Paleontology - Lecture 1

Flashcards covering key vocabulary from the Vertebrate Paleontology lecture on introduction and the fossil record, including course overview, professor research, major vertebrate groups, and fossilization processes.

David Fox

Professor at the University of Minnesota specializing in mammalian paleoecology and paleobiology, using geochemistry, morphology, and biogeography.

Pete Makovicky

Professor at the University of Minnesota whose research focuses on dinosaur diversity and evolution, having described over a dozen new species.

Morphology

The study of the form and structure of organisms, including anatomical directions and terminology for bones, muscles, and teeth.

Phylogenetic relationships

The study of who is related to whom and how, using phylogenies (organismal genealogies) to study diversity and evolution.

Phylogenies

Organismal genealogies used to study diversity and evolution, often described as a tree-based approach.

Macroevolution

Large-scale patterns of evolution observed in the fossil record.

Chorda tympani nerve

A nerve innervating a small muscle attached to the eardrum, taking a strange route due to the evolutionary migration of ancestral jaw bones to become mammalian inner ear bones.

Mammalian inner ear bones

Bones derived from ancestral jaw bones that migrated from the lower jaw to become encased in the middle ear over evolutionary history.

Non-Amniotes

Traditional grouping of vertebrates that lack an amnion, such as fishes and amphibians.

Amniotes

A group of vertebrates including reptiles, birds, and mammals, characterized by the presence of an amnion during embryonic development.

Amnion

An embryonic membrane that forms a fluid-filled sac around the embryo, defining the amniotes.

Tetrapoda

A superclass of vertebrates characterized by having four limbs, including amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

Vertebrata

A subphylum of Chordata, characterized by a backbone or spinal column (craniates with vertebrae).

Mass extinctions

Significant events in Earth history that cause large-scale decreases in biodiversity across multiple species in a short period.

Fossils

The preserved remains of ancient organisms and evidence of their behavior, typically found in depositional basins.

Fossilization

The process requiring burial, mainly occurring in depositional basins, preserving the remains of ancient organisms.

Phanerozoic

The current eon in Earth's history, characterized by abundant and diverse visible fossil life.

Decay (fossilization)

The biological and chemical breakdown of ancient organisms' remains, often the first step after death.

Burial (fossilization)

The process of an organism being covered by sediment, a crucial step for fossilization.

Diagenesis

The physical and chemical changes undergone by sediments and fossils after burial, leading to lithification and preservation.

Erosion/Emergence

Processes by which formed fossils are exposed at the Earth's surface due to geological forces.

Collection (paleontology)

The process of locating and excavating exposed fossils for scientific study.

Depositional settings

Geological environments like deltas, floodplains, and ocean basins where sediments accumulate, preferentially preserving fossils.

Tectonics

Large-scale processes influencing the Earth's crust, controlling fossil preservation by forming basins and fossil recovery through uplift.

Accretionary wedges

Geological structures formed where sediments are scraped off a subducting oceanic plate and accumulate against the overriding plate, often preserving fossils.

Foreland basins

Sedimentary basins formed between a mountain range and the stable interior of a continent, often rich in fossils due to extensive sediment accumulation.

Back-arc basins

Sedimentary basins formed behind volcanic arcs, associated with subduction zones.

Uplift (geology)

The process of Earth's crust rising, important for exposing previously buried fossils.

Plate tectonics

The theory explaining the large-scale motion of Earth's lithosphere, controlling sedimentary basin formation and influencing fossil distribution.

Subduction

The process where one tectonic plate moves under another and sinks into the mantle, associated with specific geological formations and fossil preservation.