UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA
GY 112L: Earth History Lab
Mesozoic Part 1
Instructor: Dr. Douglas W. Haywick
Today’s Agenda
The Mesozoic Part 1 (week 10 exercises)
1)
2)
3)
Fish
Plants
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:
0.5 mm
Conodonts
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
Types of Fishes
Age of the Plants and
Age of the 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
Fish Facts:
Taxonomy:
Phylum: Chordata
Sub-Phylum: Vertebrata
Class: Lots!
Range:
Variable
Mode of Life: Marine, non-marine,
scavenger, predators, herbivores
Class: Agnatha (jawless
fish, lampreys etc.); CambRecent (D)
Mineral composition: bone/cartilage
Fossil Pres.: petrifaction, impression,
pristine (teeth)
The Fish
Fish Facts:
Taxonomy:
Phylum: Chordata
Sub-Phylum: Vertebrata
Class: Lots!
Range:
Variable
Mode of Life: Marine, non-marine,
scavenger, predators, herbivores
Acanthodii (spiny sharks); O-P (M-P)
Mineral composition: bone/cartilage
Fossil Pres.: petrifaction, impression,
pristine (teeth)
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
Placodermi (armored jawed fish); S-M (D)
Fossil Pres.: petrifaction, impression,
pristine (teeth)
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
Placodermi (armored jawed fish); S-M (D)
Fossil Pres.: petrifaction, impression,
pristine (teeth)
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
Chondrichthyes (sharks, rays, skates);
S-Recent (J-Recent)
Fossil Pres.: petrifaction, impression,
pristine (teeth)
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
Osteichthyes (boney fish); DRecent (J-Recent)
Fossil Pres.: petrifaction, impression,
pristine (teeth)
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,
The first Psilopsid
Mineral composition: cellulose
Fossil Pres.: petrifaction, impression
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
Division: Sphenopsida
http://www.notam02.no/~oyvindha/graphics.html
http://www.museum.state.il.us/exhibits/mazon_creek/calamites.html
Leaves eventually started looking like leaves… needles first, like those of the
modern horsetails or extinct genera like Calamites.
Paleozoic Plants
Division: Pteropsida
http://www.devoniantimes.org/who/images/R-fern-composite-2.jpg
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.
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
Mesozoic Sedimentation
Triassic
•Initial opening of
Gulf of Mexico
Mesozoic Sedimentation
Triassic
Mesozoic Sedimentation
Early Jurassic
•Initial flooding of
Gulf of Mexico and
Northern Atlantic
Ocean
Mesozoic Sedimentation
Late-Triassic/Early Jurassic
Alabama Mesozoic
Stratigraphy
Halite
Great Salt Lake (evaporite basin)
http://www.americansouthwest.net/utah/photographs700/salt.jpg
Alabama Mesozoic
Stratigraphy
Quartz Arenite
Sand dunes in the Gobi Desert
Alabama Mesozoic
Stratigraphy
Fossil. Limestone & Dolostone
(shallow marine with stromatolitic reefs)
The Great Barrier Reef
http://www.anntorrence.com/blog/at-images/gbr_02.jpg
Lab Time
GY 112L: Earth History
Lab 10: Plants, Fish and the Mesozoic 1
Instructor: Dr. Doug Haywick
dhaywick@southalabama.edu
This is a free open access lecture, but not for commercial purposes.
For personal use only.