Fossil Evidence Flashcards
What are fossils?
Fossils are complete organisms or the remains, imprints or traces/tracks of organisms, usually preserved in rock
What is a palaeontologist?
A scientists who studies fossils
What is palaeontology?
The study of plant and animal fossils
Why are fossils useful?
They provide evidence of earlier life on earth
They give information regarding the history of life on earth
They also give indications of the climate and conditions mya
What are some examples of fossil evidence?
Bivalves
Ammonites
Trilobites
Whale fossils
What are bivalves?
A marine or freshwater snail/mollusc with a soft body that is compressed in a shell consisting of two separate parts (valves) that is joined with a strong, flexible, muscular hinge
Give some examples of bivalves
Oysters
Mussels
Clams
Scallops
What is an ammonite?
An extinct marine snail with a flat, spiral shell divided into chambers with wavy interlocking walls
When did ammonites become extinct?
65 mya
What is a trilobite?
Extinct arthropod
Body is divided into horizontal segments and three vertical lobes
What are trilobites related to?
Lobsters
Crabs
When did trilobites become extinct?
250 mya
Where were the bivalve and ammonite fossils found?
On the Makhatini lawns of northern KZN
Where where the trilobite fossils found?
In the Karoo
Where were the whale fossils found?
In the Sahara desert
