BIOL360 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Radiocarbon Dating, Trilobite, Bioerosion
26 Mar 2018
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Document Summary
They use fossils and other clue of past existence (such as trace. Paleontology study of life in the past fossils; doesn"t have to be lifeforms, can be footprints, etc. ) Soft parts may be decomposed, or hard parts may be dissolved, broken, crushed or scattered hence rarely preserved. Some organisms may be too small: organisms are easier preserved on ocean floor than on land, fossils represent a biased sample of ancient life. Trace fossils not part of an organism but it is made by the organism (e. g. footprints, trails, burrows) represent activities associated with the organism. Impressions 2-d, but contain no organic material. Simplest life forms in oldest rock progressed to more complex ones in older rocks. Darwinian evolution: developed evolution by natural selection, there was considerable variation and no fixed typed, darwin"s missing link. Diplodocus carnegii best preserved dinosaur: feathers, wings, furcula (wishbone) and reduced fingers like modern birds.
