fossils 1.2

A collection of flashcards covering key vocabulary from the lecture on fossil classification, preservation, and major fossil groups.

Factors favouring preservation

Key elements that enhance the likelihood of fossilization, including morphology, speed of burial, environment, current activity, decay inhibiting factors, age of fossils, and population size.

Exceptional preservation

Preservation conditions that lead to extraordinarily high-quality fossil findings, often found in specific deposits like Lagerstätten.

Lagerstätten

Deposits that show exceptional fossil preservation, often containing a high abundance of well-preserved fossils.

Burgess Shale

A significant fossil site known for its exceptional preservation of soft-bodied organisms from the Cambrian period.

Bias in the fossil record

A tendency for certain organisms or environments to be under-represented in fossil findings, often leading to incomplete or skewed understanding of biodiversity.

Linnaean Taxonomy

The system of classification of organisms developed by Carl Linnaeus, organizing life into hierarchical categories including kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species.

Binomial nomenclature

A two-part naming system for species established by Linnaeus, consisting of the genus name followed by the species identifier.

Phylum Porifera

The biological classification for sponges, which are simple multicellular animals characterized by a porous body and lack of symmetry.

Phylum Cnidaria

A group of organisms characterized by radial symmetry, including jellyfish and corals, with only the class Anthozoa being significant in the fossil record.

Phylum Mollusca

A large phylum of invertebrate animals known for calcareous shells, which include classes such as Bivalvia, Gastropoda, and Cephalopoda.

Phylum Arthropoda

The phylum that includes animals with segmented bodies and jointed legs, such as insects and crabs, with important fossil groups including Trilobites.

Phylum Echinodermata

A phylum characterized by a calcite skeleton and pentameral symmetry, which includes sea urchins and sea lilies.

Phylum Chordata

The phylum that includes vertebrates and is characterized by the presence of a notochord and dorsal nerve chord.

Kingdom Plantae

A kingdom that includes land plants, often preserved in fossil form and significant for analyzing past climates.