Great transformations
Why do some consider the Burgess Shale to be the greatest fossil find in history?
Most of what is known from the Cambrian came from this place
What was Pakicetus taxonomically?
Order Creodonta (or Condylartha?)
What has the study of 600 MY of animal history shown us about animal body designs?
all animals are variations of the same theme; all animals share similar characteristics.
what are the kinds of vertebrate tetrapods?
amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals
What was the Cambrian Explosion that occurred about 570MYA?
appearance of animals in short bursts
What does the video suggest was the major factor drawing land mammals to the sea?
competition and safety
What do Burgess Shale animals tell us about the basic body plans found in animals today?
every animal today came from the initial designs seen here
What is Picaya?
first chordate with a nerve chord
What evidence is there that whale nostrils migrated slowly to the top of the head?
gradual migration of the nostrils to adapt to breathing in water
what evidence discovered in NA suggests that the first tetrapods were aquatic.
shoulder bone from 370MYA found in a stream bed
why do whales and oters undulate their spines up and down insteas of side to side like fish?
some as how land animals use their spine while running
what are archeocetes?
suborder of Cetacea
Acanthostega in interpreting tetrapod evolution?
tetrapod developed fingers fisrt and then moved onto land.
What characteristic of Pakicetus links it to cetaceans?
the inner ear
When did mammals first appear, and when did sea mammal.s begin to arise from land mammals?
220MYA, 50MYA
How long has life been evolving on earth?
4 billion years
How long ago did the fossils whales in the Valley of the Whales die?
40MYA
Mesonyx
50MY old wolf-like animal that scavenged and hunted along the shores
country, desert, sea of Valley fo the Whales?
Egypt, Sahara Desert, Meditteranean Sea
What puzzled darwin about the Cambrian Explosion?
How animals just appeared out of nowhere
What and where is the Burgesss Shale?
underewater mudslide; Canadian ROckies
How were animals trapped by the Burgess Shale?
underwater mudslide
What was Bailosaurua and what trait linked it to land animals?
whale, had legs and pelvis