Micro-Sort Activity Identification Guide Amber
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Micro-sort Activity Identification Guide Amber Amber is petrified tree sap. Sometimes, small animals like insects get stuck in tree sap. When the sap fossilizes, the animal is preserved as well. Amber is usually a golden color, like honey. However, sometimes it is a darker brown Ammonite Ammonites were ancient squid-like creatures that had an external shell Similar to the Chambered Nautilus of today They were abundant during the Mesozoic, and went Reconstruction of what extinct at the end of the ammonites may have Cretaceous, around 66 million looked like (PD-US) years ago If you look closely at the shell, you can see what look like little squiggles. These are called suture marks, and show how the animal grew. Brachiopod Brachiopods are a clam-like animal that first appeared before the Cambrian Period, over 550 million years ago. Once one of the most diverse form of invertebrate, there are only a few species still alive today. The best way to identify brachiopods is to look for the lines with a dip in the middle of the shell. Coral Coral may look like plants, but they are actually colonies of very tiny animals. Coral belongs to the family Cnidaria (Ni- dairy-a). This family also includes jellyfish! Some islands in the Pacific are almost entirely made of coral. The Great Barrier Reef is a coral reef that can be seen from space! To identify corals, look for lines that extend radially and along the length of the specimen. Crinoids While known as the “sea lily”, this fossil actually comes from an animal in the same family as sea stars. Crinoid fossils are found all over the world. Crinoids survive today in deep ocean environments. The best way to identify crinoid fossils is Reconstruc to look for what appears to be a stack tion of of rings. crinoids (PD-US) Gastropods Gastropods are an abundant group invertebrates that still exist today. You probably know them as snails and slugs. Gastropods are mollusks. This group also includes clams and squid. Gastropod means “stomach foot.” It gets this name because the foot it moves around on is also its stomach. Gastropods have been around for over 300 million years. Orthoceras Orthoceras in an extinct squid-like animal. They had a straight shell, which is how they got their name “straight horn.” The fossils we find are of the shell of this animal. These were only alive during the Ordivician Period, over 400 million years ago. These fossils will often look like thimbles in your sample. Petrified Wood Wood that has been turned into stone. This caused by minerals seeping into the pore spaces of the tree Petrified Forest National Park contains a whole forest of petrified wood. Trees have been around for over 300 million years! Look for the grain on samples, this is the easiest way to identify petrified wood Sea Urchins Sea urchins are echinoderms. They are in the same family as sea stars and crinoids. Many sea urchins have spines that extend all round their body. This helps to protect them from predators Sea urchin The parts you may find are the reconstruction (PD-US) spines, which are shaped like little tear drops Shark teeth Sharks are constantly loosing there teeth, which means they are constantly growing new ones. The first sharks are found in rocks from over 400 million years ago. Teeth are usually the only shark fossils found, because their skeletons are made of cartilage. This is the same material that your ears and nose are made of! Scientists use the shape of fossil shark teeth to determine what it was eating. The biggest shark teeth come from Carcharocles megalodon. They are sometimes over 7 inches long!.