Fossils Across Geologic Time

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Archaean

• Strelly Pool Stromatolites• Paleoarchaen, 3.43

Billion Years Old) ago• Strelley Pool Formation,

Pilbara, Western Australia

• Layered rocks produced by mats of either Bacterial or Archaeans Prokaryotic cells, among the earliest primitive life on Earth

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Proterozoic

• Banded Iron• Lower Proterozoic, 2.2

Billion Years Ago• Upper Michigan• Oxygen from

photosynthetic bacteria had largely rusted the oceans by 2.4 billion years ago, after which atmospheric oxygen increased steadily

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Ediacaran

• Dickinsonia• Ediacaran, (600 - 550

Million Years Ago• White Sea Summer

Coast, Archangelsk, Russia

• Macroscopic life was first emerging during the Ediacaran (or Vendian) Period (635 to 541 million years ago) prior to the Cambrian Explosion.

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Early Cambrian

• Haikouella lanceolata • Early Cambrian, 525

million years ago• Chengjiang Maotianshan

Shales, China• 15 mm long• Primitive Chordate, from

when ALL life was still in the seas – an ancestor of all animals with back bones & thus closely related to fishes soon to evolve

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Middle Cambrian

• Olenellus gilberti • Middle Cambrian, ~ 500

million years ago• Pioche Shale Formation,

Nevada• 41mm long• An elegant member of

trilobites Order Redlichiida, Family Olenellidae

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Upper Cambrian“First footprints on land”

• Protichnites eremita Arthropod track way

• Upper Cambrian (about 510 million years ago)

• Blackberry Hill,, near Mosinee, Wisconsin

Reference: Hagadorn, J. W., and Seilacher, A., Hermits 500 million years ago?: Geology 37(4), 295-298 (2009).Fossil Mall

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Ordovician

• Asteroidea Starfish• Ordovician, ~ 480

million years ago• El Kaid Errami,

Morocco

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Late Ordovician

• Triarthrus eatoni Ptychopariid Trilobite

• Ordovician, ~ 460 million years ago

• Lorraine Shale, Lewis County, New York

• With rare soft tissue preservation of legs and antennae

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Silurian

• Arctinurus boltoni Lichid Trilobite Silurian, ~ 425 million years ago

• Rochester Shale Formation, Middleport, New York

• The species is referred to by some as the “Emperor of North American trilobites”

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Devonian

• Bothriolepis Canadensis Armored Fish

• Upper Devonian, ~ 410 million years ago

• Escumiac Bay, Miguasha, Quebec, Canada

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Carboniferous

• Caridosuctor populosum Coelacanth Fish Fossil

• Mississippian , ~ 310 million years ago

• Bear Gulch Limestone, Heath Shale Formation, Montana

• A living fossil, as Coelacanths are still extant

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Carboniferous

• Stigmaria Fossil Root of Lycopsid Tree• Middle Pennsylvanian, ~ 310 million years ago• Pocahontas Formation, West Virginia• Stigmaria is the name given to fossil roots of

the various tree species of the Carboniferous. Stigmaria are often impregnated with coal, or have coal sticking to their surface.

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Permian

• Trimerorhachis insignis Permian Amphibian Fossil

• Lower Permian, ~ 300 million years ago

• Hennessy Formation, Tillman County, Oklahoma

• Described by Cope in 1878, it had scales and a bony integument of osteoderms much like modern-day crocodylians.Fossil Mall

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Triassic

• Neocalamites Plant Fossil

• Triassic, ~ 245 million years ago

• Tasmania, Australia

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Jurassic

• Acanthochirana Dragonfly Fossil

• Jurassic, ~ 175 million years ago

• Solnhofen Limestone, Germany

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Cretaceous

• Repenomamus robustus mammal• Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous,

~ 145 million years ago• Yixian Formation, Liaoning

Province, China• An early mammal that dined on

dinosaurs

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Reference Prehistoric badger had dinosaurs for breakfast". Michael Hopkin. Nature.com. January 12, 2005.

Paleogene• Cynodicuis gregarius• Oligocene – 30 million years ago • Brule Formation, South Dakota• Animals appear more modern, particularly

the mammals• This primitive dog-like animal was a speedy

and fierce little carnivore that could chase down rabbits and probably could climb trees

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Paleogene• Palaeochiropteryx

tupaiodon Bat Fossil• Eocene, ~ 50 million years

ago • Messel Pit, Darmstadt,

Germany

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Neogene

• Libellula (dragonfly “skimmer”)

• Upper Miocene, ~ 6 million years ago

• Piedmont Area, Italy

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Neogene

• Neptunus granulatus Crab Fossil

• Bosa Beds, Sardinia, Italy

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Quaternary • Ursus speleaus Cave Bear • Pleistocene – 250 to 25 thousand years

ago • Ural Mountains, Russia• Up to 500 pounds• The Neanderthals probably knew they

didn’t have to outrun Ursus, so long as they could outrun other members of their tribe

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