BIO 1130 Study Guide - Quiz Guide: Burgess Shale, Phanerozoic, Cambrian Explosion

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Biology
• Course: BIO 1130
• Professor: Jon Houseman

Document Summary

Paleozoic era (550 2 45 ma ) Periods cambrian, ordovician, silurian, devonian, carboniferous, permian. First geological time period of the paleozoic era. Marks a profound change in life on earth; complex, multicellular organisms become common and fossilized in shallow seas/oceans. Cambrian explosion produced first representatives of modern phyla such as molluscs and arthropods. Nothing is happening on land (bare rock that is eroding; washing into the oceans) Ideal marine environment for diversification in the continental shelves that surround the continents (high diversity, productivity of life) Rapid appearance of most major animal phyla, as demonstrated by the fossil record. Multicellular invertebrate life in oceans occurring in the continental shelves around the large land masses (light, warm water, algae) Deposits of fauna known as shales (before it was thought that soft-bodied organisms were not fossilized, but they were due to events underwater like landslides, and sediments rained on them; global distribution) Second geological time period of the paleozoic era.