Riversleigh Fossil Site

The first, would be Land features. Alfred Wegener saw how the coal fields in North America and Europe lined up, he also realized that mountain ranges in North America and Africa lined up. The second, evidence he used were the fossils. There were three types of fossils he found the first was the glossopteris a fern like plant found in Africa, South America, Australia, India, and Antarctica. The second and third were the Mesosaurus and the Lystrosaurus fossils, they were freshwater reptile fossils on continents separated by oceans. The third evidence Alfred Wegener used was, the climate zones. Alfred Wegener looked at the past of the climates and he found scratches in rocks from glaciers in South Africa. Those were the three main evidences Alfred Wegener used to prove Continental Drift

There are numerous counts of evidence showing the processes of evolution and how species ultimately evolved over millions of years. One of the most compelling hypotheses behind evolution was presented by Charles Darwin with his study of the Galapagos Islands. His study showing the various different birds and their different evolutions they went through to be able to survive the changes of weather and relocation. The birds he studied had to change in order to survive, or as he simply puts it: “Survival of the Fittest”. Evolution is the changing of past organisms to diversify and have the ability to fit better in their environment and survive. Diving into the dinosaur cladogram, studies have shown that ancient dinosaurs, over hundreds of millions of years ago, evolved into our modern day birds, and not lizards as many suppose. It became apparent that there would not be enough food for a 9 ton dinosaur to consume on a daily basis forever. So evolution occurred and dinosaurs evolved to become more efficient so they could survive more effectively in their

To support the theory of continental drift is through topography, surveying the floors of oceans, charts of rock magnetism, and statistics on rock ages (Trefil & Hazen, 2010). At one time scientist believed that the deep ocean floors were flat; accumulating the sediment that progressively wore away from the prehistoric landmasses (Trefil & Hazen, 2010). However, they discovered steep-walled valleys and elevated highlands. This was evidences that just as the continents are transformed and are active, so to is the seafloor (Trefil & Hazen, 2010). The Mid- Atlantic Ridge, positioned in the central part of the Atlantic Ocean, is recorded to be the longest mountain range on this planet. Volcanoes, lava flow, and earthquakes are a source of

“The main lesson of biogeography is that only evolution can explain the diversity of life on continents and islands.” (Coyne 109).In convergent evolution 3 of the six components discussed in chapter 1 are working together. These 3 components are common ancestry, speciation, and natural selection. If evolution did exist, ancestors of species today that lived in the same place, when dug up, should be fossils that resemble organisms today.

Sedimentary rocks interpret dinosaur habitats through encased environmental structures of the past. Through sedimentary rocks, paleoecologists’ can examine the arranged formation of sedimentary structures to specify what type of environment the dinosaurs’ lived in. An example of a specific sedimentary rock structure can be seen through formed weathering and ripple marks by how wind and sand formed distinct patterns in the past layered sediment. These arrangements provide interpretations on the structure of the sediment and the habitat of encased fossils, through modern day comparisons

Anatomical Evidence – evidence relating to the structures of organisms and how they have evolved over time and might share a common ancestry.

In order to find evidence of the transition from fish to land animals, the author and his colleagues chose to focus on 375 million year old rocks. In 2004, they studied sedimentary rock on Ellesmere Island in Canada’s Arctic as they thought that the rocks there would be exposed and untouched by humans, which would be ideal for fossil excavations. They studied sedimentary rocks (limestone, sandstone, siltstone and shales) because these

The Naracoorte caves provides plenty of information about the history during the Pleistocene era. In terms of a scientific understanding, Palaeontologists have excavated and dated many of the fossils in Naracoorte Caves and have reconstructed the skeletons of a number of the megafauna that inhabited the area so many years ago. This gives them a better understanding of the evidence supporting Australia’s changing environment, climate and fauna and how each of these contributing factors have played a major role in the extinction of these megafauna's. With the reasons provided, the protection of the Naracoorte caves is essential as the caves holds many scientific evidence and fascinating values as well as Australia's record of

The fossils that are yet to be found in this project just very well may double the museum’s collection which is already at 3.5 million fossils. The project contains 16 fossil deposits that were recently unknown which makes us wonder how many more deposits are there left to discover (The Natural History Foundation, 2016). As technology advances and our understanding of these fossils grows it will be interesting to see what the future years will bring to the field of

Paleontology, or the study of fossils, was still a young science at the start of Victorian times, and the idea that fossils were the remains of species extinct for millions of years was only gradually taking hold. The term "dinosaur," meaning "terrible lizard," was coined in 1842 by the British paleontologist Richard Owen, who went on to produce the first life-size reconstructions of dinosaurs based on the evidence of their skeletons. The Victorian era saw the rise of the first great dinosaur hunters, including the legendary American rivals Othniel Charles Marsh and Edward Drinker

British Colombia in Canada, much like California in the United States, used to be a shallow sea and home to much sea life and is now home to thousands of marine animal fossils. For this reason it is believed that Dinosaur Provincial Park consisted of a lot of sands and muds that are characteristic of costal plains (Sues, Henderson, & Tanke, 2010, pg. 1292). When Sues, Henderson, and Tanke (2010) where going about measuring fossil shifts and the amount of fossils that have been lost they took into account the amount of soil that erodes away every year, the vertical and horizontal distribution fossils found within the park, and large landmarks such as rivers and glaciers that could effect fossils in the area (pg.1293). Accounting for these factors

The author and his colleagues chose to focus on 375 million year old rocks in their search for fossils because amphibians that look dissimilar to fish were discovered in 365 million year old rocks, while fish without amphibian characteristics were discovered in 385 million year old rocks. Thus, it is possible that the evolutionary intermediary, or the “missing link” between fish and amphibians, would be discovered in 375 million year old rocks, between the two time periods. The rocks examined were sedimentary in composition, as the gradual and relatively gentle formation of sedimentary rock under conditions of mild pressure and low heat are conducive to the fossilization of animal remains. Sedimentary rock is also often formed in rivers and seas, where animals are likely to live. This site provides a resource that describes means by which fossils are formed and how the fossil record may be interpreted, and shows some examples of fossils demonstrating evolution through geological periods: http://www.fossilmuseum.net/fossilrecord.htm. In 2004, Shubin and his colleagues were looking for fossils on Ellesmere Island, in northern Canada. This location was chosen because of its lack of human development, as well as of obstructing natural formations and life forms such as trees, which

The fossil record is evidence of evolution. Fossils are often fingerprints of evolution. They help scientists track how species evolved

Wegener provided numerous explanations and documentation in support of his continental drift theory. He provided two fossils as evidence. Glossopteris because it had been found on several continents that were widely separated. Glossopteris, also known as a seed fern fossil, was too large to be transported by the wind. The other was Mesosaurus which was a small aquatic freshwater reptile (Lutgens & Tarbuck, 2014, p. 154). Other scientists believed this was possible because land bridges had once existed or explained it away as drafting. Wegener most likely did not offer fossil sharks or jellyfish as evidence due to the fact that these fish inhabit all major oceans on the planet.

: Fossils are the remains or traces of ancient organisms which have been preserved. For example, a fossil can exist as skeletal remains or even as a footprint. Such organisms are subjected to a slow rate of decaying since they have been rapidly buried under conditions that facilitate this. It is common for fossils to occur as hard-bodied organisms as these are more resistant to environmental influences. Fossils are usually found embedded in rock. The layers of rock are of different age and makeup. Hence fossils found in one layer would vary in characteristics from those found in another layer. They can be observed and analyzed through visual as well as radiometric means so that the age and morphology can be determined. These features indicate