to 50,000 years ago. They may have lived in the Los Angeles region for much of the last 100,000 years. Before that time the Los Angeles Basin was covered by the Pacific Ocean.Asphalt is very sticky, particularly when it is warm. Small mammals, birds, and insects that would come into contact with it would be immobilized as if trapped like flies on flypaper.

Woolly MammothYuka – 3-4 yr. old female recently found in Siberia

FEET

HAIR

http://youtu.be/ZOFf1wyx91M1 ½ min Yuka Mammoth Mummy

RELATIVE AGE

A Time Line of Earth’s Past

The age of a fossil or layer of rocks as compared to other fossils and rock layers found above and below it.

Scientists can use the order of layers to find relative age of a fossil. The lower layers in the rock are older because they settled first. Newer layers formed on top of the older layers.

http://youtu.be/zklzOjmz7Wk5 min  The Ages of Rock/Fossils

ABSOLUTE AGEThe exact numerical age of a fossil.

Dating fossils have helped scientists explain the theory of continental drift.

INDEX FOSSILS

Using Fossils to Date Rock

By dating the rock layers above and below these fossils, scientists can determine the time span in which the organisms that formed the fossils lived.

Are well-known organisms that lived a short time and then became extinct.

Ammonite Trilobitemarine mollusk related to horseshoe crab

Georgia State FossilPetrified shark tooth Georgia designated the shark tooth

as the official state fossil in 1976. A fairly common fossil on the Georgia coastal plain, the fossilized shark tooth is prized by collectors.

These prehistoric shark teeth are found in a range of colors - most common are black or gray, less common are the white, brown, blue, and reddish-brown teeth.

Many types of sharks lived in prehistoric Georgia - the oldest teeth date back about 375 million years. One of the largest extinct species of shark was Otodontidae Carcharocles megalodon.

Era - Time Marches On…

A unit of geologic timePaleozoic

Era•“Paleo” means ancient, old or in the past•“Zoic” means life or animal•Marine life was abundant.•Ended with the largest mass extinction

http://youtu.be/FlUes_NPa6M10 ½ min Mass Extinctions

http://youtu.be/XdeYhMd5RDM4 min Paleozoic Era

Mesozoic Era•“Meso” means middle•Age of Reptiles•Small mammals appeared•Another mass extinction occurred at end of the era.

Cenozoic Era•“Ceno” means recent•Began 65 million years ago•Continues to present time•Age of Mammals

Mammals•Mammals had unique adaptations that may have helped them to survive climate change:• Regulating body

temperature (warm-blooded)• Bearing young that

developed inside the mother•Dinosaurs were unable to

adapt which caused their disappearance from Earth (cold-blooded and egg-laying).

PowerPoint Presentation – 2013M. Brumbaugh

TCMS

http://youtu.be/Z8hP8Frzhnw4 min I am a Dinosaur song

http://youtu.be/LssXGFdueFM3 ½ min Building a Dinosaur 101http://youtu.be/rzcMnb0yhxA3min NG Digging up a Dinosaur Graveyard

http://youtu.be/SiN0jxZ6I2w4 min Fossil Record Mystery

http://youtu.be/a_hgCM8XZkk2 min NG Should We Bring Extinct Species Back to Life?

http://youtu.be/O8qmaAMK4cM1 ½ min   6 degrees Warmer:  Mass Extinction?http://youtu.be/6v9bx_aOu7I3 ½ min  Weird Fossils BBC

http://youtu.be/TcZtMFnyj1M4 ½ min Fossils and Plate Tectonics

http://youtu.be/RNSrNT-nIDE3 ½ min Mr. Parr Fossil Songhttp://youtu.be/FXpeovWDi9k4 min  Mr. Parr   All Earth Time song