UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA...UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA Instructor: Dr. Douglas W. Haywick Today’s Agenda The Mesozoic Part 1 (week 10 exercises) 1) Fish 2) Plants 3) More Alabama

GY 112L: Earth History Lab

Mesozoic Part 1

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA

Instructor: Dr. Douglas W. Haywick

Today’s Agenda

The Mesozoic Part 1 (week 10 exercises)

1) Fish 2) Plants 3) More Alabama Stratigraphy

The Fish The first true chordates evolved during the Neoproterozoic, but since hard body parts didn’t, we know little about them. The first pieces we have from what we believe were chordates are Cambrian in age: Conodonts

0.5 mm

The Fish

Like the plants (which you will see shortly), the fish really exploded in terms of numbers and diversity once we hit the Devonian

Age of the Plants and Age of the Fishes

Types of Fishes

The Fish

Fish Facts:

Taxonomy: Phylum: Chordata Sub-Phylum: Vertebrata Class: Lots! Range: Variable Mode of Life: Marine, non-marine, scavenger, predators, herbivores Mineral composition: bone/cartilage Fossil Pres.: petrifaction, impression, pristine (teeth)

The Fish

Class: Agnatha (jawless fish, lampreys etc.); Camb-Recent (D)

Fish Facts:


The Fish

Acanthodii (spiny sharks); O-P (M-P)

Fish Facts:


The Fish

Placodermi (armored jawed fish); S-M (D)

Fish Facts:


The Fish

Placodermi (armored jawed fish); S-M (D)

Fish Facts:


The Fish

Chondrichthyes (sharks, rays, skates); S-Recent (J-Recent)

Fish Facts:


The Fish

Osteichthyes (boney fish); D-Recent (J-Recent)

Fish Facts:


The Plants

Plant taxonomy is a bit different than animal taxonomy. Kingdom: Plantae and use Divisions instead of Phyla

The Plants (terrestrial)

Terrestrial plant evolution apparently did not occur until the mid-Silurian…

The Plants

Plant Facts:

Taxonomy: Kingdom: Plantae Division: Psilophyta Pteridophyta Sphenopsida Pteropsida Lycopsida Pinophyta (gymnosperms) Magnoliophyta (angiosperms) Range: Silurian to Recent (terrestrial) Mode of Life: Marine, non-marine, photosynthetic, Mineral composition: cellulose Fossil Pres.: petrifaction, impression

The first Psilopsid

Paleozoic Plants The first leaves were almost welded onto the trunks of the plants (which now stood rather tall; e.g., Lepidodendron sp.). They were called the “scale trees”. Division: Lycopsida

http://www.mnh.si.edu/highlight/fossil_scale_tree/

Paleozoic Plants Leaves eventually started looking like leaves… needles first, like those of the modern horsetails or extinct genera like Calamites. Division: Sphenopsida

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Paleozoic Plants The next division of plants is still abundant today. The “true ferns” have good leaf development that radiate from a central stem and reproduce via spores on the underside of the leaves. Division: Pteropsida

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Paleozoic Plants A huge division of plants that reproduce via seeds are the “gymnosperms” (Division: Pinophyta). There are 4 major subdivisions (classes?):

•Pteridospermophyta (the seed ferns) •Pinopsida (the conifers)

•Cycadopsida (the cycads) •Ginkgopsida (the ginkgos)

Ginkgo leaves (USA Campus) Sago palm (cycad)

Mesozoic Plants The most dominant group of plants on the Earth today reproduce via flowers and pollen and use “encased seeds”

(Division: Magnoliophyta).

AKA the Angiosperms.

Plant Evolution

Alabama Stratigraphy and Rocks

This week, a collection of subsurface Mesozoic rocks from our fair state

Alabama Mesozoic Stratigraphy

Mesozoic Sedimentation

Triassic •Initial opening of Gulf of Mexico


Triassic •Initial opening of Gulf of Mexico


Triassic


Early Jurassic •Initial flooding of Gulf of Mexico and Northern Atlantic Ocean


Late-Triassic/Early Jurassic


Great Salt Lake (evaporite basin) http://www.americansouthwest.net/utah/photographs700/salt.jpg

Halite


Sand dunes in the Gobi Desert

Quartz Arenite


The Great Barrier Reef http://www.anntorrence.com/blog/at-images/gbr_02.jpg

Fossil. Limestone & Dolostone (shallow marine with stromatolitic reefs)

Lab Time

GY 112L: Earth History

Lab 10: Plants, Fish and the Mesozoic 1

Instructor: Dr. Doug Haywick [email protected]

This is a free open access lecture, but not for commercial purposes. For personal use only.

Documents

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA...UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA Instructor: Dr. Douglas W. Haywick Today’s Agenda The Mesozoic Part 1 (week 10 exercises) 1) Fish 2) Plants 3) More Alabama