lab8-fossils (1)

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Georgia State University *

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Geology

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Apr 3, 2024

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Name: TA: Lab 8: Fossils GEOL 1122 This lab covers fossils, both the processes that make them, what the tell us, and making observations and identifications about them. Please watch the videos on iCollege and use the hand out to complete this lab. You are also welcome to use your textbook. Part One: Fossil Specimens 1) A deer died 500 years ago. Are the remains considered a fossil? Why or why not? (3 pts) The remains needs at least 10,000 years old to become a fossil while this deer died 500 years which is not a lot time. 2) Describe the preservation potential for each specimen. Explain your reasoning. (3 pts each) a. Sea turtle - it is composed of hard parts, which makes it have a high preservation b. Dolphin - it is composed of hard bones and parts, which makes it have a high preservation c. Jellyfish - it is composed of softer parts, which makes it have a low preservation d. Centipede - it is composed of soft parts, which makes it have a low preservation 3) Fossils are common in all three types of rocks. True or false? Explain your reasoning. (3 pts) False, fossils are commonly found in only sedimentary rocks. 4) How does the rate of burial affect the potential for fossilization? (2 pts) When the rate of the burial processes if faster, it will have more potential for fossilization. 5) You find a site filled with fossilized insects, leaves, and hard parts from fish, but you find no worm fossils. Your partner concludes that no worms lived at the site at that time. Explain why the conclusion might be flawed and list other forms of evidence that might indicate that worms did in fact live among these other organisms. (2 pts) There could’ve been worms in the area, however the reason why we don’t see much worm fossils is because worms are gummy crewatures that have smaller bone switch would make the potential for preservation much lower than other insects, hard parts of fishes, or leaves.

6) Environments play a crucial role in an organisms chance of fossilization. Think about the environment each of the below lived in. Then, explain which organisms had a higher or lower chance of fossilization based on the particular habitat. (3 pts each) a. A salamander in a creek vs. woody plants in a swamp A salamander in a creek would have a high change of fossilzation because there are sediments in the bottom of a creek that would rapidly bury the salamander. b. A shark in the Pacific Ocean vs. a deer on top of a cliff The shark in the Pacific ocean will have a higher preservation potential because there will be much more sediments 7) What is the difference between a fossil and artifact? (2 pts) A fossil is the bones of a trace or animal that has been buried and covered by sediments and pressed into a sedimentary rock for at least 10,000 years. An artifact is remains of a human usually from a ancient civilization such as human-made pottery, arrows, pyramids, etc 8) Use the following 3D model to answer the questions: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/heliophyllum-halli-pri-70755- 9ddbca9ef7384ea7b748a7f219cc9156 a. Is this a body or trace fossil? (1 pt) Body b. Are solitary or colonial corals represented? (1 pt) Solitary c. To which phylum does it belong? (1 pt) Cnidaria 9) Use the following 3D model to answer the questions: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/petrified-wood-2-94d1b3f178af47cd92aca365c634da41 a. Is this a fossil or artifact? Why? What is it? (3 pts) A fossil because its preserved of life. b. What is the primary mode of preservation? How do you know? (2 pts) The primary mode of preservation for this petrifcation as thai wood is petrified. 10) Open the 3D models of these two fossils and compare this for this question: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/brachiopod-platystrophia-cypha-pri-76923- 1e28ac9ff111488ea54f581cc286b87e https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/bivalve-mercenaria-mercenaria-pri-76728- 6f5f534f002b4402b2043fa09ed6441a a. Are these body or trace fossils? (1 pt) Body fossil b. Explain the major differences you see between these fossils. (2 pts) The shape of the fossil is the main difference I see between the fossils. One has a more rounder shape while the other one has grooves.

c. To which two phyla do these specimens belong? (2 pts) The first one is Brachiopoda and the second one is the Mohusca. 11) Use this 3D model to answer these questions: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/pal617525-giant-ground-sloth-dung-vcu-3d-4092- fa1a828c79e54f41829b63ff32915530 a. Is this a trace or body fossil? What does it represent? (2 pts) It is a trace, representing a giant sloth. b. What sort of information could be obtained from this particular fossil? (2 pts) That the fossil was once a giant sloth at some point. 12) Use this 3D model to answer these questions: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/cephalopod-baculites-sp-pri-70605- c1a09417fbe546819938e36f5c541c7b a. Describe what you see in this model. (2 pts) A fossil of a baculites b. Is this a nautiloid or ammonoid? (1 pt) Ammonoid c. What is a key characteristic that can be used for identifying this type of cephalopod? (1 pt) It has unique structures and are complex d. Is this type of cephalopod extant (currently living) or extinct? (1 pt) This is extinct 13) Use this 3D model to answer the questions: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/vertebrate- fish-pri-53568-e62fbf61257c462c842ac31354de49a9 a. What type of preservation is this? How can you tell? (2 pts) The preservation type looks like mold was in the rock. So it was able to replicate the fish well. 14) Use this 3D model to answer the questions: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/bivalve- ostrea-coxi-pri-40844-e6938b1c171d48ef8113bfcd9e7e3d9b a. Why do you think the bivalve has a hole in its shell? (1 pt) The hole in its shell was created by a predatory snail. b. What type of mollusk might have made the hole? (1 pt) It mightve been a snail that was more ancient or older. 15) Use this 3D model to answer the questions: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/theropod- footprint-3e4541927c444a2e820c9cde01858ace a. Is this a body or trace fossil? (1 pt) Trace fossil

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b. Does this specimen reflect the presence of a vertebrate, invertebrate, microfossil, plant or artifact? (1 pts) Vertebrate 16) Use this 3D model to answer the questions: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/trilobite- flexicalymene-meeki-pri-41460-f9196ab8802245988a3542f1eb1c0f3c a. What phylum does this specimen belong to? (1 pt) Trilobite b. Is it extant (currently living) or extinct? (1 pt) Extinct c. What are two examples of other organisms found in this phylum? (2 pts) crayfish and horseshoe crab 17) Use this 3D model to answer the questions: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/dinosaur- vertebra-0e6f2b64c0a94608bae793ab22be1d05 a. What is this specimen? Dinosaur b. What is the mode of preservation common for such specimens? How can you tell (consider if you had a specimen you could handle)? (2 pts) The mode of preservation is common for regular animals that have a vertebra, and then died and then decayed over thousands of years 18) Using this 3D model ( https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/mosquito-in-amber- 53a61d58c09b4d2ab30e269aa3e22078 ) explain how this organism became a fossil. (2 pts) This organism became a fossil by getting caught in a thick and sticky substance which let eventually dried up and crystalized, creating the amber. Part Two: Dinosaur Tracks How do scientists know how fast dinosaurs run? In this part of the assignment, you are going to be introduced to how we can determine this from dinosaur trackways. Trackways provide a wealth of information as to the size of an animal and how it moved. Interpretation is influenced by several factors including whether an animal was bipedal (walking on TWO feet such as T-rex or human) or whether instead the animal was quadrupedal (walking on FOUR feet such as a Triceratops, giraffe, or dog). Additional factors for consideration include the weight of the animal, how the foot is placed, how the animal stood, number of digits, surface of movement, and quality of preservation. Part A: Finding Correlations The first part of this activity examines the relationship between foot length, leg length, stride length, and speed. You are welcome to use your own measurements if you have access to a tape measure and stop watch, or you can answer the questions using the data provided. If you use

your own measurements, make sure you report YOUR VALUES everywhere we are providing a value. What is the relationship between foot length, leg length, stride length, and speed? 1) Remove your shoes and measure the length of one foot in cm: Provided: 24 cm Optional:______ 2) Measure the distance from your hips to the floor (leg length) in cm: Provided: 98 cm Optional:_____ 3) Divide your hip height by your foot length to get the ratio for these measurements (1 pt): Answer: ___ 4.08 _____ (note if you calculated this from provided or optional measurements) The ratio between footprint length (FL) and hip height (h) – also called leg length – is different for different groups of dinosaurs, but generally, the hip height (or leg length) of a bipedal dinosaur is approximately 4x larger than footprint length (Alexander, 1989). Speed can then be calculated as relative speed, which is stride length (SL) divided by hip height (h) . Next, you will examine how stride length changes as you go from walking to running. 4) What do you think happens to your stride length the faster you run? Does it increase, decrease, or stay the same? (1 pt) I believe it would increase the faster you go. If you want to do the next part, you need to measure a straight, unimpeded distance of 20 m (maybe outside on the sidewalk or driveway) and have a stopwatch ready. Or, you can use the numbers we have provided. 5) Walk the distance and count how many times your LEFT food hits the ground. Provided: 12 Optional:________

6) Record how many seconds were needed to complete the 20 m at a walking pace. Provided: 15.5 seconds Optional:_________ 7) Determine your actual speed by dividing 20 m by the number of seconds. (1 pt) Answer: ___ 1.29 m/sec ______ (note if calculated from provided or optional numbers) 8) Run the distance and count how many times your RIGHT food hits the ground Provided: 8 Optional:_________ 9) Record how many seconds were needed to run the 20 m Provided: 7.75 seconds Optional:_______ 10) Determine your actual speed by dividing 20 m by the number of seconds (1 pt) Answer: __ 2.58 m/sec ___ (note if calculated from provided or optional numbers) You should notice that your stride length increased while running compared to walking! 11) Determine your stride length and then your relative speed: a. Walking: Divide 2000 cm by the number of strides you listed for #5 Answer: __ 166.67 ___ (note if calculated from provided or optional numbers) Your relative speed is your stride length divided by your hip height (#2) Answer: __ 1.7 ____(note if calculated from provided or optional numbers) b. Running: Divide 2000 cm by the number of strides you listed for #8 Answer: __ 250 ___ (note if calculated from provided or optional numbers) Your relative speed is your stride length divided by your hip height (#2) Answer: __ 2.6 ____(note if calculated from provided or optional numbers) Key Points There is a direct relationship between leg length and the length of the stride of a walking individual There is a direct relationship between leg length and the length of the stride of a running individual Stride length divided by hip height is relative speed. Hip height is 4x foot length for bipedal dinosaurs Paleontologists apply this information to trackways in order to calculate the height and speed of dinosaurs. The ratio of stride length divided by leg length can be used to tell if a dinosaur was walking, trotting, or running. The following numbers are used to interpret the speed:

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Dinosaur stride length ÷ hip height (aka leg length) Speed < 2.0 Walking 2.0 – 2.9 Trotting > 2.9 Running Part B. Applying Your Knowledge Now let’s take measurements from dinosaur trackways. If you are ever on campus, these are in the hallway outside Sparks Hall room 131! T-rex The length of a single footprint is 56 cm 12) Determine the hip height by multiplying the length of the footprint by 4. (1 pt) Answer:__ 224 cm _____ The stride length is 470 cm 13) Calculate the relative speed by dividing the stride length by the hip height. (1 pt) Answer:_ 2.1 _____ 14) Using the table above, what speed is the T-rex moving? (1 pt) Answer: __it’s trotting ____ Velociraptor The length of a single footprint is 19 cm 15) Determine the hip height by multiplying the length of the footprint by 4. (1 pt) Answer:__ 76 cm ______ The stride length is 250 cm 16) Calculate the relative speed by dividing the stride length by the hip height. (1 pt) Answer:__ 3.28 ______ 17) Using the table above, what speed is the velociraptor moving? (1 pt) Answer:__ it’s running _______ Look at the table below of maximum speeds for several groups of dinosaurs and humans. Tracks from T-rex come from large theropods. Tracks from velociraptors come from small theropods. Could humans outrun the animals that left these tracks? Why or why not? (2 pts each)

18) T-rex: yes because human’s average max speed is faster 19) Velociraptor: no because the example from #10 max speed is 9.29 km/hr when the t-rex max speed is 20 km/hr 20) Could the person who we measured at the beginning (or YOU if you were able to take these measurements yourself) outrun either animal? Hint: to convert meters per second (from #10) to kilometers per hour, multiple by 3.6). Why or why not? (2 pts) Animal Maximum speed Sauropodomorphs 5 km/hr Stegasaurs and ankylosaurs 6-8 km/hr Sauropods ( Apatasaurus ) 12-17 km/hr; maximum 20-30 km/hr Large theropods ( Tyrannosaurus ) and ornithopods 20 km/hr Ceratopsians ( Triceratops ) Up to 25 km/hr Small theropods and ornithopods Up to 40 km/hr Ornithomimids Up to 60 km/hr People 23 km/hr Usain Bolt 45 km/hr

lab8-fossils (1)

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