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    138 The Fossil Record

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    Widjaya HS Teacher

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    138 The Fossil Record

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    138 The Fossil Record

    Uploaded by

    Widjaya HS Teacher

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
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    192

    138 The Fossil Record


    Key Idea: Fossils provide a record of the appearance and of the horse (below right) from the ancestral Hyracotherium
    extinction of organisms. The fossil record can be used to to modern Equus is well documented in the fossil record.
    establish the relative order of past events. The rich fossil record, which includes numerous transitional
    Fossils are the remains of long-dead organisms that have fossils, has enabled scientists to develop a robust model
    escaped decay, with their remains becoming mineralized. of horse phylogeny (evolutionary history). Horse evolution
    Fossils provide a record of the appearance and extinction exhibits a complex tree-like lineage with many divergences.
    of organisms, from species to whole taxonomic groups. Many species coexisted for some time over the 55 million
    Once this record is calibrated against a time scale (by using year evolutionary period. The environmental transition from
    dating techniques), it is possible to build up a picture of the forest to grasslands drove many of the changes observed in
    evolutionary changes that have taken place. The evolution the equid fossil record.

    Profile with Sedimentary Rocks Fossil Evidence of Horse Evolution


    Containing Fossils 0
    Ground surface Recent fossils are Equus (grassland)
    found in more recent
    sediments 5
    The more recent the
    Youngest layer of rock, the more
    sediments resemblance there is
    between the fossils found 10
    in it and living forms.
    Numerous extinct
    species 15
    The number of extinct
    species is enormously
    greater than the
    number living today. 20
    oga sraey fo snoilliM

    Fossil types differ in 25


    each stratum Merychippus
    Fossils found in a given (grassland)
    layer of sedimentary
    rock generally differ in 30
    significant respects from
    those in other layers.
    More primitive fossils 35
    are found in older
    sediments
    Phyla are represented 40 Mesohippus
    Oldest by more generalized (forest)
    sediments forms in the older layers,
    and not by specialized
    forms (such as those 45
    alive today).
    Rock Strata are Layered Through Time 50
    Rock strata are arranged in the order that they were deposited
    (unless they have been disturbed by geological events). The most
    recent layers are near the surface and the oldest are at the bottom.
    55 Hyracotherium
    New Fossil Types Mark Changes in Environment (Eohippus) (grassland)
    In the rocks marking the end of one geological period, it is common
    to find new fossils that become dominant in the next. Each geological The fossil record of the horse provides much evidence for evolution
    period had an environment very different from those before and (change in body size, limb length, tooth structure, toe reduction). The
    after. Their boundaries coincided with drastic environmental changes genus Equus (the modern horse) is the only living genus of what was
    and the appearance of new niches. These produced new selection a large and diverse group of animals. Observation of the leg bones of
    pressures resulting in new adaptive features in the surviving species various ancestors of Equus show a progressive loss of the outer toe
    as their populations responded to the changes. bones, leaving the single middle bone and hoof supporting the animal.

    1. How does the fossil record provide a record of evolutionary change over time:

    2. In which way does the equid fossil record provide a good example of the evolutionary process?

    WEB LINK LINK


    138 140 141
    © 2012-2014 BIOZONE International
    ISBN: 978-1-927173-93-0
    KNOW Photocopying Prohibited

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