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Geology > •Fossils > Flashcards

•Fossils Flashcards

1
Q

What is a fossil?

What do they include?

A

Preserved evidence of pre-historic life

Hard parts of an organism
Tracks, footprints, burrowers and feeding trails

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2
Q

What are the seven main taxonomic ranks in order?

A 
Kingdom 
Phylum 
Class
Order
Family
Genus 
Species
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3
Q

What environments are fossils preserved in?

A

Fine grained sediment
Low energy environments
Best preserved in shale, mudstone and micritic limestone

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4
Q

What are the hard parts of organisms called?

A

Invertebrates = shells of exoskeletons

Vertebrates = endoskeletons

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5
Q

How are derived fossils formed?

A

Organisms in older rock are eroded
Then transported
And deposited in younger rocks

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6
Q

What is a life assemblage ?

What are their characteristics?

A

Assemblage of fossil remains found where animals had lived

While fossils
Range of sizes
No orientation

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7
Q

What is a death assemblage?

What are it’s characteristics?

A

Assemblage of fossils formed because they were brought together after death not because of their habitats

Not in living position
Fragmented through transport
Similar in size
Have orientation

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8
Q

What is the process of petrification?

A

A shell is buried in sediment
Original material is dissolved leaving a mould
The mould is I filed with calcite, silica, iron oxide and iron sulphide
Creates a cast

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9
Q

What is hard body preservation?

A

The soft body decomposes leaving the skeleton or shell

Gap is replaced with crystallised deposits (petrification)

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10
Q

What is soft body preservation?

How can it be preserved?

A

Soft body rapidly decomposes
Process of petrification

Anaerobic environments
Frozen in glacier
Preserved in Tundra
Incorporated into wood sap

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11
Q

What is a Trilobite?

What are it’s parts?

A

Oldest creature found with eyes

From the Cambrian to the Permian

Cephalon 
Thorax
Pygidium 
Glabella 
Facial suture 
Eyes 
Genial spines 
Thoracic segments 
Legs
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12
Q

Which characteristics classify a trilobite?

A 
Size of cephalon 
Size of pygidium 
Shape of facial suture 
Number of thoracic segments
Size of glabella
Shape of glabella 
Size of genal spines
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13
Q

Morphological characteristics of a trilobite: pelagic (swimmer) lifestyle

A

Large eyes
Large glabella
Elongated body
Large pygidium

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14
Q

Morphological characteristics of a trilobite: burrower lifestyle

A 
Smooth cephalon 
Poorly developed/ no genal spines 
Elongated body 
Poorly developed genal spines 
Small/ no eyes 
Rushes on pygidium
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15
Q

Morphological characteristics of a trilobite: Benthic (mud grubber) lifestyle

A 
Large cephalon 
Reinforced fringe 
Small/ no eyes 
Wide body 
Large genal spines
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16
Q

Morphological characteristics of a trilobite: predatory lifestyle

A

Large eyes
Large body
Large glabella
Thoracic spines

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17
Q

What is cruziana?

A

Chevron like trails caused by a trilobite crawling, ploughing, shovelling or burrowing through soft sediment

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18
Q

What is Rusophycus?

A

Surface scours

Implies that a swimming trilobite has landed, made a temporary nest then swim away

Occur at the end of cruziana trails

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19
Q

What are asaphoidichnus?

A

Diagonal sets of walking trails

Crab like sideways motions as animals try to steady itself on slippery mud

20
Q

What are diplichnites?

A

Walking or striding tracks with individual leg impressions.

Series of paired markings

21
Q

What is a graptolite?

What are it’s parts?

A

A fossil that is only preserved in low energy environments & shale

Lived from Ordovician to Silurian

Nema
Stipes
Thecae

22
Q 
|
     ///|\\\

What is this?
What are it’s characteristics?

A

Dictyonema
Early Ordovician

Multiple pendant stipes
Simple thecae

23
Q

|
/||\

What is this?
What are it’s characteristics?

A

Tetragraptus
Early Ordovician

4 pendant stipes
Simple thecae

24
Q

|
/ \

What is this?
What are it’s characteristics?

A

Didymograptus
Early Ordovician

2 pendant stipes
Simple thecae

25
Q

|
— —

What is this?
What are it’s characteristics?

A

Leptograptus
Middle Ordovician

2 reclined stipes
Fairly complex thecae

26
Q

_|_/

What is this?
What are it’s characteristics?

A

Dicellograptus
Late Ordovician

2 Scandentia stipes
Complex thecae

27
Q

|||

What is this?
What are is characteristics?

A

Climograptus
Late Ordovician

2 scadent stipes
Complex and elaborate thecae

28
Q

|

What is this?

A

Monograptus
Silurian

1 Scandent stipe
Complex and elaborate thecae

29
Q

When was the time span of an ammonoid?

What are it’s parts?

A

Devonian- Cretaceous

Well- developed eye
Shell cavities
Septa
Soft bodies creature- siphon

30
Q

Goniatite

A

)
(
)

Upper Palaeozoic- Carboniferous

Simple loves and saddles
Relatively wide shell

31
Q

Ceratite

A

}
{
}

Mesozoic- Triassic

Rounded saddle & frilled lobe
Relatively thin and streamlined

32
Q

Ammonite

A

$
$
$

Mesozoic- Cretaceous

Complex septa and highly frilled lobes and saddles
Narrow and streamlined

33
Q

What is the time span of a Brachiopod?

What are it’s parts?

A

Cambrian to Today

Pedicle opening 
Foramen 
Umbo 
Growth lines 
Bilateral symmetry 
Unequal valves 
Commissure 
Pedicle valve 
Brachial valve
34
Q

What are the two brachiopod valves?

What are their parts?

A 
Pedicle valve:
Pedicle opening 
Hinge- teeth & sockets 
Abductor- close 
Diductor- open 
Muscle scars

Brachial valve:
Brachidium
Lophophone

35
Q

What is a time span of a bivalve?

What are it’s parts?

A

Ordovician- Today

Umbo 
Teeth and sockets 
Hinge line 
Muscle scars 
Pallial line 
Pallial sinus
36
Q

What are the bivalve valves?

What are their parts?

A

Dorsal
Anterior Posterior
Ventral

No bilateral symmetry
Equal valves

37
Q

What is an Infaunal (deep burrowing) bivalve?

A

Flat elongated shell
Large pallial sinus
Equal valves
Anterior and posterior valves

20cm below the sediment surface

E.g Mya

38
Q

What is an epifaunal (attached by a byssus) bivalve?

A 
Secrets threads of protein collagen 
Upright position 
Elongate shells 
Equal valves 
Flattened surface 
Anterior muscle scar is smaller than posterior

Rocky surfaces submerged at high tide

E.g mytilus mussel

39
Q

What is an infaunal (shallow burrowing) bivalve?

A

Equal convex valves
Small pallial sinus
Adductors similar size
Strong shell

Just below beach surface

Cockle (cardium)

40
Q

What is an epifaunal (cemented) bivalve?

A

High energy environments
Thick unequal valves
Single adductor muscle
Attached to bedrock

Rocky surfaces on the seabed

Oyster (Ostrea)

41
Q

What is a free-lying bivalve?

A

Convex valves for stability
One large valve

Lying on seabed

Gryphaea

42
Q

What is a swimming bivalve?

A 
Low freely 
Vigorously clap valves 
Unequal sized valves 
One adductor 
Almost bilaterally symmetrical 
Large muscle scars

Open sea and on sea bed

Scallop (pecten)

43
Q

What is the time span of a plant?

A

Devonian to Today

3000ma in the sea
400ma on the land

Common in terrestrial rocks

44
Q

What are the hard parts of a plant?

A

Leaf
Branch
Trunk

45
Q

What is the time span of a coral?

A

Pre-Cambrian to Today

46
Q

What are the parts of a coral?

A

Colonial:
Septa
CaCo3 exoskeleton (Corallite)

Solitary:
Septa

47
Q

What are the best conditions for coral?

A

Warm water (25 degree)

Shallow and light (no deeper than 20m)

Still water (no sediment)

Oxygenated water

Marine water (away from river mouth)

Neutral PH (7)

Geology (14 decks)

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