Lesson 16.

Fossil Records
Fossil Records
 Have you ever seen a
documentary or a movie that
showed a fossil? Fossils
provide a good glimpse of
what organisms may have
looked like in the past.

What are fossils? How can

they be used to study
evolution?
 Learn about It

Fossils are the remains or imprint of plants and

animals found in sedimentary rock deposits. They are
commonly found as an ossified form or as an
impression in rocks in the form of a mold, a cast, or
an imprint.
 Learn about It

Classifying Fossils
● Two factors are used to classify fossils.

○ Age: This gives information on when the organisms lived

relative to each other, and relative dating and absolute
dating are the most common methods to determine it.

○ Types: This refers to the type of object that is fossilized.

They can be mold fossils, true fossils, cast fossils, or
trace fossils.
 Learn about It

Age: Relative Dating

● This refers to the method
of determining the age of
a rock layer and the
fossils within it based on
sequences of events.

Certain rock layers can serve as

benchmarks for dates.
 Learn about It

Age: Relative Dating

● The law of original horizontality states that depositions
for the layers are usually in a horizontal manner.

The green layer is deposited horizontally

on a pre-existing surface.
 Learn about It

Age: Relative Dating

● The law of lateral continuity states that layers spread out
laterally until they thin at the edges of the area, or into a
different rock layer segment.

The deposited green layer spreads on both directions until

it reaches the edges of the basin.
 Learn about It

Age: Relative Dating

● The law of superposition states that the oldest rock layers
are usually found under newer rock layers.

The green layer was first deposited, followed by the yellow

layer, and finally the purple layer.
 Learn about It

Age: Relative Dating

● The law of crosscutting states that rocks and other features
are younger than the layers that they intrude into.

The intrusion is younger than the layers it cuts.

 Learn about It

Age: Absolute Dating

● Absolute dating gives a numerical estimate of the age of the
object being tested.

Absolute dating uses the half-life of decaying materials.

 Learn about It

Age: Absolute Dating

● The half-life of an element is the time it takes for that
element to be reduced to half of its original amount.

Absolute dating uses the half-life of decaying materials.

 Learn about It

Fossil Types
● A mold fossil is formed
when an impression of
an organism is made
over a substrate.

● A trace fossil is the

fossilized remains of the
Examples of mold fossils (left) and
traces of an organism.
trace fossils (right)
 Learn about It

Fossil Types
● A true form fossil is the
fossilized remains of a
part of or the entire
organism.

● Cast fossils occurs when

a substance fills in the
Examples of true form fossil (left)
mold fossil, forming a and cast fossil (right)
replica of the organism.
 Learn about It

The Fossil Record and Evolution

● A fossil record is derived from the discovered fossils all
over the world.
○ It shows the history of life as documented by fossils.

● Fossils are usually found in sedimentary rocks.

○ Scientists are searching for fossil records in glacial
areas, where fossils of early organisms that roamed
Earth are most likely preserved.
 Learn about It

The Fossil Record and the Study of Evolution

● By studying fossil records, scientists have been able to

conclude that organisms are becoming more complex as
the earth ages.

● Scientists were able to construct an evolutionary tree

based on the similarities between specific structures of
organisms as is seen in fossils.
Lesson 16.2

Comparative Anatomy
Comparative Anatomy
Comparative anatomy is the branch of biology that deals
with the similarities between the structures of different
organisms, how these structures function, and how these
organisms are interrelated.

How does this field of biology help in the study of

evolution?
 Learn about It

Body parts and structures of organisms serve as

evidence of evolution. If some organisms possess
similarities in body structures, this may suggest an
indirect relationship with other organisms.
 Learn about It

Structures and Evolution

● There are relationships between the structures of certain

organisms. These relationships serve as evidence of
evolution.

● The types of structures that provide evidence of evolution

are homologous, analogous, and vestigial structures.
 Learn about It

Homologous Structures
● Homologous structures
are body parts of different
organisms with similar
forms but the functions
are not necessarily the
same.

The human arms, whale flippers, and

bat wings are homologous structures.
 Learn about It

Homologies and Evolution

● Homologous structures suggest descent from common
ancestry.

● For example, limbs of tetrapods (amphibians, birds, reptiles,

and mammals) share the same arrangement of bones.
○ They are all composed of the humerus, radius, and
ulna.
○ However, these limbs serve different functions.
 Learn about It

Analogous Structures
● Analogous structures are
those with the same function
but have evolved differently.

● Examples include insect and

bird wings, which both
function for flight, but these
traits arose independently
from each other.
Wings of birds, bats, and
insects are analogous
structures.
 Learn about It

Analogies and Evolution

● Analogous structures do not
give much perspective about
how related lineages evolved.

● However,they can give a view

of the environmental
pressures that organisms
had to overcome.
The modified structures of sweet potatoes
(root) and potatoes (stem) are analogous.
 Learn about It

Vestigial Structures
● Vestigial structures are
organs that are present in an
organism but do not perform
any particular function.

The appendix is a vestigial

structure in humans.
 Learn about It

Vestigial Structures
● A vestigial structure in one
organism may not
necessarily be vestigial in
another.

● An example is the tailbone

that supports the tail of
other animals but is The coccyx is a vestigial
nonfunctional in humans. structure in humans.
 Learn about It

Vestigial Structures

● Whales have vestigial

structures, wherein
they retained their
vestigial hind limb,
which is disconnected
from their spine.
Whales have vestigial
hind limbs.
 Learn about It

Vestigial Structures

● The vestigial hind limbs of

snakes may give a view of
how these organisms might
have evolved. These animals
descended from lizards.

Snakes have vestigial hind limbs.

 Learn about It

Vestigial Structures and Evolution

● Vestigial structures predict the organism’s evolutionary

past, suggesting common ancestry with species that have
similar structures but are still functioning.
Lesson 16.4

Geographic Distribution of
Related Species
Organisms have been spreading across the Earth for millions
of years. There are many factors that have affected and are
still affecting this spread. The study of how organisms are
distributed across space, geographies, and ecosystems, as
well as how they are distributed in a temporal gradient is
known as biogeography.
How can the geographical
distribution of organisms
be used as an evidence
for evolution?
 Learn about It

Data about the presence or absence of a certain organism in a

continent can provide evidence of evolution. The geographic
distribution of organisms follows the pattern explained by
evolution along with the movement of tectonic plates.
\
 Learn about It

Pangaea
● The supercontinent of
Pangaea once contained
the vast majority of the
world’s landmasses.

● It formed more than 300

million years ago. It broke
up around 170 mya. The Pangaea supercontinent is the
origin of many current land masses
 Learn about It

Pangaea
● The supercontinent of
Pangaea had two major
regions of land, which were
Gondwana and Laurasia.

● Pangaea was surrounded

by the superocean known
as Panthalassa. The Pangaea supercontinent is the
origin of many current land masses
 Learn about It

Pangaea and the Distribution of Species

● Organisms that evolved before the breakup of the
supercontinent Pangaea (approximately 200 million
years ago) are distributed globally.

● However, groups that have evolved after the breakup

appear uniquely in different regions of the planet.
 Learn about It

Pangaea and the Distribution of Species

● Many of these populations
were forced to adapt to new
environmental conditions
as a result of the drifting of
the land masses.

Similarities between species

across landmasses
 Learn about It

Pangaea and the Distribution of Species

● Similar fossil records of
different continents suggest
that the continents were once
connected to each other.

Similarities between species

across landmasses
 Learn about It

Pangaea and the Distribution of Species

● Evolution occurred and
differentiation among species
happened after they have
been isolated.

Similarities between species

across landmasses
 Learn about It

Scientists believe that there are mechanisms involved

that affect how populations speciate and evolve. Some
of these major mechanisms are dispersal and
vicariance.
 Learn about It

Dispersal
● Dispersal refers to the
movement of populations
across a geographical location.

● An example is when an insect

population flies across a lake
to establish a population on Scientists believe that Galapagos
the other side. finches evolved through
dispersal.
 Learn about It

Vicariance

● Vicariance occurs when

populations are isolated by
the appearance of
geographical barriers that
make it impossible for
these populations to
continue interbreeding. Water is a common
geographical barrier that leads
to vicariance.
 Learn about It

Sympatric Speciation

● Sympatric speciation refers to the evolution of new

species from an ancestor while still inhabiting the same
geographic area.

● Sympatric speciation may occur due to many factors, and

one such example of these factors include food
preference.
 Key Points

● Fossils are the remains or imprint of plants and animals found in

sedimentary rock deposits. These are commonly found as ossified forms or
as impressions in rocks in the form of a mold, a cast, or an imprint.

● Scientists categorize fossils according to age to determine when the

organisms lived relative to each other. The age of fossils can be determined
through different methods, and the most commonly used ones are
relative dating and absolute dating.
○ Relative dating refers to the method of determining the age of a rock
layer and the fossils within the later based on sequences of events.
Absolute dating gives a numerical estimate of the age of the object
being tested.
 Key Points

● Fossils can also be classified based on the type of object that is preserved.
They can either be mold fossils, trace fossils, true form fossils, or cast
fossils.

● Index fossils, also known as guide fossils, are fossils of organisms that are
used for determining the age of surrounding rocks, and consequently, the
age of the fossils within these rocks.
 Key Points

● Homologous structures are body parts of different

organisms with similar forms but the functions are not
necessarily the same.
● Analogous structures are ones that have the same
function but have evolved differently.
● Vestigial structures are organs that are present in an
organism but do not perform any notable or particular
function.
 Key Points

● Data about the presence or absence of a certain organism in a continent

can provide evidence of evolution. The geographic distribution of
organisms follows the pattern explained by evolution along with the
movement of tectonic plates.

● The supercontinent of Pangaea once contained the vast majority of the

world’s landmasses. It formed more than 300 million years ago and
broke up around 175 million years ago.
 Check Your Understanding

Write the word true if the given statement is correct.

Otherwise, write the word false.
1. Relative dating gives a numerical result.
2. Absolute dating cannot be used on older fossils.
3. The fossil record provides evidence of evolution.
4. Rock layers are used with fossils to provide the age of a layer.
5. Paleontology is completely independent from geology.
 Check Your Understanding

Determine whether each of the following statements

is true or false.
1. Analogous structures do not contribute to the science of
evolution.
2. Vestigial structures have no function in the organisms
they are found in.
3. Homologous structures are seen in related organisms.
4. Snakes and whales have vestigial limbs.
5. Homologous structures need to have the same function.
 Photo Credits

Slide 17. Cheirotherium prints possibly Ticinosuchus by Ballista is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via
Wikimedia Commons; Amonite_Cropped by Zephyris is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Slide 18. FossilFernLeavesPennsylvanianOhio1234 by NghiPhan22997 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via

Wikimedia Commons.

Slide 20. Perisphinctes ammonite by Masur is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
 Bibliography

Boundless. “Evidence of Evolution.” Biology. Accessed September 28, 2016.

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-biology/chapter/evidence-of-evolution/#:~:text=their
%20included%20fossils.-,Evidence%20for%20Evolution,morphological%2C%20or%20anatomical%2C
%20record
.

Evolution FAQs. “Five Proofs of Evolution.” Accessed September 1, 2016.

http://evolutionfaq.com/articles/five-proofs-evolution.

Formaro, Amanda. 2016. “Coffee Ground Fossils.” Accessed September 28, 2016.
https://craftsbyamanda.com/coffee-ground-fossils/.

Lemon, Traci. “Your Hands, My Feet, My Fins, My Wings Our Bones!” Adapted from the University of
Oregon Natural History Museum. Accessed September 1, 2016.
https://cpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/blogs.uoregon.edu/dist/c/1736/files/2015/05/LemonTraciCompara
tiveAnatomy1-2cxbh0n.pdf
 Bibliography

The National Academy of Sciences. 1999. “Evidence Supporting Biological Evolution.” Science and
Creationism: A View from the National Academy of Sciences, 2nd ed. Accessed September 1, 2016.
http://www.nap.edu/read/6024/chapter/4.

Understanding Evolution, Berkeley University of California. “Lines of Evidence: The Science of Evolution.”
Accessed September 1, 2016. http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/lines_01.