Getting into the Fossil Record
Information"Eric' was a small, short-necked Pliosaur and was discovered by an opal miner in Coober Pedy, South Australia in 1987.
'Eric' is one of the most complete opalised vertebrates known and became part of the fossil collection of the Australian Museum in 1993 after money to purchase the specimen was raised by the schoolchildren of Australia (with the help of Akubra Hats). Eric' is currently on display at the Australian Museum. http://australianmuseum.net.au/Omoonasaurus-demoscyllus |
QuestionsWhere is Coober Pedy?
https://maps.google.com.au/maps?q=Coober+Pedy&ie=UTF-8&ei=iSiVUuj1FYbhkgXEw4DYDA&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAg What type of animal is a Pliosaur? What inferences can you make regarding the habitat of the Pliosaur? What clues do the habitat of the Pliosaur give to the type of environment that existed around present-day Coober Pedy? How is opal formed? http://www.opalsdownunder.com.au/learn-about-opals/advanced/how-opal-formed-geology-opal |
Eric the Pliosaur lived in Australia's inland sea around 100 million years ago and, after dying, his bones were replaced by groundwater that turned into opal.
Pliosaurs are actually aquatic carnivorous reptiles, not dinosaurs. http://www.abc.net.au/science/ozfossil/ageofreptiles/eromanga/default.htm |
Task 1 - Complete Getting into the Fossil Record
1. Complete the Getting into the Fossil Record PreTest/ Post Test document
2. Go to the Link below and click on Level 2 http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/education/explorations/tours/fossil/index.html 3. Complete the Getting into the Fossil Record Focus Questions as you navigate the University of Berkeley website. 4. After class discussion complete the Getting into the Fossil Record. Directions appear below. The document to cut may be downloaded from the left hand side. |
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Fossils
Task 2 Class discussion of the "Getting into the Fossil Record" event cards.
Task 3 Post Test and discussion
Task 4 Complete the Observations of the Rock Cutting and Weathered Material for your Geology Portfolio
Consolidation of Field Work
Remember that sand is a term for the size of the weathered minerals.Sand particles range in diameter from 0.0625 mm (or 1⁄16 mm) to 2 mm. An individual particle in this range size is termed a sand grain.
Mineral 1 The Glassy Mineral
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Mineral 2 The Fizzing Mineral
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Geological time scale
Interactive Geological Time Scale
http://archive.fieldmuseum.org/evolvingplanet/POST/EP_V8.swf_
http://archive.fieldmuseum.org/evolvingplanet/POST/EP_V8.swf_