EES-1000 Lecture 13: Lecture Notes 1
7 Oct 2016
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Soft parts vs. hard parts: soft tissues that are easily and quickly digested! Ex: sugars, starches, fats, simple proteins: hard tough to break down over time! Ex: biominerals, wood: the fossil record is biased towards:! In a typical shallow water, marine environment, approximately 40% of bottom-dwelling species have hard parts. Of the remaining 60% of species, almost none are found as fossils. If the water rises passed the skeleton of a dinosaur its a good thing because sediment buries the bones and footprints. Factors favoring burial: living in an environment where sediments are deposited, not eroded! Most fossils are hard parts: shells and bones: mineralized tissues with high preservation potential! Calcite/aragonite caco3: forms shells of most aquatic animals! In or near lakes, rivers, low-lying swamps ok! Regions where the earth"s crust is sinking, not rising! Wooly mammoth: bog people from northwestern europe! Bones not preserved, but skin and organs are: chemical alteration!
