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Paleontology Readings Flashcards

1
Q

Paleontology

A

the study of fossil species

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2
Q

Preservation bias

A

fossil record mostly dominated by the shelled remains of small aquatic animals, since those are easily preserved

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3
Q

why study paleontology

A

how life evolved, how climate and landscapes have shifted, impacts on ecosystems and ecosystem responses

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4
Q

Taphonomy

A

study of fossilization process

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5
Q

steps of fossilization

A

death, soft tissue decay, sediment encasement, mineralization, erosion

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6
Q

origins of life

A

LUCA (last universal common ancestor)

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7
Q

how did life emerge

A

organic monomers and polymers can form spontaneously, and then self-replicating molecules began to evolve (RNA world), then protocells led to today’s cells, and this all occurred in hydrothermal vents

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8
Q

what are cyanobacteria (evolution)

A

evolved 2.4 billion years ago, earth’s first photosynthesizers, led to great oxidation event as noted by iron bands in the ocean floor

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9
Q

eukaryotes and multicellular life (evolution)

A

around 1.75 billion years ago, endosymbosis, where prokaryotes took in other parts, led to fungi, plants, and animals

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10
Q

what were the first organized, differentiated multicellular organisms

A

ediacara biota, from 580 million years ago

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11
Q

Cambrian Explosion

A

539 to 515 mya: massive diversification of animals

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12
Q

Abiotic/environmental causes of Cambrian explosion

A

Warming planet
 Sea-level rise
 Shallow marine seas
 Mineral and nutrient influx
Increased oxygen levels
Tectonic changes
Nutrient influx

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13
Q

Biological/ecological causes of Cambrian explosion

A

Grazing species
Burrowing organisms
Tripoblast development
Bilatera development
“evolutionary arms race”

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14
Q

Small Shelly Fauna

A

collection of small, shelled fossils, 1-2 mm long, represent morphology in later shelled organisms

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15
Q

what was the first case of biomineralization

A

small shelly fauna with calcium phosphate (later calcium carbonate)

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16
Q

brachiopods

A

origin in early cambrian, shallow marine environments, shelled invertebrates, calcium phosphate, few species still alive in polar regions today

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17
Q

trilobites

A

origin in early cambrian, existed for over 300 million years and dominated the seas with 5,000 genera and 15,000 species
first large shelled organisms, chitin and calcite, likely first eyed organisms, driven extinct by mass events, ARTHROPODS

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18
Q

HAIKOUICHTHYS

A

possibly the first fish, end of cambrian explosion, very small, one of the oldest chordates, notochord, distinct skull

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19
Q

what was possibly the first fish

A

haikouichthys

20
Q

Anomalocaris

A

Large shrimp-like predators
Swimming by undulation
Ate soft prey

21
Q

Archaeocyaths

A

Sponges
Large diversification
Creation of the first reefs

22
Q

The Great Dying

A

aka the permian-triassic extinction event, responsible for 80-96% of loss of species in a very short amount of time, two pulses

23
Q

Causes of the first great dying pulse

A

climate instability, global warming

24
Q

Causes of the second great dying pulse

A

ocean acidification, release of CO2 from Siberian volcanoes

25
Evidence of great dying causes
faunal turnover, surface weathering, isotope data
26
Ramifications of the Great Dying
Extinction breakdowns // 96% of the species in the oceans // Most of the invertebrate species // Especially sessile organisms 70% of terrestrial vertebrate species Largest mass extinction of insects // 8 or 9 insect orders (second broadest group, after kingdom) 57% of all biological families 83% of all genera
27
what was the age of the fish
the Devonian period
28
when did the fish dominate the aquatic systems
the Devonian period, or age of the fish
29
What was the devonian period
placoderms were everywhere, first bony fish, early cartilaginous fish diversify
30
What were placoderms
armored fish, among first jawed fish, first to develop pelvic fins and teeth, and oldest example of live birth, freshwater and marine
31
Shark-like cartilaginous fish
Origin in Middle Devonian Most abundant Very shark-like body Carnivore, fast and agile
32
Megalodon
Last of the megatooth sharks around 13-25 meters long Fossil record: teeth and a few parts of spinal columns Extinction may have been a cause of:  Inability to adapt to climate change  Lowering of sea levels  Collapse of prey population  Competition with great whites and other marine carnivores
33
Marine Reptiles (old)
major marine predators, endotherms, air-breathers, huge diversity including ichthyosaurs, sauropterygia (plesiosaur), mosasaurs
34
ichthyosaurs
generalist feeders, gave birth to live young, pointed heads, large eyes, vertical tail fin
35
Plesiosaur
top predator of the jurassic, short necked or long necked, varied in dietary niche, high parental investment
36
Mososaurs
top predator of the late cretaceous, lizard shaped body for highly aquatic existence, also generalist feeders
37
Today's Living Fossils
organisms whose morphology has remained relatively unchanged from earlier geologic times, has still undergone evolution, but example of stabilizing selection
38
Requirements of Living Fossils
remains recognizable in fossil record, little morphological change, little taxonomic diversity
39
Coelacanths
living fossil, lobe-finned fish in Indonesian waters and east coast of Africa, extremely long-lived, sexual maturity at 55
40
Horseshoe Crab
living fossil, important to coastal ecosystems, atlantic crab important to the medical industry, had highest levels of diversity around 300-360 million years ago
41
Frilled Shark
living fossil, benthic eel-like shark, hunt in surface waters at night, ovoviviparous, found in Atlantic and Pacific oceans
42
Chambered Nautilus
living fossil, marine mollusks, cephalopods, scavengers and opportunistic predators, a protected species
43
Bilaterian Development
Most living animals except sponges, cnidarians, and some minor groups, enabled the evolution of large body sizes, allowed for macrophagy, which in turn drove diversity during cambrian period, through ecosystem engineering by burrowing organisms
44
what is likely an initiating event of the cambrian explosion
sea level rise, because it led to the inundation of continental margins and interiors and the rapid input of erosional by-products, and would have increased habitable area between wave turbulence and light depletion
45
What was the paleozoic fauna composition?
The crinoid-coral-bryozoan-brachiopod–dominated
46
What is the modern fauna composition that dominates the seafloor
bivalve-gastropod-echinoid “Modern fauna

Life Aquatic (18 decks)

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