Science Olympiad Fossils -2024 - definitions

index fossil

fossils of organisms that only lived in one time period and were widespread & common - useful for dating rock

Phylum Foraminifera (Forams)​​

Kingdom protozoa - cambrian to recent - protozoans - hard outer shell of calcite or sediment - most less than 1mm - make up some marine sediments

Phylum Porifera (sponges)

late precambrian to recent, has two thin layers of cells, need constant water flow, young'uns move aruond, adults don't

Phylum Bryozoa

ordovician to recent - "moss animals", live in calcium carbonate, sexual and asexual reproduction - MASSIVE (rly big and crazy), BRANCHING (branched), or FENESTRATE(has big soft appendages)

Phylum Hemichordata

Cambrian to Recent, marine, worm-like, live in tubes, filter feeders, three-section bodies

Phylum Cnidaria

Just b4 cambrian explosion to recent, injects venom into predators/prey, some move, some sessile - radially symmetric

Phylum Arthropoda

Cambrian to recent, most aquatic and move around, some have exoskeleton, all have early larval stage with 1 eye and 3 antennae

Phylum Brachiopoda

Cambrian to recent, hard shells, symmetric, they anchor themselves, filter feeders, widespread

Phylum Mollusca

Cambrian to Recent, THERE ARE LOTS OF MOLLUSKS diverse, has a mantle, secrets calcium carbonate and conchiolin to make a shell, has a radula (toothed ribbon of chitin to tear food), circulatory system is open

Phylum Chordata

has a vertebra, cambrian to recent

Fish (chordata)

middle cambrian to recent, generally ectothermic, has gills, marine

Amphibians (chordata)

ectothermic, tetrapods - live on water and land - kids have gills, eventually grow lungs - 3 chambered heart - eggs are soft, no shell - hatchlings have gills, don't live in dry areas

Reptiles (chordata)

Pennsylvanian to recent, successful, no aquatic larval stage, usually ectothermic, have only lungs, thick skin, most eat meat or bugs.

Dinosaurs (reptiles)

mostly land-dwelling, reached their prime in the late Mesozoic, some are bird-like, some are reptile-like

Birds (chordata)

archaeopteryx is oldest known bird, sort of a reptile-bird, birds have light hollow bones and small fingers

mammals (chordata)

Kingdom Chromista

eukaryotic, mostly algae, they make a lot of oxygen, aquatic

kingdom Plantae

Lower Cambrian to recent, supa successful, uses chlorophyll to get energy, uses cellulose for structure, they grow without reaching a defined endpoint, PRODUCERS

Phylum Anthophyta

lower cretaceous to recent, kingdom plantae, consists mostly of plants with flowers

Phylum Ginkgophyta

permian to recent, slow rate of evolution, includes pretty much only ginkgo trees - they have large, fan shaped leaves

Phylum Lycopodiophyta

Silurian to recent, transports spores via water, lots of fossils (especially in coal deposits), leaves have only one vein and fall off tree as it grew, trunks have diamond-shaped scars as a result

Phylum Pinophyta

Upper carboniferous to recent, "conifers", adapted to colder climates, most are evergreen, most use resin to protect themselves from bugs et. al, dark green thin flat leaves, STOMATA

stomata

pores on the underside of leaves that can open and close depending on how much water the plant has or needs

Phylum Pteridophyta

Middle Silurian to recent, mostly FERNS, small serrated pointed leaves

Phylum Pteridospermatophyta

devonian to cretaceous, "seed ferns", ferns that are produces by plants with seeds

what materials can fossils be found in?

Amber, petrified wood, sedimentary rocks

what sedimentary rocks can fossils be found in?

chert, flint, coquina, diatomite, limestone, chalk, fossiliferous limestone, mudstone, sandstone, shale, siltstone

chert

lots of SiO2, composed of micro-sized crystals, color varies, resists weathering so its good for fossils

coquina

made out of shells from various invertebrates, mostly calcite, some phosphate, not that hard, looks like chewed oatmeal

diatomite

made of fossilized cell walls and shells of diatoms, can be crumbled into whitish powder, porous

dolomite

skewed rhomboid prism, mostly white, yellowish brown, or pink, acts as ph buffer

limestone

made mostly of calcium carbonate, soluble in water, rounded surfaces and poorly-defined layers

chalk

pure limestone, fine-grained, soft and white, forms in deep marine places, resistant to weathering and is porous, pretty much just like limestone overall

Fossiliferous Limestone

limestone that has a TON of fossils, can be big fossils or small fossils - you'll know it when you see it

mudstone

rock made of clay and mud, may be cracked

sandstone

rock made out of mostly sand particles, often tannish, reddish, or grayish, porous, gritty and rough, has fewer intact fossils

shale

fine-grained rock made of clay particles it's the most common sedimentary rock, comes in 'sheets' and 'layers' (look up a picture of it), preserves fossils well and may be split into layers to look for fossils, usually grey or black

siltstone

grittier than slate or mudstone, looks like shale but it lacks precisely defines layers, has angled fissures

Phylum Foraminifera (forams)

Order Fusulinida (Fusulinids)

Genus Nummulites

Genus Astraeospongia

Genus Hydnoceras

Genus Archimedes

Genus Rhombopora

Class Graptolithina

Genus Favosites

Genus Halysites

Genus Heliophyllum

Genus Hexagonaria

Genus Septastraea

Class Scyphozoa (True Jellyfish)

Order Eurypterida

Class Insecta

Genus Cryptolithus

Genus Calymene

Genus Elrathia

Genus Isotelus

Genus Phacops

Genus Lingula

Genus Atrypa

Genus Composita

Genus Juresania

Genus Leptaena

Genus Mucrospirifer

Genus Platystrophia

Genus Rafinesquina

Order Rhynchonellida

Genus Exogyra

Genus Gryphaea

Genus Pecten

Genus Pholadomya

Genus Baculites

Genus Dactylioceras

Genus Belemnitella

Genus Nautilus

Genus Orthoceras

Subclass Ammonoidea (Ammonites)

Genus Conus

Genus Cypraea

Genus Platyceras

Genus Turritella

Genus Worthenia

Class Asteroidea (starfish)

Genus Pentremites

Class Crinoidea (stems, columns, calyxes)

Class Echinoidea (sea urchins, sand dollars)

Class Ophiuroidea (brittle stars)

Genus Bothriolepis

Genus Dunkleosteus

Superorder Selachimorpha (Sharks)

Genus Carcharodon

Species C. megalodon

Superorder Batoidea (rays)

Superclass Osteichthyes (Bony Fish)

Class Actinopterygii (ray-finned)

Order Coelacanthiformes (Coelacanth)

Genus Tiktaalik

Genus Acanthostega

Genus Eryops