Characteristics of Paleozoic Fossils - Essay Example

Paleozoic Fossils

Names

Characteristics

Age

Foram

Foraminifera

Available in rainforest soil, size is less than 1 mm.

Tertiary

Sponge

Porifera

Mainly available in marine water

Cambrian

Horn Coral

Cnidaria

Wrinkled surface, available in sea

Permian

Colonial Coral

Cnidaria

Available in oceans, solitary in nature and large in size

Devonian

Bryozoa

Bryozoa

Available in tropical water

Permian

Brachiopod

Brachiopoda

Completely extinct now, have similarities with pelecypods and Mollusca

Permian

Brachipod

Brachiopoda

Completely extinct now

Permian

Pelecypod (clam)

Lamellibranchiata

The body is headless, shell present, available in marine water

Silurian

Pelecypod (oyster)

Lamellibranchiata

Shape like oyster, available in marine water

Permian

Pelecypod (scallop)

Lamellibranchiata

Available in marine water, fluted fan shape

Permian

Scaphopod

Scaphopoda

Available in marine sediments and mud, shape like tusk

Permian

Gastropod (snail)

Mollusca

Have soft bodies, available in sediments

Pliocene

Gastropod (snail)

Mollusca

Available in gardens, and marine water, some are parasitic

Pliocene

Cephalopod (nautiloid)

Mollusca

Body symmetry is bilateral, available in deep oceans

Osage

Caphalopod (belemnite)

Mollusca

Available in the deep ocean

Osage

Cephalopod (ammonite)

Mollusca

Marine animals belonging to Ammonoidia

Osage

Trilobite

Anthhropoda

Extinct by now, the presence of an exoskeleton

Early Cambrian

Crinoid Stem

Echinodermata

Gut-shaped U, have five arms

Late Paleozoic

Blastoid

Echinodermata

Available in Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, and Illinois, protected with calcium carbonate shell

End of Permian

Echinoid

Echinodermata

Globular in shape, available in sea

Graptolite

Hemichordata

Rock-like shape, available worldwide

Cambrian

Shark Tooth

Chordata

Tooth of a shark, cartilage is present

Cenozoic

Dinosaur Bone

Chordata

Bones help to identify the structure of the dinosaurs

Jurassic

Fern Leaf Impression

Pteridiophyta

Available in many parts of the world, shaped like tree leaves

Jurassic, Cretaceous

Brachiopod is the main fossil in the Cambrian marine invertebrate community.
These fossils look like oysters and are extinct now. They resemble Pelecypods and Mollusca.
No, the brachiopod does not help identify the fossils of 10 million years as they originated 299 million years ago. 

The late Paleozoic movements were closely associated with the plate tectonics theory. These movements are also known as Appalachian Movements.

- Invertebrates went under a huge change during this age. They changed from low diversity to high diversity. Class and families were soon formed within the community. North American continents show the changes found among the vertebrates in this age. Plants were found mainly in the wetlands which covered most of the world. Plants were the first sign of life in this era.

- The Gulf of Mexico came into existence during this time in the Pangaea. On the other hand, the Caribbean Sea was also formed. The Jurassic Age was the most important period for all these changes.

- Greenstone Granite Belts: West Africa, Precambrian age.

The Permian Period was the last in the Paleozoic Age. The time is about 290 million years ago from now. The formation of Pangea became complete by this age. The reptiles got a new life because of the climatic change. Changes favoured the arrival of mammals.

Palaeozoic Era is one of the most interesting eras in the prehistory of biological science. This is the age when some of the major climatic changes took place. So fossils are the main things which are to be displayed before the common people come to the museum. There will be computer animations which will show the gradual changes in the vertebrate, invertebrate and plant lives in this period. We should also concentrate on the evolution of the mammals in the Permian Age because common people will be interested in it. As for the children, there must be large pictures of dinosaurs who lived in the Paleozoic Era. There will also be a Paleozoic global map which will show the existing lives in different parts of the world. The interactive exhibitions will have guides who will help the visitors to get what they try to know.