Biodiversity of the Fossil Record Geology 331, Paleontology Linnean Classification: Example Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Subphylum Vertebrata Class Mammalia Order Carnivora Family Felidae Genus Felis Species Felis catus, domestic cat ______Prokaryotes___ http://scepticon.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/phylogenetictreeoflife.jpg Animal Tree of Life Prothero, 2007 http://scienceblogs.com/evolgen/upload/200 6/09/animal_tree(morph).gif http://www.biology.lsu.edu/heydrjay/1202/Chapter32/Tree%20molecular.jpg Crinoid Phylogenetic Tree based on Ordovician taxa. Ausich, Kammer, Rhenberg, Wright, 2015 TK with fossil crinoids in the Paleontology Research Lab at WVU The Tree of Life www.evogeneao.com/tree.html The Tree of Life www.evogeneao.com/tree.html The Tree of Life www.evogeneao.com/tree.html Cyanobacteria? 3.5 BY old, Australia Stromatolite, 3.5 BY old, Australia Modern stromatolites produced by cyanobacteria, Sharks Bay, Australia Cambrian, NY Fossil bacteria 2BY old from Minnesota Modern bacteria Eukaryotic heterotroph fossils, 1 BY old A-C: Fossils of skeletonized amoebae Living amoeba Protista: Diatoms Protista: Forams Protista: Radiolarians Marine Biodiversity over Time Possible causes for changing biodiversity during the Phanerozoic Fossil Sponge, note the spicules Archaeocyathids Archaeocyathid in cross section Cnidarians Ediacaran fossils exposed in a sandstone outcrop A fossil sea pen from the Ediacaran of Australia Mawsonites, a fossil jellyfish? Phylum Cnidaria: colonial corals (anthozoa) Phylum Cnidaria: horn coral (anthozoa) Conularids Platyhelminthes Ctenophora or or flatworm comb jelly Nematophora or horsehair worms Nematode Gastrotrich Kinorhynch Tardigrade or water bear Rotifer Phoronid or feather duster worm Sipunculid or peanut worm Priapulid worm, named after the Greek god Priapus Chaetognath or arrow worm Hemichordata Phylum Bryozoan Living Inarticulate Brachiopods Articulate Brachiopods Mollusca Mollusca: Class Bivalvia Miocene marine bivalve, Maryland Phylum Mollusca: Class Gastropoda Nautilus, a cephalopod (Mollusca) “Thing” examines a fossil nautiloid Phylum Mollusca, Class Cephaplopoda, a goniatitic ammonoid Phylum Mollusca, Class Cephaplopoda, a ceratitic ammonoid Phylum Mollusca, Class Cephaplopoda, an ammonitic ammonoid Typical Cambrian trilobite Devonian trilobite from Morocco, Walliserops trifurcatus http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/aroundthemall/index.php?s=trilobites The Devonian Trilobite Phacops rana Eurypterid or “Sea Scorpian”, Silurian of New York Cretaceous spider attacking wasp – preserved in amber http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57529153/100-million-year-old-fossilized-spider-attack- found/?tag=cbsnewsHardNewsFDArea;fdmodule Fossil termite in amber releasing methane: fossilized flatulence http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/12/methane/thiessen-photography Echinodermata There are 5 living classes and ~ 20 extinct classes. Extinct Classes of Echinoderms Living Starfish and Brittle Stars Living Crinoids Endoxocrinus at a depth of 692 m, Bahamas TK with a living crinoid on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, March 2014 Crinoid Blastoid Asteroid Ophiuroid Devonian starfish Echinoids: sand dollar (left) sea biscuit (below) Holothurian: sea cucumber Pikaia, a chordate from the Burgess Shale Branchiostoma, the lancelet A Coelocanth Evolution of the tetrapod walking leg from the lobe fin Permian amphibian with 5 digits Permian synapsid reptiles: Dimetrodon Triassic synapsid reptiles: Therapsids or mammal-like reptiles Sauropod Dinosaurs Stegosaurus Tyrannosaurus rex, the Cretaceous theropod everyone loves to hate Modern view of a T.rex Sue Henderson, founder of the T. rex named “Sue” Sue on display in Chicago Archaeopteryx, the first bird. Its skeleton is nearly identical to Compsognathus. Hadrocodium, a lower Jurassic mammal with a “large” brain (6 mm brain case in an 8 mm skull) Mammal fossil from the Cretaceous of Mongolia A frozen baby mammoth from Siberia, 40,000 years old Baby mammoth from Siberian permafrost Homo rudolfensis or Kenyanthropus rudolfensis Skull of Homo habilis Neanderthal skull, Spain Neanderthal skeleton, Germany Homo sapiens, Israel, 90,000 yrs BP The Tree of Life www.evogeneao.com/tree.html The Tree of Life www.evogeneao.com/tree.html The Tree of Life www.evogeneao.com/tree.html Anne Yanni, Petroleum Geologist, Angola, 2012. Platform operated WVU Geologist, M.S. 2009 by Maersk Drilling B.S., 2007. Paleo Class of 2006.