History of Life: From Cambrian Explosion To The Formation of Fossils

HISTORY OF LIFE
From Cambrian Explosion to

the formation of fossils
by T.Zibobo
Learners must conduct research using
the following questions as guidelines
 When did Cambrian Explosion begin
 Why is the phenomenon called Cambrian
‘Explosion’(what is meant by Cambrian
Explosion)
 What could have caused the sudden increase
in animal variety, body size and complexity
Before the teacher starts the topic learners must

report on their findings
The Cambrian Explosion- the big
bang of animal evolution – occurred during Cambrian Period
(543mya- 505mya)
 Started about 543 million years ago

 There was a sudden increase in animal variety,
body size and complexity. Major animal groups
appeared e.g. Platyhelminthes, Nematodes,
Annelids, Molluscs, Arthropods, Chordates, etc.
 Possible reasons: increase in oxygen levels; late
Precambrian glaciation that wiped-out most of
earlier life forms leaving empty niches;
increased supply of organic food from plankton
and nekton; and evolution of macrophagy
TRILOBITES ( plentiful
invertebrates during cambrian
period
FIRST CHORDATE ( ancestor of
vertebrates)
End of Cambrian period to
modern times
** refer to the Geological Time Scale
According to fossil record:
 Fish appeared first (Ordovician)
 Then amphibians (Devonian)
 Reptiles (Pennsylvanian)
 Birds (Jurassic)
 Mammals (Jurassic)
 Early hominids( 5.3mya-Pliocene Epoch of
Neogene period )
Modern humans (Quaternary period)
Archaeopteryx- the missing link
between dinosaurs & birds
Plants evolution
 Bryophytes {ordovician period}-no conducting
tissue
 Pteridophytes {silurian period}- with vascular tissue
 Gymnosperms {permian period}- naked seeds
 Angiosperms {cretaceous period}-covered seeds
Knowledge of the milestones in the development of

these groups of plants will make learners easily
understand the Biodiversity topics in grade 11
Cambrian period onwards
 Fossils of groups of reptiles called Therapsids
that lived between 280 and 100 million years –
in Karoo. They probably gave rise to mammals
 Footprints of Dinosaurs-lived 210mya- Lesotho,
Free State, KZN, north-eastern parts of EC
 Fossilised dinosaur bones- Maluti and
Drakensburg mountain
 Fossils of early mammals- shrew-sized
mammals- EC province and Lesotho
 Fossils of early humans-caves of Cradle of
Humankind. 40% of all human ancestor fossils
 Human fossils &tools and rock-art paintings-
KZN, FS, EC
Evidence from Southern Africa for
key events in History of Life
Precambrian times Cambrian period onwards
 3.4billion years old  350 million years old
cyanobacteria- fossils of algae and
Barberton mountain early land plants e.g
lands in Mpumalanga club mosses – near
 650 million yr old Grahamstown,EC
sponges-Namibia  280 million years old
fossils of Glossopteris –
near Mooi river &
Escourt in KZN
Fossils discovered at Sterkfontein Caves
Mrs Ples Ron Clarke &Little Foot

Footprints discovered at Nahoon-
EL
Key events – Southern Africa
Mass Extinctions
 Death of more than 50% of Earth’s species in a few million yrs
Extinction event % extinction Known victims Most probable causes
End-Ordovician 60% species Corals, trilobites, Drop in sea levels as

439mya 30% families etc. glaciers formed and rise
in sea levels as they
melted
Late-Devonian 70-80% species Corals, trilobites, unknown

364mya 20% families brachiopods
End-Permian ~90% species Glossopteris Comet or asteroid
250mya 53% marine fm flora, 70% impact or volcanic floods
(**Most serious) 84% marine gen vertebrate
74% land sp families
Late-Triassic 50% species Gymnosperms, Volcanic eruptions
199-214mya 25% families tetrapods
End-Cretaceous 50% species Dinosaurs & Asteroid impact on Gulf
65 mya 20-30% families other organisms of Mexico; climate
(*famous) change; volcanic
Mass Extinctions
Sixth Mass Extinction (Megafauna)
 We are in the middle of the sixth extinction because
of the rapid rate of global loss of species diversity
 Learners must research in groups and prepare
posters. Each group must be allocated one cause
of megafauna extinction to research about and
prepare a poster for presentation
1. Overpopulation of human species
2. Direct habitat destruction
3. Pollution
4. Global warming
5. Invasive alien species that reduce
indigenous biodiversity
6. Unsustainable hunting
Coelacanth
 Living fossil – the Coelacanth – existed about
300mya
 Scientists thought it became extinct 70 million
years ago
 1938 it was caught off the east coast near East
London
 More have been discovered of the coast of the
western Indian Ocean island of Comoros; some
in north-east coast of KZN
 Pelvic and pectoral fins had evolved into lobes
resembling legs and arms
Coelacanth at EL museum
FOSSIL FORMATION
Fossil formation
 Fossils- remains of living organisms or traces
of their activities preserved in sedimentary
rocks
 Remains of living organisms are buried in
layers of mud and sand in rivers, lakes and
seas
 Over thousands to millions of years thick
layers of younger rocks deposited above
the remains compress & harden mud and
sand to form solid rock . Minerals filter into
the body of the organism turning it into
stone(the organism is petrified)
Fossil formation cont.
 Scientists study the rocks in which these fossils
occur
 Fossils that are known to have occurred in a
particular period of time are known as Index fossils
 Used to determine age of other fossils by
comparison with them
 Fossil record may have gaps because:
1. some fossils are destroyed by geological events such as
earthquakes;
2. soft bodied organisms may not fossilise;
3. and some fossils have not yet been discovered
Other places where fossils have
been found
 Ice – Woolly Mammoth is an extinct organism
discovered in ice
 Tar – bones of sabre-toothed cats discovered in tar
 Dried sap of trees – insects trapped in dried sap
Forms in which fossils occur
 Bones
 Shells
 Tracks (footprints); burrows; hardened faeces
 Petrified tree trunks
 Imprints of leaves and small animals
EXAMPLES OF FOSSILS
A
B
A.Leaf imprint, B.insect trapped in amber, C.Dinasaur feaces,

D.footprint.
C D
Ammonite fossil
Imprints of leaves on rocks
Why are fossils important?
 Key to understanding history of life including
our origins. They provide evidence for life of
distant past
 They allow us to understand how organisms
are related to each other
 Help us interpret the environment and
climates of the past and help to reconstruct
the geography of the past
 Fossils are important tourist attractions –
important source of employment and income
in some fossil localities
Determining the fossil age
Relative Dating
 Age worked out by finding out how the fossil is
related to the age of another fossil or geological
event such as volcanic eruption
 Indicates if a fossil was formed before or after
another fossil or geological event
e.g. if a fossil is found in the upper layers of a
rock and another is found in the layer below
then the one discovered in the lower layer
is the oldest
Radiometric dating
 The age of the fossil is measured by finding out how
much of certain radioactive substance in a fossil
has changed to another substance
 Isotopes of elements such as carbon, uranium, etc.
decay and emit nuclear radiation when an
organism dies and change into other elements
e.g. scientists measure how much of an unstable
isotope of carbon [C-14] decayed and changed
into N-14 in a fossil and then compare the ratio of
C-14 to total carbon & to nitrogen
 The rate at which half of the parent isotopes decay
to form daughter isotopes is constant (half-life)
Fossil and archaeological areas in SA

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HISTORY OF LIFE

From Cambrian Explosion to

Before the teacher starts the topic learners must

 Started about 543 million years ago

Knowledge of the milestones in the development of

Mrs Ples Ron Clarke &Little Foot

End-Ordovician 60% species Corals, trilobites, Drop in sea levels as

Late-Devonian 70-80% species Corals, trilobites, unknown

A.Leaf imprint, B.insect trapped in amber, C.Dinasaur feaces,

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