PALEO LAB # 1, PAGE 1
PALEO LAB # I - FOSSIL PRESERVATION, PALEOECOLOGY AND TAXONOMY
EXERCISE # 1 - Referring to your lecture notes, the Power Point presentation, and the
discussion in Chapter I of your text, define the method of preservation for each lab specimen.
There are also several pseudofossils within this exercise. When possible, list the type of
pseudofossil observed.
EXERCISE # 2 - Referring to the definitions below, what are the major feeding and habitat
adaptations for each of the following organisms in the "Offshore Muddy Sand Community"? (Do
letters c, d, f, g, i, j, k, o, q)
Adaptations to feeding:
Herbivore - plant eating
Carnivore - meat eating
Omnivore - both plant and meat eating
Suspension Feeder - straining detritus or microorganisms from the water
Deposit Feeder - ingesting detritus or microorganisms together with deposited sediment
Adaptations to Habitat:
Aerial - in the air
Arboreal - in trees
Terrestrial - on the land surface
Subterranean - beneath the land surface
Aquatic - in water (includes:)
Planktonic/Planktic - floating
Nektonic/Nektic - swimming
Benthonic/Benthic - bottom dwelling (includes:)
Epibenthonic/Epibenthic/Epifaunal - on the bottom (crawlers or encrusters)
Endobenthonic/Endobenthic/Infaunal - in the bottom (burrowers or borers)
EXERCISE # 3 - The mythological genus Smileus has been selected for a taxonomic study
utilizing phylogenetic systematics (cladistics).
A. Construct a taxon/character matrix for the genus Smileus, establish the polarity of the
characters, and construct a cladogram (complete with a list of characters). In your analysis,
define the characters utilized and the anatomical position of each. Label each of the anatomical
characters utilized on the original drawings of the species.
The following anatomical terms should be useful in your analyses:
1. Anterior - toward the head
2. Posterior - away from the head or toward the tail
3. Dorsal - toward or near the back, or spinal, side
4. Ventral - toward or near the "belly" side
PALEO LAB # 1, PAGE 2
5. Median - in the plane dividing the body into right and left halves
6. Lateral - toward one side of the median plane
7. Longitudinal - in the direction of the long axis of the body or of an organ
8. Transverse - at right angles to the longitudinal
9. Sagittal Section - one made parallel to the plane that divides the body or an organ into right
and left halves
10. Frontal Section - one extending in an anterior-posterior direction but parallel to dorsal and
ventral surfaces
11. Proximal - lying toward the base or point of attachment, as in the case of a limb
12. Distal - lying toward the tip or free end
13. Peripheral - lying toward the surface
14. Cranial - pertaining to the head
15. Cephalad (Craniad) - toward the head from
16. Caudal - pertaining to the tail
17. Caudad - toward the tail from
B. After constructing your cladogram, revise the classification of these organisms and (if
necessary) establish new genera (if you don't, provide some good reasons for not doing so!).
Provide a diagnosis ( a list of pertinent features defining the genus) for each genus named and list
the taxa included under each genus. Be certain to use proper citations for author's names, etc..