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The Geological Time Scale is Based Upon the Principles of Relative Dating
•Younger rocks are deposited on top of older rocks
•Lava and sedimentary rocks were originally laid down in a horizontal position
•Boulders or cobbles found in a body of rock are older than their host rock
•Earlier fossil forms are simpler than more recent forms, and more recent forms are most similar to existing forms.
Why is the fossil record incomplete?
It takes the right conditions at the right time in the right place.
- some organisms are simply not likely to yield fossils
- sedimentation does not occur in all habitats
- fossils must survive geological events and weather
the elements for millions of years before discovery
Process of Fossilization
(1) Compression/impression/casts/molds:impressions or casts made before decomposition (like footprints).
(2) Permineralized fossils: precipitation of minerals incells before decomposition.
Or Occasionally:
(1) Unaltered remains: Frozen, amber embedded, peat bogs.
After remains are buried by sediments:
Fossil Record is Biased
Fossilization is higher for organisms that are: Durable and likely to be buried in an anoxic environment (low land or marine habitats)
Also, there is temporal and geographic bias:
Probability that an organism will be fossilized dependson the geographical area and historical time.
Fossils and associated rocks containreactive elements that decay at known rates
• Uranium235 --> Lead235 = 7 x 108 years
• Carbon14 --> Nitrogen14 = 5730 years
Parent Atom Daughter Atom
Half-life
Radiometric Dating
Time (half-lives)
SurvivingParent Atoms
AccumulatingDaughter
Atoms
1 2 3
1/1
1/3
1/7
Radioisotope Decay
1. Find fossil2. Determine ratio of parent to daughter atoms3. Determine number of elapsed half-lives4. Estimate age of fossil
You are using C14 (half-life = 5730 years) radioisotope dating to determine the age of rocks associated with a fossil. The percentage of daughter isotope atoms (N14)) is 87.5%. What is the age of the fossil?
Try this problem
17,190 yrs
There are Good Examples of Macroevolution in the Fossil Record
- see also (Figure 4.6)
Gradualism : (e.g. limbs are intermediate)
Mosaic evolution: (limbs evolvedfaster than braincase, tail fin, tooth structure
Sarcopterygii --> Ichthyostega --> Amphibia
Other Examples From Book To Review(Chapter 4)
• Origin of Birds– Archaeopteryx is but one of many fossils
• Origin of Mammals- Gradual evolution of “reptilian” skull and jaw
• Origin of Cetacea– A series of fossils have recently been discovered showing
adaptation to aquatic life
• Origin of Hominins
– We are the lone survivors of an otherwise extinct radiation of bipedal African hominids