Taphonomy & Fossil Record (Chapter 3)

Question 1

Lagerstatten

Answer 1

“lying place”
a deposit containing large #’s of exceptionally preserved fossils
usually associated with rapid burial events (e.g. flood, amber flow)

Question 2

aerobic conditions

Answer 2

an oxygenated environment; rapid decay of soft tissues

Question 3

anaerobic conditions

Answer 3

low or non-oxygenated environment; slow tissue decay

Question 4

disarticulation

Answer 4

falling apart biologically through decay of connective tissues

Question 5

fragmentation

Answer 5

physical breaking apart of bone/shell due to biologic (e.g. crushing of shell by another organism) or geologic process (e.g. banging against rocks)

Question 6

abrasion

Answer 6

wearing down of a surface

ex: abrasion of bone by tumbling in a current

Question 7

bioerosion

Answer 7

removal of skeleton materials by boring organisms using chemical & physical means
ex: marine sponges on coral reefs

Question 8

corrosion

Answer 8

chemical destruction of hard tissues (ex: acid)

Question 9

dissolution

Answer 9

chemical breakdown of solid by dissolving in liquid (ex: CaCO3 in water)

Question 10

diagenesis

Answer 10

physical & chemical processes that affects rocks & fossils after burial
ex: calcite fossils into pyrite

Question 11

Fossil Record

Answer 11

collection of all fossils collected by scientists so far
give glimpse of history of life on Earth
incomplete as many species are not preserved or cannot be recovered