“PALEONTOLOGY”

The remains of ancient

plants and animals
that are now
preserved in rocks.
FOSSILS
Types of fossils
1.Body Fossils
2.Trace Fossils
 Types of
BODY FOSSILS
1.Unaltered Remains
2.Altered Remains
 Types of
TRACE FOSSILS
1. Cast & Mold
2. Imprints
3. Tracks and Trails
4. Coprolite
 NO – NO’s
or else
UNALTERED remains
won’t be possible
1. Oxygenation
2. Bacteria
3. Scavengers
 Elements of
Living Organisms
CARBON
HYDROGEN
OXYGEN
NITROGEN
 Processes
needed to produce
ALTERED REMAINS
PERMINERALIZATION
&
CARBONIZATION
A process of fossilization
in which mineral
deposits form internal
casts of organism
PERMINERALIZATION
A process of fossilization by
which the more volatile
substances of plants and
animals decay, but leave
behind the carbon
CARBONIZATION
An imprint made by an
animal that laid itself on
a soft environment.
CAST
A replica of the
animal itself
MOLD
Ancient Feces
COPROLITE
The era when all the
continents were still
together. (PANGEA)
PALEOZOIC
The earth was
created about
____ years ago.
4.5 billion
The “least known” era.
PRE-CAMBRIAN
A distinctive type of rock
often found in primordial
(Precambrian)
sedimentary rocks
BANDED IRON
FORMATION
The oldest fossils
we know.
 STROMATOLITE
COLONIES
(CYANNOBACTERIA)
They were among the
very first animals
Ediacara Faura (worms)
Referred to as the
“OLD ERA”
PALEOZOIC
Periods within the
PALEOZOIC era.
• Permian
• Carboniferous
• Devonian
• Silurian
• Ordovician
• Cambrian
 The period of
“Life Explosion”
 CAMBRIAN
(first period of the PALEOZOIC
era)
Time when animals
conquered the lands.
 Ordovician
to
Silurian
Period (PALEOZOIC)
The “Age of Fishes”
DEVONIAN Period
(PALEOZOIC)
 The
“Age of Insects”
CARBONIFEROUS
Period
(PALEOZOIC)
 Time when the
“great mass extinction”
occurred.
 PERMIAN Period
(last period of the
PALEOZOIC era)
 The
“Age of Reptiles”
MESOZOIC ERA
Periods within the
MESOZOIC Era.
• TRIASSIC
• JURASSIC
• CREATACEOUS
The largest turtle that
ever lived.
 ARCHELON
(more than 4m long and about 4.9m wide)
The first bird.
ARCHEOPTERYX
TYPES OF DINOSAURS
 DINOSAUR TYPE:
Large, Quadropedal, Herbivore
SAUROPOD
 DINOSAUR TYPE:
Bipedal, Carnivore
THEROPOD
 DINOSAUR TYPE:
Beak-mouthed, Herbivore
ORNITHOPOD
 DINOSAUR TYPE:
Horned, Herbivore
MARGINOCEPHALIA
 DINOSAUR TYPE:
Armoured, Herbivore
THYREOPORA
Newest species of
dinosaurs
discovered.
GYRPOSAURUS
Periods within the
CENOZOIC era.
• Eocene
• Oligocene
• Pliocene
• Pleistocene
• Holocene
 Age of
“Hoofed Animals”
 EOCENE Period
(CENOZOIC ERA)
 Age of
“Giant Mammals”
OLIGOCENE Period
(CENOZOIC ERA)
 Period when the
FIRST HUMANOIDS
appeared
PLIOCENE Period
(CENOZOIC ERA)
 The
LAST ICE AGE.
 PLEISTOCENE
Period
(CENOZOIC ERA)
 The
PRESENT period.
HOLOCENE Period
(CENOZOIC ERA)
The LARGEST BIRD
that ever lived.
DIATRYMA
Clues to Evolution
 Vestigial
Appendages
 Remains of a human
discovered in INDONESIA
in 2003, dated to have
survived about 12,000 yrs
ago.
 Homo
Florensiensis
Classification of
Human Evolution
• Australopithecus
• Homo Habilis
• Homo Erectus
• Neanderthal
• Homo Sapiens